Welcome to the Kids Climbing Club! All Kids Climb classes are lesson-based and designed to teach participants the basics of climbing including terminology, equipment, skills, and safety. Each class is one hour in length and taught as part of a series of 6 progressive classes. Three separate series are offered—Beginner Basics (two age groups) and Beyond the Basics—and repeated over the course of a year.  The participant limit is 10 per series. Each individual class will have two instructors.

Expectations:

Participants should arrive 10 minutes before their scheduled class to stretch and prepare for a full hour of learning and climbing.

All students must be accompanied by a responsible adult during the lesson time per our UWSP Climbing Wall policies. A seating area will be available for all who bring a participant to Kids Climb. Adults are encouraged to observe and cheer their students along!

Course and Curriculum Information (see kids climb series descriptions)

• Beginner Basics Series 5 – 7 teaches the basics of climbing for children ages 5 – 7.
• Beginner Basics Series 8 – 12 is for children ages 8 – 12 and teach the basics of climbing.
• Beyond the Basics Series is for participants, ages 6 – 12, who have successfully completed the Beginner Basics Series and teaches climbing techniques and skill improvement. Instructor approval is required for enrollment. Email fitness.recreation@uwsp.edu to inquire.  

Questions about the climbing series can be directed to fitness.recreation@uwsp.edu.

Beginner Basics Series 5-7

Students ages who are first time or beginner climbers. Students of all learning styles and climbing backgrounds are welcome. The expectation of this course is to introduce students to the sport of climbing and to teach them how to safely climb. Students in this course will focus primarily on fun, engaging activities that will promote the goal of being able to climb to the top of the wall.

Students should be able to safely boulder while following all bouldering rules, safely top rope, and safely come down. Students should show that they can listen, pay attention throughout the class, and follow instruction. This class will help students become confident in their equipment and in themselves by trying something new. Students at this age may not be able to reach the top of the wall until further along in the series. Ideally by the end of the series, students should be able to top rope to the top of a wall, however, not all participants will achieve this.

Developing a student’s confidence in their equipment and in themselves helps them to overcome fear. It is common in this age group for students to be very hesitant and scared of heights. We will encourage students to set individual goals. One way we encourage students to overcome fear is to set clear goals. Once a student reaches a goal, they must pick a new one.

We will ask students to take a rest for a moment, as this helps them trust their equipment. So when a student wants to come down, we may ask them to just sit in their harness like they are coming down and take a rest. This helps them follow instructions in coming down safely and can contribute to their confidence in climbing.

Because students in this age group respond well to games and imagination exercises, we use several teaching techniques. When teaching this group, we utilize descriptive imagery and keep them actively engaged. We break up lessons with a form of activity. This age group can also struggle with exclusivity games, so when teaching we are encouraging and excited.