Taking up climbing can be a very rewarding hobby, and one of the best ways to meet people who share your interest is to join a climbing club. Most members will use the club to share tips and plan new trips. Members will have a wide range of expertise and will learn from each other.
Meets
The club will hold a number of meets throughout the year and not necessarily all close to home. Some will be fairly close, but they’ll want to take advantage of the excellent routes that can be found all over the country.
And sometimes the meets won’t just be about climbing, and they’ll encourage members to take part in other sports too, such as mountain biking, potholing, and caving. Meets will generally take place at the weekend but there will be occasional week-long trips organised.
Training
Clubs will expect their members to have at least a small amount of climbing experience, but some will take members who are fairly new to the sport. More experienced members will always be happy to pass on the benefit of their experience to their newer colleagues and may even offer informal training sessions.
Cost
There is a cost associated with joining a climbing club. It is usually an annual fee, and normally, the club will take care of your BMC membership, but the cost of the club membership is decided by the individual clubs. The meets are also part of the costs that you will need to consider.
If they aren’t local, you’ll need to think about travel and accommodation as well as food, but clubs are great at helping members to share transport and tents/rooms etc. Members won’t be charged to actually attend the meet, just for the cost of taking part.
Joining a club will make all the difference if you want to boost your skills and make new friends, and there won’t be a club too far away from you.