Welcome to Granite City Rock Stars Aberdeen's rockclimbing club for children.
Aim GCRS aims to provide safe, enjoyable rockclimbing experiences for children age six to 18, extending their skills and ability, in an environment with other children.
Who are we ?Local student, Anna Wells started a youngster's climbing club at Transition Extreme in 2007 following her experience in the youth climbing scene in Inverness. The club gained its current name in 2008 and affiliated to the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (now Moutaineering Scotland and ClimbScotland) in 2009. The ClimbScotland itself is active in encouraging youth participation in all aspects of climbing.
The club is run by parents, many of whom climb themselves. We are not professional mountaineers nor qualified instructors and are not disclosure-checked.
Current membership numbers about 25 children and their parents. We promote and in conjunction with Transition Extreme are beginning to offer opportunities to develop parent's skills in supporting and coaching their children to provide a higher quality experience for all concerned.
How we operateGCRS is based at the Transition Extreme centre in Aberdeen. We operate with the support of Transition Extreme management and staff but the club itself is not part of the Transition Extreme business. Some Transition Extreme staff help with the club on a personal, unpaid basis. The main club activity is the regular session from 5-7 pm on a Sunday evening. A parent or delegate must be present with each child. The children are usually organised into groups based on Youth Climbing Series age groups and after a warm-up will typically spend some time on routes (roped climbs) and some time bouldering (small, unroped climbs focused on technical difficulty)
The club tends to focus its activities in school term time only. Occasional outdoor climbing sessions are organized in the spring, summer and autumn months.
The club is run by a committee. 2017/18 officers are; Chairman Ian Mackley Secretary Richard Heslop Treasurer Martin Holley
Ordinary Members John Donaldson (Webmaster & Outdoor Meets)
Safety and SecurityGCRS aspires to offer safe experiences and promote good, safe practice. However, members and prospective members should note the Mountaineering Scotland Moutaineering Scotland;
“Mountaineering Scotland recognises that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.”
The Club requires that all children are accompanied by a parent or delegate at club events. Entry to Transition Extreme requires that a 'novice entry form' is signed for the child - this has to be signed by a competent climber, either the parent or another Club adult.Joining & What does it cost ?Annual membership of GCRS costs £12 per young person and £16 per parent (there must be one parent membership per young person , and the parent present with a young person at a GCRS meet must be a member). Annual fees are due by the end of April each year.
GCRS members also need to pay TE entry fees but with 20% discount (currently £6.00 discounted to £4.80 per session per young person , adult belayers free or £9 discounted to £7.20 if climbing on a non-club night). GCRS recommends taking out membership of TE also (£20 per person ). Prospective members may attend up to two club sessions before joining. We feel this is sufficient time (4 hrs) to understand what is involved and how things work and also keeps us in compliance with Moutaineering Scotland insurance conditions.
Equipment GCRS does not own any equipment nor does it currently intend to purchase any. All the equipment required for indoor climbing at Transition Extreme can be hired there although if climbing regularly it quickly makes economic sense to purchase the basic equipment of rock shoes and harness (approx. £75 total, see also equipment discount benefits below).
Other benefits
|
Youth Climbing Series |
|