It only takes 3 climbers to form a high school team!
Earn a team score at any ASCL competition where at least 3 climbers in the same gender classification compete.
All climbers sign up as individuals with the ASCL. When 3 or more climbers from the same gender classification for a high school compete at an event, they will earn a team score. If your team is not currently listed in the Climber Registration Form, please select “OTHER” as your school during registration and enter the name of your school. Your school will be added to the system and you will be assigned to that school by our site administrator. At present middle school climbers are only eligible for individual scores. For additional advice on how to form a club or team at your school, keep reading below…
Climbing is for everyone and there are sure to be other students who will be interested in joining your team. Students will be more invested in your club if they feel they have a voice in the decision-making process. We suggest taking a survey to see how many other students are interested in climbing two to four weeks prior to the start of preseason (September – October). The goal is to measure how many students are interested in joining your climbing team and are interested in competing.
We suggest using a simple online survey. Check out this template to create a Student Engagement Survey
Here are a few ideas of where to share your survey. We suggest sharing them far and wide. Hallway posters, QR codes, and social media are great places to start. Does your school have a parent newsletter or an email blast? Ask to have it included!
Now that you have an idea of engagement, it’s time to form your club!
Many schools require a faculty sponsor for a club or team to be formed. If you don’t already have a faculty sponsor in mind, work with your school’s administration to find a teacher or administrator that could be your sponsor. You might be surprised to learn that some of your teachers are already into climbing. A sponsor can simply act to provide a classroom for meetings, help with forming your club, or possibly become your climbing team coach. Some teams can also be coached by someone other than an employee of the school. It’s possible that your coach could be a parent or local climbing gym staff member.
If your sponsor/coach is planning on serving as your coach at ASCL events, they must Register as a Coach with the ASCL. If they don’t register with the ASCL and complete the ASCL coaching requirements, they may attend as spectators but may not be on the competition floor at any time.
This step will definitely look different from one school to the next, but here are some things to consider when forming a team to compete at ASCL events.
What requirements are needed from your administrators for your team to represent your school?
Are there permission/consent forms needed from parents, guardians, and the school district?
Is there paperwork or an application that needs to be filled out in order to create your club/team at the school?
Many of these questions can be answered simply by talking to your school admin. They will likely have questions about the ASCL and you can refer them to our Climbing in the ASCL Info Page.
Keep in mind that as long as you have 3 climbers from a single gender from a single school competing at an ASCL event, your team is eligible to earn a team score regardless of your club/sport status with your school. If your school is unwilling or hesitant to allow you to form a club/team, you can still come and compete for your school at ASCL events unless you have been explicitly told you may not use the school name as your team name.
By this point, your fellow students have heard that you are forming a climbing team. It’s time to tell them what that will look like! We suggest hosting a preliminary informational meeting about two to three weeks before the preseason begins. The purpose of this meeting is to provide students with an overview of the ASCL and your club. This would also be a great opportunity to provide students with an overview of the leadership positions you anticipate recruiting for the club.
Anyone who attends your meeting that intends to compete should Register as a Climber with the ASCL at this point. Climbers need to be registered with the ASCL and have all account requirements completed prior to their first competition. Make sure that climbers know they will have approximately 15-30 minutes of requirements to complete before they are fully activated in the electronic scoring system.
You now have a team, so it’s time to go practice together!
A practice can be as unstructured as a trip to your local climbing gym for some casual climbing. It can also be very structured with drills and skill development activities. This structure depends upon your level of climbing experience as well as the level of your coach. Keep in mind that newer climbers will literally need to “learn the ropes” so being patient and working with them at their current skill level is critical to their success. The ASCL welcomes climbers of all ability levels and wants all climbers to experience individual growth in their climbing ability. Brand new climbers should take advantage of any “Learning to Climb” or “Beginner” classes offered by the gym.
All climbers need to learn and follow the safety guidelines specified by the gym.
You have a team, so it’s time to go compete! As event information becomes available it will be posted on the appropriate Region Events page that can be accessed from the site navigation menu or from our
General Events Calendar Page. Make sure to follow all instructions carefully when signing up for an event and check back frequently for any information updates.
Each gym/region will likely have different ways to register and requirements to follow, but some details to look out for are:
