With school holidays kicking off this week, keeping the kids busy, active, and out of your hair is top priority. If this sounds anything like you, we’ve found just the activity that will help.
Urban Climb has been around for over twenty years, bringing an alternative, challenging, and totally rewarding full-body workout to Aussies around the country. But now they’re adapting their offerings to allow kids aged five and up to participate, giving them the chance to discover the exciting world of bouldering these school holidays.
“Urban Climb was founded in Brisbane back in 2004,” shared Phil McMeel, Urban Climb’s Adelaide Club Manager. “We now have 7 rock climbing/bouldering gyms nationwide, and Adelaide is Urban’s flagship bouldering facility! We’re located in the old Fair Lady theatre, which is as cool as it sounds.”
Here at their Hindley Street location, they offer their specialised bouldering experiences that they call ‘problems’.
“Bouldering is a type of rock climbing done on short walls, around four metres high, without ropes or harnesses,” shared Phil. “Instead, thick padded mats cover the floor to protect climbers if they fall. Climbs are referred to as ‘problems’ because each one will present a unique challenge. Some are physical, and some are complex, like puzzles! Bouldering is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one.”
With all this on offer, opening up to all ages was an exciting idea. To make this possible, the team has specifically adapted certain climbs in the gym so that shorter climbers can reach all the holds, making it the perfect activity for kids and teenagers.
Safety is, of course, hugely important, so they are involving accompanying adults as supervisors. All kids under 13 require a supervisor while in the gym, and that person can be anyone who is aged 18 or older, and a supervisor can look after two kids at once.
Phil says climbing is a great thing to do with friends and family. “The unique thing about climbing is that certain problems will suit certain people, based on various factors to do with their body and mind. So, I might struggle on a climb that you find easy, and vice versa! This makes climbing with others fascinating and fun, because there’s no one answer to the problem. This is why we recommend parents to climb with their kids, because the experience is then shared, and the adult is better placed to help the child solve the problem.”
There are heaps of benefits, both mental and physical, to climbing. It’s a creative, expressive, and social way to keep fit and strong, while also bringing different challenges to each person.
“The ethos connected with climbing is a valuable thing for anyone to be a part of, let alone someone who is developing their character and attitudes. Urban Climb has a firm value-based ethos, and we take pride in being a truly welcoming space. We embrace the challenge and are not afraid to fail – everyone falls! We’re naturally adventurous – we enjoy doing things differently. We want to be a good neighbour in every way possible, and we ‘froth’ (really, really love) climbing. All this adds up to be the perfect environment to bring a young person into.”
With Urban Climb now open to everyone aged five and older, and school holidays underway, there’s no better time to try something new. If you’re thinking of taking the kids, it’s totally free to head in and supervise, but also a great time to try climbing yourself. First-time climbers also score two weeks of free climbing after their first paid visit.
Urban Climb
When: Weekends, 8am t0 8pm, Monday and Friday, 10am to 10pm, Tuesday to Thursday, 6am to 10pm. Public Holidays: Weekends, 8am to 8pm, Weekdays, 8am to 8pm.
Where: 128 Hindley Street, Adelaide, SA, 5000
For more information, click here.
