On Tuesday this week, leaders from the indoor climbing industry form part of a group which will present evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, and request for financial support to help safeguard the future of the sector.

Richard Emerson of the ABC (Association of British Climbing Walls) will represent the indoor climbing industry, which along with the rest of the indoor gym and leisure market has been hugely impacted by Covid. Without additional short term support, it is likely that many previously successful businesses could close and it is possible that many valuable facilities will be lost.

Indoor walls form a keystone of our grassroots sport, and contain much more than the climbing surfaces within. They are focal points for local climbing communities, provide a gateway into the sport for many, and are places where the friendships and bonds that are made result in a lifetime of climbing activity. It is therefore essential for our sport that climbing walls are able to survive these economically difficult times, and as such the BMC wholeheartedly supports the work by the sector to safeguard these facilities.

“As has been the case across the whole indoor sport and leisure sector, climbing walls have been hit hard by the need to close in response to the pandemic. With many walls now being pushed closer than ever to financial breaking point, it is our hope that the government will be able to extend additional support to help secure the future of the indoor climbing industry. Places for people to exercise and train will be more important than ever when the pandemic starts to ease, and we must make sure that indoor walls are there for people to return to. Assistance now, through things such as extending business rate holidays and matching the reduction in VAT extended to the hospitality sector, will greatly improve the ability of the sector to survive and be in a position to provide these facilities for when they are most needed.”

 - BMC CEO Paul Davies

📅 The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee will be meeting on Tuesday 12th January 2021 at 10am

WATCH: the live stream of the Inquiry

READ MORE: about the Inquiry

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