CWA Blog Archive-USA Climbing And The CWA Competition Advisory Committee What You Should Know

USA Climbing And The CWA Competition Advisory Committee What You Should Know

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This article announces the Competition Advisory Committee, a new body formed by the CWA and USA Climbing to bring gym operators into discussions about the industry, the future of competition climbing, and stronger collaboration between the two organizations. USA Climbing President and CEO Marc Norman describes the committee working in a spirit of collaboration to solve shared challenges, and CWA Executive Director Garnet Moore frames his involvement around helping gym operators make more informed decisions about the competitions they host and growing the sport through competition. The committee has met bi-weekly since February 2024 and identified USA Climbing's Youth Series Qualifying Events as its primary focus for the 2024-2025 season. Its proposals were substantive enough to be implemented in USA Climbing's 2024-2025 Rulebook and policies. For Qualifying Events, the changes include allowing existing sets, adding format flexibility, permitting climbing on routes and boulders during the week of routesetting, introducing a Level 2 routesetting waiver, and guaranteeing registrations for the hosting gym. For Divisional Championships, the committee introduced a Rotational Redpoint Format. These concrete rule changes signal that operator input is directly shaping competition policy rather than sitting in advisory limbo. The article also notes the first practical resource from the collaboration: a robust sample budget to help gyms interested in hosting competitions, offered as downloadable content, with the promise of more resources to come. The throughline is that this committee gives gym operators a real seat at the table in competition climbing, translating their perspective into rulebook changes and hosting tools, and marking the beginning of a deeper working relationship between the CWA and USA Climbing.

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The CWA and USA Climbing formed a Competition Advisory Committee to give gym operators a voice in competition climbing. Meeting bi-weekly since early 2024, it drove concrete changes to USA Climbing's 2024-2025 rulebook around Qualifying Events and Divisionals, plus a sample hosting budget, with more resources promised.