Wanderers of Colour indoor rope climbing meet-up at The Castle

Wanderers of Colour's regular monthly rope climbing meet-up takes place at one of London's rope climbing gyms. This event is taking place at The Castle Climbing Center.

Who can come?

This event is open to all people of colour. It is a great chance to climb with new people, socialise and have fun in a supportive and welcoming environment. 

This events is primarily for competent experienced climbers who can put on their harness, tie in, and belay without reminder or support. You do not need to have had lead belaying experience, but you must be a confident top rope belayer. Please note the assessment of competency is performed by the gym, and if you are not deemed competent by the centre, you will not be allowed to rope climb without a supervisor.

However, we are able to offer 2x supervised climber spots for those who are new to rope climbing or not yet sufficiently experienced or confident enough to belay. Supervised climbers will be supervised by an experienced climber (at a ratio of 2:1) for two hours from the start of the session. You’ll be supported to tie in and try out climbing. If you’ve already learned belaying elsewhere, and your supervisor deems it appropriate, you will be able to try out belaying another climber while backed up by your supervisor. You will not receive tuition. To become a competent climber, you will need to undertake formal training or attend several sessions with a climber experienced enough to pass on the skills necessary.

Cost

There is no charge from Wanderers of Colour for this meet-up but in addition to registering for this event, you will need to pay entry when you arrive at the climbing centre. Luckily this will be discounted for the purposes of the meet-up:

• climb-only entry (£12.50 instead of £18)
• free shoe OR harness hire (normally £4 each)

Funded places

Thanks to The Castle, we are able to offer 2x fully funded (£0) places for climbers on no or low income at this meet-up.

We are currently defining those on low income as anyone who is eligible or in receipt of benefit payments such as Universal Credit and Jobseeker's Allowance, or who struggles with covering the cost of their rent, bills, or food shops. 

Please select the "Entry: fully funded" ticket (free) when you register and just give your name the same as everyone else when you arrive to access the price you booked.

Donations

Wanderers of Colour is a grassroots volunteer-run organisation and we all work hard to keep access to the outdoors and sports like climbing as open as possible. If you are able to make a donation, this money will help create fully funded places for people on low income to attend events like these in future as well as covering our basic administrative costs.

Before the event

If you're coming to The Castle for the first time, please register with The Castle in advance.
If you have a 'Supervised climber' place, please arrive 10 minutes before the social as you will need to complete supervision form along with your facilitator.
If you are a competent rope climber, but have not been to The Castle before, The Castle has their own assessment of competence (conducted near the entrance) before you are signed off on their system. It is recommended that you arrive earlier to get the assessment done.

If this is your first time attending a Wanderers of Colour climbing event, please fill in this form to join our WhatsApp Community, and then navigate to the "WoC Climb" group. This group is a friendly place to hear who else is coming to the meet up and also to arrange more casual meet ups with other members.

At the event

Please come and find one of the facilitators before registering to climb at front desk. We will be at the entrance saying hello.

What to wear and bring: climbing

Please wear comfortable clothing that allows you a full range of movement. Remove any rings or anything else that might get caught in advance before you climb. Bring a water bottle, there are fountains to refill it at the gym and a padlock for the cage lockers and/or a £1 coin for the valuables lockers if you'd like to make use of them.

Photography

Our facilitators try to take a couple of photographs during these events to help promote the next one. Please let them know when you arrive if you'd rather not be photographed at all.

Nervous about coming alone?

We've all been there. Please contact us ahead of the session and we will buddy you with one of the team or members so that you can connect before and during the event. You can let us know a little bit about you and what you're looking for in terms of a buddy too and we'll do our best to facilitate those wishes. Wanderers of Colour can be reached by email via climbing@wanderersofcolour.com or via DM on Instagram.

No longer able to attend? (limited places)

If you registered for any limited place at this event, for instance a fully funded or 'Supervised climber' place, and are no longer able to attend, please cancel your ticket by latest 3 days before the start time of the event. If you do not cancel in time, this prevents other people from attending. We will follow up via email if you do not attend.

No longer able to attend? (other ticket types)

We'd appreciate you cancelling your ticket as it gives us a more accurate idea of how many people are coming. 

Accessibility

We have complied some accessibility information for this gym. Additionally, Access to Climb have listed the venue, please consider enriching their information via their contact form if you feel anything is missing. For any questions regarding accessibility, please contact The Castle directly via telephone: 020 8211 7000 or email info@castle-climbing.co.uk.

Health and Safety

We are an informal community group, not a professional service. Climbing and bouldering carry inherent risks and you are responsible for your own safety. Any peer advice from facilitators or other attendees is informal and isn't endorsed by Wanderers of Colour. Follow at your own risk. Always follow the gym’s rules and seek formal instruction if required.

If you are feeling unwell or have COVID symptoms, please do not attend.