The BMC has increased the number of FUNdamentals of Climbing course providers to 14 across England and Wales. Nine more providers were taken on in 2023 to create more opportunities for participants to find a course that suits their needs. There are now providers in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Liverpool, south Yorkshire, three in north Wales, Bristol, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Greater London, Hampshire, Southampton and north Devon.
Article by Pete Edwards from Prowess Coaching
What are FUNdamentals courses?
The BMC FUNdamentals of Climbing Workshops 1, 2 and 3 look at how to climb more efficiently, allowing climbers to not only push themselves further but also to enjoy the movement on any climb. This works on several layers: for personal climbing, as instructors and as coaches.
Ellis Bird from The Adventure Brand, Hampshire says, “FUNdamentals is a great way to see progressional movement and technique to develop your own climbing or help writing session plans when coaching a range of climber abilities.”
What’s involved?
There are three FUNdamentals courses: the first looks at basic movements for new climbers, the second focuses on techniques for intermediates and the third is getting into advanced climbing. As Suz Dudink from Upgrade Climbing explains, “[these courses offer] an understanding and mastery of fundamental movement patterns which unlocks more complicated climbing patterns so much faster.”
The first workshops started as far back as 2012, although they have evolved throughout their delivery. Katherine Schirmacher from Love to Climb, South Yorkshire was involved in setting up the FUNdamentals courses and tells us, “The courses have seen refinements over the years keeping up with the changing demands from coaches and instructors. Because of the success of these courses, the BMC is now expanding the number of providers to increase both the number of courses and the spread across the country.”
Danielle Griffith from DG Climbing Coaching in north Wales says, “The courses are tailored to the individuals who attend and are appropriate and valuable for a wide range of BMC members and beyond. Participants are from a wide background: mountaineering and climbing instructors, GB climbers, competitive youngsters, NICAS leavers, climbing wall staff teams, avid scramblers, mountaineers, trad climbers, boulderers and sport climbers.”
It’s FUN!
There is a reason the FUN is capitalised, as Danielle says, “These courses equip participants with a holistic approach to improving their understanding and performance. Wherever that is under the umbrella term of climbing, not just movement but also long term participation development, youth physical development and injury avoidance, as well as bags of laughs and FUN throughout.”
Juan Avendano Fig8Out in Greater London from agrees, stating, “The collective exploration of ideas and fun experimentation through play, adds a great deal of value to the learning to each participant. The FUNdamental courses are a good space for coaches to collaborate and to think about best practise in developing all climbers.”
Other courses
There are further courses available that begin to specialise in certain areas - Physical Training workshops 1 and 2. The appeal of physical development and the opportunity it presents is growing rapidly, with more courses to become available during 2024 and beyond.
Andy Swann from Climb for Life, Northumberland, says, “PT1 (Physical Training 1) is a practical course with some essential theory early on. If you are new to training for climbing this workshop provides a wealth of information and practical activities to enable you to blend training activities into your climbing.” While Physical Training for Climbing 2 takes things further, building on the first workshop to deliver a deeper skillset.
Other courses include the Coaching Children workshop, the provision of which is expanding with more providers in 2024. Pete says, “While FUNdamentals covers much of how to coach children, there are some specifics that we delve much deeper into on the Coaching Children workshop moving away from the purely technical aspect and looking more into tactical, psychological and physical aspects of working with kids of varying abilities.”
Find out more about all these courses here.
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