INDOOR CLIMBING TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN - St Leonards climbing gym

I'm looking for 4 - 6 committed women who want to learn something transformative and build an awesome supportive team. We are going to put in 6 weekly learning sessions to go from absolute beginners to skilled indoor climbers. The meetup leader will be your dedicated coach to teach you all the techniques, and the beginner group will be your peers learning alongside you and supporting each other.

Group size is strictly limited. Only RSVP if you will commit to the full length of the program and reliably attend all the sessions. DO NOT RSVP if you are just thinking about it. DO NOT RSVP if you think you can skip some of the sessions because you have other things to do.

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WHO IS THIS FOR?
As our meetup group is largely made up of women, this climbing program is targeted at and will have a strong flavour of women growing themselves, supporting each other to do our best, and achieving together. No macho competitiveness here - just surprise yourself by your learning, and conquering challenges that you never imagined yourself being capable of.

Women often think climbing is not for them as they don't have upper body strength - this is incorrect, more than half the climbing community is women and they are awesome. How? ... because climbing is strongly based on (i) easily practiced skills of graceful movement and (ii) developing a mental discipline of breathing, emptying your mind, and focusing to understand how to navigate the moves on the wall.

This program is also aimed at people who want to learn and transform their life ... climbing has the same meditative effect as yoga, it is physically immersive and psychologically authentic the same as wilderness experiences are, and is done amongst an accepting, egalitarian, supportive and connected community of people that uplifts you and makes you see your identity and capabilities differently. Stereoptypes about what women are capable of and allowed to do in society, and ideas of what individual agency you are permitted in your relationships and community, are all left at the door.

The program is a two way street - in return for 6 weeks of skills training and mentoring from the coach and support from the women on your team, you are expected to have a real commitment to turning up and doing the work at each session. You will get the most out of the program when you honour this.

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THE PLAN
Let's meet for 6 sessions (about 1.5 hours each) on consecutive Sunday mornings at 8.30am (starting 22 June, finishing 10 Aug).

There will be two weekends off in the middle of the program (July 6 and July 27) to let everyone deal with life's other commitments.

So the training calendar will be:

• Session 1 - Sunday 22 June
• Session 2 - Sunday 29 June
• Break - Sunday 6 July
• Session 3 - Sunday 13 July
• Session 4 - Sunday 20 July
• Break - Sunday 27 July
• Session 5 - Sunday 3 Aug
• Session 6 - Sunday 10 Aug (then local cafe brunch to celebrate).

We will work at the indoor climbing gym in St Leonards. On your first visit you will need to sign a risk waiver, be issued your hire gear, and participate in mandatory training for a few minutes with the gym staff to learn how to hold the safety rope for each other.

In each learning session we will focus on skill development: how to position yourself on the wall, how to point your feet, how to relax your arms, how to pivot and leverage your untapped length and strength, how to move gracefully, and how to breath and focus.

You will start on beginner grade routes (like climbing a step ladder) and progress at your own individual pace to more challenging routes as you develop.

Sessions will last 1.5 hours, working at a relaxed pace in pairs taking turns to climb and hold the safety rope for each other, with everyone getting individual coaching attention from the leader.

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WHAT FITNESS IS REQUIRED?

Participating in this activity requires at least a basic level of health, fitness and mobility. Do NOT participate if you have unhealed injuries of any kind, cardio-vascular conditions, coordination problems, uncontrolled epilepsy or syncope or fainting, or other limiting conditions. You must NOT be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

What will the climbing feel like:

- You will feel moderate aerobic exertion, but you can stop and rest on the rope or abort the route at any stage of a climb.

- We climb one route for a few minutes until we either get to the top or find our limit, then swap with our partner while they climb, then keep swapping. So you get lots of rest.

- Whilst you are learning the skills initially you will tend to use your arms inefficiently, so sore arm muscles will be common after the first few sessions, but this will improve.

- We will operate up 8 metre walls but with safety ropes at all times - expect to feel some exposure, but this will pass as you become confident in your movements with coaching. This is not an appropriate activity if you have a severe / debilitating fear of heights.

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COST
There is no meetup cost or gratuity for this program. If you like, buy the leader a coffee at the end of the 8 weeks :-)

Cost of entry to the climbing gym is your responsibility, which you pay directly to them at the reception desk each time you visit. An individual visit is $33, including entry and hire of harness and climbing shoes.

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TRANSPORT
By car: there is plenty of free off-street parking right at the gym entrance.

By public transport: the gym is an easy 15 minute / 1 km walk from St Leonards Station along Herbert St and Frederick St.

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BRING

• T-shirt or sports top, and shorts or gym leggings
• Warm top to wear in between climbs
• Thin anklet sports socks – it is much nicer not to sweat in bare feet inside the hired climbing shoes
• Climbing shoes squeeze your toes against the hard wall, so trim your toenails short beforehand to prevent soreness
• Water bottle
• The gym has toilets, change rooms with showers, and free lockers for your bag and valuables.
• Hand moisturising lotion (any cheap or expensive brand will do) to condition and sooth your skin after working your hands on rough walls and the drying effects of chalk ... even the tough boy climbers do this.

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LIABILITY DISCLAIMER
By your RSVP to this event you agree to the conditions of membership and participation which you can read in the "WHAT WE'RE ABOUT" section HERE. The risks covered in these conditions include any risks associated with attendance and participation in indoor climbing and related activities.