Whether this be outdoor rock climbing or indoor on a climbing wall, there has been a surge in growth and interest from pupils to be involved in this sport.
A few schools have their own climbing walls on site and keen teachers who are showing the pupils the ropes.
Others are teaming with the Resistance Climbing Gym and the Dunedin Climbing Club to give their pupils the opportunity.
LOGAN PARK HIGH SCHOOL
Logan Park has a thriving climbing club. The climbers are very fortunate to have a climbing wall on site and a fantastic relationship with Tim Batholomew, from the Dunedin Climbing Club.
In early September, a group of pupils attended the South Island secondary schools sport climbing championships.
Logan Park pupils, as well as pupils from other schools, trained all year for this event.
Lauren Davey combined with two girls from Otago Girls’ High School to come first in the mixed teams event.
Logan Park provides opportunities for pupils from beginners to competitive climbers.
OTAGO BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL
This is the first year climbing has been offered as an extra-curricular activity to the pupils at Otago Boys’ High School and each term the number of participants has grown so that it now sits at 33 in term four.
Retention has been high and, for some, it is the first sporting activity for which they have signed up at OBHS.
Organisation and basic coaching have been provided by teacher in charge Alastair Campbell with support from friends at Resistance Climbing in Moray Pl.
The pupils have taken part in various competitions, including the South Island secondary schools climbing championships and two rounds of the national indoor bouldering series.
Term three featured a progression to outdoor climbing with instruction provided by Tim Bartholemew over two weekends with 11 pupils involved.
The school’s intention is to continue to support new climbers to join and offer wider experiences in climbing for those already involved in future years.
COLUMBA COLLEGE
Two pupils from Columba College performed well at the South Island secondary schools climbing championships in September.
Year 9 pupil Chloe Chagnon and year 10 pupil Ellan Riley, were a part of a four-person team from the Dunedin Climbing Club that finished third out of 33 teams.
It is great to see these pupils taking up new opportunities and pushing themselves to attend and perform at events for climbing.
OTAGO GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL
The Otago Girls’ High School rock climbing club has had a fabulous year which has involved more than 50 pupils participating in various club activities.
In addition to climbing on the school’s own wall, the climbing club made several trips to local crags as well as a weekend trip to Wānaka.
The school has also teamed up with the Resistance Climbing Gym to offer indoor bouldering through the winter months which has been a great success with the pupils.
- These articles are supplied by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association.
