CWA Blog Archive-Projecting Anti-Racism Your Gym's Website And Community Values

Projecting Anti-Racism Your Gym's Website And Community Values

Pdf Summary

This installment of the Projecting Anti-Racism series examines how a gym's website reflects and shapes its community values, arguing that because websites are so often the first impression a climbing gym makes on the general public, they carry a lot of weight. The author acknowledges the disorientation of writing about climbing during a global pandemic but still appreciates how small nudges to be better for each other can ripple out and create positive change. The piece offers questions to help operators bring an intentional practice of community and care into their online presence. Its framing centers on privilege and responsibility: it's a privilege to talk about and have access to climbing, whether indoors or at the crag, and with that privilege comes a heightened social responsibility to create and nurture intentional communities. The author insists that all spaces are political, a website most certainly included, and that gyms can choose better practices every day to support and affirm communities. Drawing on personal experience traveling and using climbing gyms as places of refuge in new cities, the author notes that established climbers visiting a gym's website want to know location, hours, pricing, and often head straight to fill out the waiver online to save time. The throughline is that a gym's website is not a neutral utility but a value-laden first impression that can actively support or neglect the work of building inclusive, anti-racist community. By treating the website as an opportunity to project anti-racist values and intentional community-building, gyms can extend their commitment to inclusion into the very first impression they make.

Asset Caption

This Projecting Anti-Racism installment examines the gym website as a value-laden first impression, not a neutral utility. It argues all spaces, including websites, are political, and that access to climbing carries a social responsibility to build intentional community. It offers questions to help operators project anti-racist values and care through their online presence.