Club Sport of the Month- Club Rock Climbing
A big congratulations to Club Rock Climbing for being this month’s club sport of the month!
Setting themselves apart from other club sport teams, rock climbing is the perfect mixture between being an individual sport and still having the support of a team behind you when you need it. “The main thing with an individual sport is that we’re constantly trying to get people to where they want to be with their ability,” says club president Alana Leonard.“We have members who are there just because they enjoy rock-climbing and they want to do it recreationally. We also have members who want to push themselves and be doing really well at these competitions, so we try and tailor it to everyone’s individual needs because of the individuality of the sport.”
Whether you’re a novice or a total pro, this team has a place for you – Vice President Tom Bonin explains how exactly this team dynamic works. “We have three levels, so it’s more inducive to people who are at different levels of the sport. If you’ve never been climbing before you can come to the advanced practice. If you’ve been climbing for 10 years you can also come to the advanced practice and you’ll still get a fulfilling experience out of it.”
The rock wall has formed a community for its climbers and for that they are very thankful. “Getting to know people at the wall I was able to gain this big community that I can be around and be myself with at any time,” says Aliyah DuBoje, Club Secretary.
As a team and a community, Club Rock Climbing hopes to get the word out that there is a wall to climb and a community to climb it with. “A lot of people don’t know about the rock wall, and I want people to know that it’s there and that there’s a group of people that are dedicated to doing that, and that it is a sport that exists,” says Leonard.“A lot of people come to the wall and will be seniors and will be like “I didn’t even know this existed, and we have a club sport for it also? Maybe I would have done it had I known.”
Leonard urges anyone who is interested to stop by and check it out. Because a lot of other clubs are team sports, you have to join by a certain time. With Club Rock Climbing, we accept members at any point in time because it’s an individual sport. We still get new members all the way up until the end of second semester. We’re constantly taking in new people and just putting them into whatever level they fit into!”