CWA Blog Archive-Why Building Your Network As A Routesetter Matters

Why Building Your Network As A Routesetter Matters

Pdf Summary

This article makes the case for professional networking among routesetters, acknowledging upfront that the word networking often warrants eye-rolling, and that in commercial setting it might seem odd to prioritize when you spend most of the year working with the same core crew in the same gym. Yet the author has found that having a network of setters at other gyms around the country, accessible quickly, is critical in three specific ways: it helps push their own creativity by borrowing new ideas, it supports their success in USA Climbing by giving them setters to consult with event questions, and it makes them aware of tough issues in climbing and how to use their power as a setter to be a better ally in the community. The article then offers five types of setters to seek when building a network, detailing the first: the Artist. This is the setter always generating new ideas on intermingling aesthetics and function, valuable to have in your back pocket when you're out of creative ideas or want to explore what's possible. The author illustrates with the Simpl Volumes Volume Art contest, which gave a streamlined view into setters pushing boundaries and let them follow the tactics of talented people they hadn't met. The author notes a big shift over the prior two years, perhaps due to COVID, toward setters being more connected and sharing online. The throughline is that networking, despite its eye-roll reputation, delivers concrete professional value to routesetters: creative inspiration, practical event support, and awareness of important community issues. By deliberately building a network of setters across the country, spanning types like the boundary-pushing Artist, setters gain access to ideas, expertise, and perspective they can't get from their own crew alone. The article reframes networking from a distasteful careerist activity into a genuine craft-improvement and community-engagement tool, especially valuable as online connection among setters has grown. For routesetters, the message is that reaching beyond your home gym's crew, and knowing which types of setters to cultivate, makes you more creative, more capable at events, and more engaged as a member of the broader climbing community.

Asset Caption

This piece argues routesetter networking, despite its eye-roll reputation, delivers real value: creative inspiration, event support, and community awareness. It offers five setter types to cultivate, starting with the Artist, the boundary-pushing idea generator, and notes setters have grown more connected online since COVID. Reaching beyond your home crew makes you a better, more engaged setter.