CWA Blog Archive-Nonprofit Member Spotlight Adaptive Climbing Group

Nonprofit Member Spotlight Adaptive Climbing Group

Pdf Summary

This nonprofit spotlight profiles the Adaptive Climbing Group, which since its 2012 founding has expanded climbing access for people with a wide range of adaptive needs through training clinics, competitive sponsorships, and education for the broader climbing world. The organization is led by Kareemah Batts, the 2023 CWA Summit Keynote Speaker, supported by a network of dedicated staff and athletes. The spotlight centers on an interview with Melissa Ruiz, a two-time World Cup medalist, adaptive athlete, and former lead of the ACG's New York Chapter. Ruiz's competitive credentials are substantial: she won U.S. National Championships in 2022 and 2023 and took silver twice at the 2022 World Cup. Her origin story illustrates the ACG's impact directly. She explains that the ACG was the catalyst for her climbing, that she didn't even know climbing was a sport beyond the little plastic walls brought around on trucks when she was a kid. Living in New York, she looked it up, found The Cliffs at Long Island City, and walked in, beginning a journey that led to international podiums. That personal arc, from not knowing climbing was a sport to becoming a world medalist, embodies exactly what the ACG exists to enable. The throughline is that adaptive climbing organizations open the sport to people who might never otherwise discover it, and that with access and support, adaptive athletes can reach the highest levels of competition. Ruiz's story demonstrates the transformative potential of expanding access, while the ACG's clinics, sponsorships, and education show the infrastructure that makes such journeys possible. For the broader climbing community, the spotlight highlights both the ACG's decade-plus of work making climbing more accessible and the elite athletic achievement that becomes possible when adaptive climbers are welcomed, trained, and supported, with leaders like Batts and athletes like Ruiz showing what the movement can accomplish.

Asset Caption

A nonprofit spotlight on the Adaptive Climbing Group, expanding climbing access since 2012 through clinics, sponsorships, and education, led by 2023 CWA Summit keynote Kareemah Batts. Two-time World Cup medalist Melissa Ruiz shares how the ACG introduced her to climbing, illustrating how expanding access can carry adaptive athletes to elite competition.