Climbing Wall May Be Making Its Comeback Soon
Gretchen Hawkins
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Sports
Many students have heard about the supposed climbing wall located above the Fitness Center, but few remember it ever being open. The climbing wall was built about 3 years ago, but was closed when the risk management department determined the exit from the facility was not satisfactory for emergency situations. There was actually nothing wrong with the wall itself; it was simply located in a converted storage room which was not up to code. Despite this setback, there is good news: the wall is going to be moved to a better location soon. The athletics department is currently getting quotes on the cost of moving the wall from its present location to the Eagle Gym. Although the funding for this project has not yet been allocated, the costs will most likely be supplemented by SGA or SCEF.
The wall is a bouldering-style wall, which means there are no ropes and no need to rappel from the top. In fact most bouldering walls do not even exceed 5 meters, which makes for a very small chance of serious injury. This close-to-the-ground style of climbing maximizes the participants' use of their strength and forces them to focus on each individual transverse move rather than an uncoordinated scurry to the top. The goal is to have the wall in place and secured before the end of this semester.
When the wall is deemed safe to use, it will be open to all students and faculty, just like the Fitness Center, and will probably operate during the same hours as the Fitness Center (from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.). However, since many campus organizations utilize the Eagle Gym for activities, the athletics department may require that students make advanced reservations depending on the popularity of the wall.
Another advantage of the climbing wall is that it could create several student jobs, since trained spotters may be needed in addition to the crash pads for safety.
So far, the largest amount of interest has come from Army ROTC, which has considered using this facility for physical-training-related purposes.
The wall is a bouldering-style wall, which means there are no ropes and no need to rappel from the top. In fact most bouldering walls do not even exceed 5 meters, which makes for a very small chance of serious injury. This close-to-the-ground style of climbing maximizes the participants' use of their strength and forces them to focus on each individual transverse move rather than an uncoordinated scurry to the top. The goal is to have the wall in place and secured before the end of this semester.
When the wall is deemed safe to use, it will be open to all students and faculty, just like the Fitness Center, and will probably operate during the same hours as the Fitness Center (from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.). However, since many campus organizations utilize the Eagle Gym for activities, the athletics department may require that students make advanced reservations depending on the popularity of the wall.
Another advantage of the climbing wall is that it could create several student jobs, since trained spotters may be needed in addition to the crash pads for safety.
So far, the largest amount of interest has come from Army ROTC, which has considered using this facility for physical-training-related purposes.
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