Climbing presents an ideal sport for the development of the whole body and mind. It has a lot of physical and mental benefits, and it also promotes an overall healthy lifestyle (e.g. spending time outdoors, and healthy eating). Despite these benefits, climbing can sometimes be perceived as dangerous outside of the climbing community, which is why there could be some reservations about introducing the sport to children and youth. But with the right age-appropriate approach to training, we can minimize the risks and deliver safe and injury-free participation in this sport.
The main question in this project was how to effectively increase safety awareness in young climbers. Throughout the project, we worked on a number of specialized topics on increasing safety and improving training. We recognized key factors influencing the development of young climbers and specified the age-specific stages of this development. We gathered all this knowledge into the guidelines, that cover different subjects regarding age-appropriate training.
Guidelines are divided into three main parts, each one covering an important safety component: safety and technical skills, motor abilities, and psychological development. The focus through all of the parts is on safety and injury prevention. They can be used as a base for climbing coaches when preparing either technical content or training programs for youth.