Waking up!

Imagine a very busy climbing gym, a gym so busy that they had to set up a climbing calendar complete with timeslots in which climbers would register ahead.  Certain times would be designated for advanced climbers, other times for beginners, perhaps some slots for open gym, some times would be designated for training, and other times for coaching.  This wouldn’t be a perfect system, but it could be implemented to avoid a worse outcome, such as overcrowding and fire hazards.

There would be some prime real estate on this calendar, for example, times that you could climb with your friends, times that fit your lifestyle/schedule, times that offer the best coaching, or times that avoid kids’ parties.  If this calendar was based on a first come first serve basis, I would imagine that serious climbers would be ready the moment the calendar opens.  Less serious climbers would be left with less opportune times.  Of course, opportune is relative, one person’s dream time could be another person’s nightmare.  I for one tend to be at the gym around 6:30 AM in order to fit climbing into my schedule, while others wouldn’t dream of waking up that early just to climb.  In fact, the “Morning Crew” that I climb with is relatively limited to retirees and professionals trying to get in a good sesh before work.  6:30 AM is a good option for me, but it’s not for everyone.

In the calendar system noted above, I would not envision 6:30 AM being considered prime real estate.  Let’s add to this imagined scenario, that if you don’t register for at least one timeslot, you lose your membership, and membership benefits.  Those forced into the early session due to late registration, complacency, or ignorance of the registration period may have trouble adapting.  Their friends are in better sessions, they are up earlier than they would like, they have trouble staying focused, and without strong reinforcers, many will inevitably give up climbing. 

Some will learn the system a little better and register for a better timeslot in the following enrollment period, some will fall out of climbing shape and never come back, and some will take an extended period of time off before they remember that climbing was something they once loved and decide to give it another chance.

Is there anything that climbing gyms can do to keep these late registration folks coming back to that early timeslot?

Probably!

I think it starts with the staff.  If staff can do something to help keep newcomers/late bloomers engaged, it could go a long way.  Friendliness, communication, and genuine curiosity about the lives of the climbers instill a sense of belonging.  Beyond the staff, the other members of the timeslot become the anchors of returning customers.  If there is no one to share experiences with, if there is no one around to get encouragement from, let alone get belays from the climber return rate will falter, and in the long run, the gym could suffer, meaning the other climbers could suffer as well. However, in the end, the staff and community can only do so much.  If one is dependent upon others for their own satisfaction, then they will be severely disappointed somewhere down the road.  The climber needs to meet the community, the staff, and the gym halfway.

If there was a timeslot filled with climbers who failed to be part of the community, failed to reach out to others, climbed exclusively solo, immediately grabbed their phone the moment they were off the wall, disregarded any attempts by the staff for engagement, then that timeslot could be doomed for failure (at least until a reset was issued).

An experience such as that sounds terrible.  We learn, grow, improve, and progress in the company of others, even more we add value to our laughs, cries, successes, and failures in the company of others.  And this thing that many call “living” is stymied when we refuse to stop and look around, e.g. when we bury our heads in a cellphone.

There is too much to miss when we fail to engage, growth becomes stunted.  Our precious, limited time, even in an unattractive timeslot is wasted.

A few simple steps I could recommend in order to grease the wheels as it were, is to get off your phones, make mistakes (in front of others), be awkward, don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself, and don’t be afraid to laugh period.  Don’t depend on others to have a good time, be the good time!

 Of course, the list can go on and on, but this is a solid start to making a situation you may not have wanted into a situation that you’ll never forget!

I can’t imagine this would ever be a real issue with climbing, I haven’t seen anything like it yet, but if you replace “climbing” with my 8 AM intro to philosophy class then what we have is an autobiography of my current life.

There are some classes during some semesters where it doesn’t matter how hard you try, there just isn’t a pulse, so, to you students out there, take my advice.  Lift your head up, have a look around, introduce yourself to a stranger, be awkward, drink some water, do something, anything…please!  Your professor’s sanity, and faith in humanity is depending on it!