The base at home, the sport at a club

Sport climbing at home

A climbing wall, mats, ropes and supervision at a gym; at home and in the park, low frames, wall bars and knots.

2 cards at home 2 for a park or court 7 for the club

What should we practise today?

Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.

Where are you?

Who is playing?

Start a session

New to sport climbing? The game in a minute

Read this once before the first card.

The sport in short: Climbing up a wall using holds for the hands and feet. Indoors, the holds are coloured shapes bolted to the wall, and each climb (a route or a problem) uses holds of one colour. Climbing uses the legs more than the arms: good climbers push with the legs and keep the arms long.
The kinds of climbing: Bouldering is climbing short walls with no rope, over thick mats. Top-rope climbing is climbing a tall wall tied to a rope that runs through the top, held by a partner on the ground (the belayer). Lead climbing clips the rope in on the way up and is for qualified climbers.
How competitions work: In bouldering, climbers have a few minutes to try each problem and score for reaching the top hold and a middle hold (the zone). In lead, the climber who gets highest on a hard route in one try wins. In speed, two climbers race up the same wall.
Rules children break first: Never climb above or below another climber.
Stay off the mats when you are not climbing.
Do not boulder above the height line.
Check the knot, the harness and the belay every time before a roped climb.
At home and in the park you start with: Quiet feet, traversing low on a playground frame, straight arms and pushing with the legs, and tying the figure-eight knot. Bouldering, belaying and every roped climb are learnt at a gym.

Words you will hear (27, in plain language)

Hold: Something on the wall to grip or stand on.
Route: A set climb on a roped wall, and a short set climb on a bouldering wall.
Bouldering: Climbing low walls without a rope, over thick mats.
Traverse: Climbing sideways along a wall, low down.
Three points of contact: Always having three of hands and feet on holds, moving only one at a time.
Straight arms: Hanging with the arms straight to save strength.
Shake out: Letting one hand hang and shaking it loose to rest.
Quiet feet: Placing the foot on a hold softly and exactly, once.
Edges: The sides of the climbing shoe used to stand on small holds.
High feet: Putting a foot up high to push up with the legs.
Twisting in: Turning the hip toward the wall to reach further.
Frog position: Knees out wide and feet high, like a frog, to rest close to the wall.
Wave: Moving the body in a swing, up to a jump for the next hold.
Spotter: A person below a boulderer who guides a fall onto the mat, protecting the head and back.
Jump down: Getting down from a boulder safely, from a height you control.
Mat: The thick landing mat, and the tape line on the wall that feet must not go above.
Harness: The straps worn round the waist and legs, the metal clip with a lock, and the device the rope runs through to stop a fall.
Figure-eight: The knot that ties the rope to the harness.
Tail: The loose end of the rope left after a knot.
Partner check: Checking each other's harness, knot, carabiner and helmet before every climb.
Top rope: A rope running from the climber up through the top of the wall and down to the belayer.
Belay: Holding the rope for a climber; the person who does it; the hand that never lets go of the rope.
Lower: Letting the climber down the wall gently on the rope.
Lead climbing: Climbing with the rope clipped in on the way up; for qualified climbers.
Abseiling: Going down a wall or rock on a rope.
Grade: A number or letter for how hard a climb is.
Fingerboard: A board for hanging from by the fingers; not for growing children.

Try it, nothing to buy

Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.

The cards, level by level

Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.

Basic 5 cards · show· hide Climbing as play on frames and wall bars, body close to the wall, three points, legs before arms with straight arms, silent and precise feet, the basic climbing move, jumping down and the bouldering rules.

Move on when the child meets the self-checks on b1 to b5.

Intermediate 4 cards · show· hide Footwork on the edges of the shoe, reading holds, resting, the frog position, twisting in and the wave; knots, the partner check and top-rope belaying in three steps (from about age 10 to 11 for belaying others); handling fear.

Move on when the child can climb a course using different techniques, tie in and climb a 5 m top rope of their choice, or passes the gym's belay check.

Advanced 2 cards · show· hide Dynamic moves (wave to dyno), one-arm and handicap control, contests (boulder jam, team boulder), rock climbing and abseiling with qualified leaders, routes of about grade 5 to 6, and training planned in phases. Lead climbing, speed climbing and finger training stay with qualified coaches; dynos risk shoulder injury.

Teaching this at home

Movement, safety and the words at home. The sport itself needs water, a boat, a horse or a coach.

You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.

Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.

How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.