Youth Ready to Rock | Sport climbing courses

Rock Climbing Articles
09 Jul
5 min read

The Youth Ready to Rock Sport climbing course is designed to help young climbers (11-17 year olds) make their first moves onto rock by having a fun day out, as well as covering the use of some key skills and equipment, for both the participant and the parent/carer.

Course Content

The courses are designed to teach you everything that you need to know to safely climb bolted routes outside, including:

  • Lowering off different sport routes
  • Re-threading belays
  • Retreating from routes
  • Pre-clipping to safeguard starting moves
  • Differences between the wall and the crag

Please note that the course content will be adapted to match the ability of the participants on each course, with instructors teaching techniques appropriate to the age and experience of attending young people.

Parent/Carers want to know more?

READ: The Parent's Guide to Climbing, Walking, and Mountaineering

Who is it for?

The Youth Ready to Rock Sport climbing course is ideal for young climbers, between 11 and 17 years old, who are confident in leading routes on indoor climbing walls. Young climbers who may have had the odd taster of climbing outdoors and who wish to gain further knowledge and skills. You should already know how to put on a harness, tie in to a rope, and belay. This is a good precursor for anyone contemplating further training; such as a Rock Skills course.

This course is aimed at Young People involved in Sport Climbing. More Ready To Rock courses, catering for more people, can be found below:

Youth Ready to Rock Trad Climbing Course

Women's Ready to Rock Course

Ready to Rock Course

Who will be instructing?

Course instructors are highlight experienced and qualified climbers and are members of the AMI (Association of Mountaineering Instructors). The name and contact details of the instructor delivering the course can be found in the information below.

Cost

Courses cost £75 per person, with a discounted rate of £67.50 per person for BMC Members. We are currently running courses with a maximum of 5 young people per course.

The BMC have funding available for young people experiencing difficulties in accessing this course, provided by the Lee Bower Fund, please contact Cressida Allwood cressida.allwood@thebmc.co.uk for more information and details to access funding.

Duration

The course will run from 10.00am until 5.00pm.

Parent/Carer Supervision

Participants are required to remain under the supervision of a parent/carer over the age of 18. The supervisor must be willing and able to approach the crag with the group which may involve uneven and steep ground.

What do you need to bring?

  • Climbing shoes
  • Harness
  • Helmet
  • Belay Device
  • Rope and quickdraws (if you have them)
  • Lunch and warm clothing
  • Suncream!

Booking

You can contact your local course provider for any local information using their email address below.

We run courses throughout Spring, Summer and Autumn. You can find a list of dates, venues and instructors below. Simply head over to our booking site, create an account, and purchase your course here.

Venues, Dates, and Instructors

South Wales (Southgate on Gower)

Sunday 14th April 2024

Sunday 9th June 2024

Sunday 15th September 2024

Contact Matt Woodfield:

Email - climbwithmatt@gmail.com

Bristol

Dates to be confirmed soon

Contact Jamie Evans:

Email - jamieevansclimbing@googlemail.com

Website - https://jamieevansclimbing.com/

Dorset (Portland)

Dates to be confirmed soon

Contact Martina Spisiakova:

Email - m_spisiakova@yahoo.co.uk

North Wales (Conwy Area)

Saturday 27th April 2024

Saturday 8th June 2024

Saturday 13th July 2024

Saturday 10th August 2024

Contact Simon Verspeak:

Email - simon@orange-mountaineering.com 

Website - www.orange-mountaineering.com

For any dates above; head over to our booking site, create an account, and confirm your place here.

Youth Outdoor Climbing Courses

Whether you want to make the leap from indoor climbing into Sport or Trad climbing outdoors, we run many courses across the country and throughout the year that are specially for 11-17 year olds.

BOOK: Youth Trad Climbing Course

BOOK: Youth Sport Climbing Course

Subsidised Youth Course Places

There are a large number of free places on courses for families who may struggle to afford it. Any families who live in rented accommodation and who receive income support or universal credit may contact the instructor of a course or Alex West for a place.

About the Lee Bower Fund:

Lee was introduced to climbing in the Peak District by a school teacher, Tony Boreham. It was a real revelation for him and became a lifelong passion. Unfortuantely, his plans for a long and happy retirement on the crags were cut short by cancer on 12th February, aged 59.

He said he wanted any donation to help some youngsters, who would not otherwise be able to afford it, to taste the adventure of outdoor climbing.

So please use this money, raised from his family, friends and organised climbing mates, to help as many young people as possible gain a grounding in the skills, safety techniques and appreciation of sport climbing.

U27 Membership

From just £1.77 a month it's never been easier to join and support our work:

JOIN TODAY: BMC Under 27 Membership

BMC Travel Insurance

Join the BMC

Cotswold Outdoor Discount

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