BETA x Rise Above: Climbing Gym Data and What Actions to Take #3 - The Surprising Truth about Climbing + "Community"
A couple of weeks ago, Rise Above Consulting attended the Association of British Climbing Walls (ABC Walls) annual summit. In 2024, I gave a keynote address there entitled "Sales is not a Dirty Word" to a packed room of UK climbing gym owners and operators. What followed was hours of conversations from eager gym managers and owners about how to increase their revenue. I got home and Rise Above took on many UK clients, and even more free discovery calls centered around how to think more strategically about revenue.
Fast forward to 2026 and Rise Above returned to the ABC Summit and we sat down with a dozen or more operators this year and unlike in 2024, almost all of them opened up their laptops to show us reports, charts, spreadsheets and documents of the data they were looking at. This is a huge step in the right direction and I was really impressed with how well many were thinking about what data to look at and why.
The Best Talk at the Summit
Rise Above sat in many talks, seminars and unplanned discussions over the course of the summit, and hands down far and away the best one was led by the Founder and CEO of BETA, Miura Hawkins. You might remember a blog we posted a few years back about climbing gym software where we mentioned that BETA is the best option around. Well, Miura proved why in this talk.
The talk lead by Miura centered around data. Specifically, aggregated data from dozens of UK gyms. In it, Miura laid out some VERY interesting trends (or lack there of) and an incredible hypothesis about "community" - the most overused phrase in the climbing gym industry.
Miura is writing an entire blog series about her data findings, and we've agreed to write a connected series of blogs here at Rise Above. BETA's blogs will focus on the data and the insights. and as always, Rise Above's companion blogs will be about what to do with those insights.Read the BETA blogs here |
BETA's Hypothesis #3: Gyms that focus on "community" have worse retention rates
Fore sure the most shocking data and analysis Miura shared was on "community", a word so overused in our industry it's almost hard to take it seriously.
Miura's hypothesis was that gyms who focus more on community and keeping groups of people climbing together would have higher retention rates because of camaraderie, friend groups, etc. Which would make what would otherwise be a place to climb and train "more than just a climbing gym". Miura used some fancy stuff to do the analysis, which you can read about in the blog. But what the data showed was truly shocking. Generically speaking, the data was analyzed to find people who were checking into gyms at the same time, which were defined as "crews" in the analsis.
The locations with the highest retention rate actually had the fewest and the smallest crews, and the locations with the lowest retention rate actually had the most and largest crews.
What could this possibly mean? We all talk about how climbing is more than just a sport, it's a community. Talks have been given about climbing gyms as "third spaces", entire businesses have been build on the notion of "climbing + community". I personally have talked to dozens of gym operators globally touting their community.
But the data clearly says, the more you have people climbing together at the same time, the less likely you are to keep a member - by a wide margin - than if the same people are climbing together less frequently.
So What does "Community" Mean, and How can we Foster it?
It turns out, a community might not feel as welcoming when it's a bunch of cliues hanging out together. Imagine coming into a gym as a newcomer and what that felt like. Often times we can really easily forget what it's like to truly be COMPLETELY NEW to climbing. No experience. You don't what to say, what to ask, what to wear, how to climb, what the colors mean, what to do to be safe, and importantly what to do (and not do) to not look and feel like a newbie.
A community is defined as: "a social unit of people who share common characteristics, values, interests, identity, or a sense of place."
If we accept the above definition, ask yourself, do my newest customers feel a part of this community on their first visit? Their second? Tenth? Do they believe they share common interests, characteristics and sense of identity as your members? At Rise Above, we would strongly argue a resounding "no" to this.
We propose that the way to build real community, where people feel that they have something in common with the people in your gym, is through a thoughtful onboarding experience for new climbers. Curated. Intentional. From day one, from first interaction with your brand.
What Does Good New Climber Onboarding Look Like?
New climber onboarding is not just about "safety" or "here is where the locker rooms are". New Climber onboarding has to get someone comfortable in an environment and space where they are likely intimidated, unsure and maybe even quite literally scared of getting hurt. |
DESIGN - Does your gym facilitate new climber experience? Or does it hurt it?
Do brand new climber have a space that is somewhat away from more advanced terrain to feel nervous and unsure? Or are they waiting their turn in front of the strongest crew in the gym?
Does facility way-finding, signage, and flow support intiutive navigation, or does even knowing where to put your bag feel like you have to be "in the know"?
Is route-setting TRULY being considerate of brand new climbers. And when we say "brand new climbers", we mean someone in rental shoes who has literally never climbed in their entire life or set foot in a climbing gym (and maybe any kind of gym) before. Are you allowing new climbers to experience the joy of success and overcoming fear?
What types of imagery is incorporated into your brand? Is it welcoming? Or is it elite-feeling?
Which Image Below Feels more welcoming?
MESSAGING- Language matters. Right from the get-go in your top-of-funnel promotions to your social media to your website to how your staff talks
Does your website use lingo and words non-climbers don't understand?
Does your website have an easy-to-find "first visit" type page that covers EVERYTHING clearly? Here are questions I have heard from customers who didn't know before they arrived:
What should I wear?
Can I bring food/water?
Is this safe?
Do I need to bring my own gear?
Can I wear my sneakers?
Do I have to wear climbing shoes?
Do I need to take a class?
Can I do this alone?
On and on....things we completely forget about as climbers.
What is your staff trained to say? "What can I help you with?", I promise you a brand new climber quite literally does not even know how to answer that. "....I want to....climb?" Let's try something more welcoming that doesn't make the new climber immediately feel like they aren't in-the-know: "Welcome to Rise Above, we're so glad you're here. Let's get you climbing, have you ever climbed before?"
What messaging is on display in your gym? Is it lots of lingo, including on promotional posters, etc? How are your grades explained? Do you use language like "novice" to describe your easier routes? Or do you simply say "easy/easiest"
PROGRAMMING - How people learn to climb and learn to become a customer of your gym is crucial. Climbing is hard, climbing is complex, climbing is scary. Guiding people through the experience an make all the difference
Programming can be about more than just risk mitigation, orientations, etc. Programming can help people get accustomed to your facility, to your brand's climbing experience. to the benefits of climbing, and more.
Do you have programs offered for brand new climbers? Is it cost prohibitive? Is it clear how the program benefits a new climber ("improve your footwork" means nothing to a new climber)
A very successful program I ran in gyms was called "Customer Guides", these were taff members whose sole purpose was to walk the floor, talk to people, keep the gym clean, offer tips/beta, make sure people are being safe, and generally provide a warm and welcoming environment. I don't want all my stuff huddled at the front desk, I want them in the gym creating an unforgetable experience.
We talk a lot about "community", but are we really actively building it? Or do we just hope it happens?
So is it "climbing + community", or it just "climbing with an incredible onboarding" and the rest takes care of itself?
The data in Miura's talk was truly shocking. But I think there is something really meaningful there in how we think about what a community actually is. About what makes a space and a sport we love truly welcoming.
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