Climb LBG volunteers pass the Indoor Climbing Assistant

Provider Graeme Hill travelled to Guernsey to deliver an Indoor Climbing Assistant course to a group of neuro diverse people who volunteer for Climb @climblbg, a charity which offers climbing to those that would not otherwise be able to access it, due to financial, physical or aspirational barriers. Climb also supports and encourages participation of underrepresented groups in climbing. “This is a fantastic achievement for our volunteers” says Chris Harvey, Climb’s Senior Instructor. “It gives formal recognition to the skills our volunteers have learnt and use with us, some of them for the last two years. What we do wouldn’t be possible without them, so the opportunity to gain this qualification is also a thank you from Climb. The Indoor Climbing Assistant has been incorporated into our volunteer pathway and the intention is to run the training and assessment each year for those volunteers aged 16 or over.”

One of the volunteers, Michael Ellis, started climbing with Climb in September 2021, following a GP referral to Bailiwick Social Prescribing. He is registered as severe sight impaired/blind and has autism, and has always been an active and adventurous person. Michael Ellis says, “I was pleased at being able to take part in the Indoor Climbing Assistant. Whilst there is no reason that disability should stop anybody being able to assist, it feels particularly empowering that other people have their trust in me and that I can prove I can safely assist in others’ climbing. So far in my climbing, I have been grateful to the time and effort put in by a number of other people but it will be good in the future to be able to be one of those volunteering to help and be sure that I am safe to do so.



Within the course itself, I was able to look at the course outline online beforehand (with a screen reader). During the course, I was able to feel any pieces of equipment, knots and so on, as this is how I would recognise them when using them, but I did not feel awkward doing so. I was also able to talk through what I would do if it was an environment which is more difficult for me, to ensure that I could still be involved but ensure safety. It was a long day and at lunchtime, I needed to go off by myself with noise cancelling headphones and just have a break, and this was absolutely fine to do. Overall, I may do things slightly differently but this does not mean that the standards I need to reach are any different – safety is paramount. The fact that I was able to complete this course and meet those same standards just shows that perceived barriers can be broken down and how many possibilities there are.

Climbing has had an incredibly positive impact on me. I started as a complete beginner, and feel such achievement at so many things that I have been able to do in such a short time and the hopes of what I would like to do next. I know that the environment is safe and I am learning the correct techniques and terminology. I have never felt disability holding me back and have felt a natural affinity to it – and more than anything it is fun and I enjoy it!”



Chris Harvey said, “The course has certainly benefitted Climb. We now have five qualified Indoor Climbing Assistants that can assist in the running of our sessions. We gain peace of mind knowing that they have been independently trained and assessed, which helps the quality and professionalism of our sessions, and reduces our overall risk. Importantly it helps us in our aim to make climbing accessible – we have five Indoor Climbing Assistants that would never have gained the qualification otherwise, and that can now help others access climbing. We have now incorporated the Indoor Climbing Assistant into our volunteer pathway so it is something for others to aspire to and a great route for those that aren’t attracted to purely the performance aspects of climbing. It has also benefitted us in being able to offer the qualified Indoor Climbing Assistants paid sessional work – which gives us resilience around staffing and the sessions we can run.

“The training has been a great confidence boost for all the volunteers and given them a sense of responsibility. They take their role seriously, whether they are working or not. Three of these young people are going through tricky transitions: moving into, and being treated as, an adult: moving out of foster care into supported living; moving into GCSEs after being out of formal schooling for several years. For these young people simply gaining a qualification means a lot. Without going into personal details, we know that this has had a big positive impact in their lives which cannot be understated. All of them have different challenges at the moment and gaining the Indoor Climbing Assistant at this point is life enhancing, and probably life changing. “For these three it has meant that Climb has been able to offer them paid work, with the benefits this brings: a sense of responsibility and achievement; learning about the world of work and money! For two of them this is their first and currently only job, and hopefully their first step towards becoming an instructor. They would have struggled to find employment where they would have been appreciated and had the same sense of connection.



“For the other, transitioning into the adult world, it has made it possible, and given her the confidence, to join our adult’s session. The qualification means she knows she has every right, and the ability, to be there helping others. She would have struggled to fit into this group in the past. Doing the course has also sparked an interest in the equipment used in climbing. While she can struggle with climbing itself, she is really enjoying learning more about the belay devices and devices used for hoists. “To finish on a story: the week following the Indoor Climbing Assistant course I was closing up after another session when the school caretaker came up to me. ‘I don’t know what you did in there last week’ he said, ‘but for the last five years I’ve watched the same girl walk round and round the school looking miserable. She used to wander the corridors all the time and always looked sad. Last Saturday she came out of your session with a big smile on her face. I don’t know what you did – but it must be pretty special’. ‘That girl’, I said, ‘just got her Indoor Climbing Assistant. And yes, it is pretty special’.”



The course was reported in the local press here https://guernseypress.com/news/2022/06/23/no-reason-that-disability-should-stop-anybody/

MTE launched its Disability Training Fund in March 2022.


ALL IMAGES CREDITED TO NICKDEPRESPHOTOGRAPHY