Safety and Spotting

Technique

Body Fitness

Approach to learning

Spotting:

- wide stance, flexed knees, feet shoulder width apart,one foot slightly in front of the other, arms shoulder  height approx foot width apart

-Continous focus on the climber

-Cushioning the fall not catching

-Palms face climber, level to climbers waist

Safety:

- Three points on wall at all times

- Communicate climbing intentions between climber and spotter. Climber calls “climbing”, spotter calls “climb on”

Enviroment:

- Safe cushioned landing area

-Climb with spotter

- Only climb to established limits

-Jump lightly away from the wall even during falls

-Don’t rush or crowed a climber in front of you

A.Foot work:

- Edging: using inside or outside of the front part of your shoe

-Smearing: Placing as much of the sole of shoe on the wall as possible using friction to obtain support

-Flagging: Use flexed toes as counter balance on wall

-Small steps: Conserve energy

-Weight over feet

Shift weight over recently placed foot before shifting rest of body

B.Leg work:

-Initiating movement with legs ( push don’t pull)

-climb with leg, use arms for balance

 C. Arm Work:

-Straight arms

D. Resting:

- Combining balance positions with straight arms to find stable positions on wall to rest

E. Balance:

-Keeping weight over feet

- three points on the wall

-flagging

-each move should bring a climber into a position of balance

Strength

Leg strength, arm strength, core strength:

-pushing with the legs requires lower body strength

- pulling with the arms requires upper body strength

-core strength is essential for movements from out-of-balance positions to in-balance positions

-Students can develop this through external strength building exercises that can be used in unison with the unit

Flexibility:

- shoulder and rotator cuff range of motion and flexibility important to arm work movement

-hip flexibility essential to leg and foot work

-general flexibility essential for students to gain full range of motion on climbing wall

Endurance

Understanding how to build up stamina with gradual increase in challenge

How to recover from delayed Onset of Muscle SOreness (DOMS).

Cooperation:

-Working in partners and teams to complete various routes

- read and designate routes to one another

- encourage and support one anothers efforts

-  give cues to one another

Problem Solving:

- read and discern routes on and off the wall

- create routes of increasing challenge for themselves and partners

- choosing most effective techniques to conserve energy and climb efficiently