Running head: CLIMBING WALL 1

Oxford County Needs A Climbing Wall

Carlea M. Finkenzeller

Algonquin College
Running head: CLIMBING WALL 2

Table of Contents

Introduction............................................................................................................................3

Health Benefits...................................................................................................................3

Safety..................................................................................................................................3

Common Indoor Climbing Gym Accidents Are Avoidable...............................................4

Educational benefits............................................................................................................4

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................4

References...........................................................................................................................................5
Running head: CLIMBING WALL 3

Oxford County Needs A Climbing Wall

Introduction

Rock climbing has amazing benefits that studies support. Oxford County does not

have any rock-climbing facilities available to the public even though it might just benefit the

public. In this essay we will be discussing why Oxford County needs a climbing gym

available for the public. Those reasons being that rock-climbing benefits people’s health, it’s

safe and it helps develop soft skills such as, communication.

Health Benefits

Oxford County needs a rock-climbing wall because, rock climbing benefits people’s

mental and physical health greatly. An article posted to the Rock Reef website (2018,

November 5), which is a complex featuring a rock-

climbing wall, says that rock climbing reduces

stress levels (Paragraph 5). Rock climbing reduces

stress being that, it increases levels of

norepinephrine which is a neurotransmitter in the

body that helps to release stress. A study done by

Forrester, S. (2014) collected information on the top

health and wellness benefits students attributed to

their participation in campus recreation facilities

and programs. Those students report to have

increased in fitness level, physical strength, stress

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

management, athletic ability, self-confidence, balance/coordination, and concentration (p.

20).
Running head: CLIMBING WALL 4

Safety

The main worry people have when it comes to rock climbing is if it’s safe or not. To

put it shortly, Oxford County residents shouldn’t worry seeing as, rock climbing is safer than

a lot of sports. In a study done by Dr. Volker Schoffl (2013) the results showed that the

overall injury rate was 0.02 injuries per 1000 hours of climbing activities (paragraph 3). That

study involved more than 500,000 visits to a climbing gym in Germany (paragraph 3) and

concludes that the risk of a severe or fatal injury when climbing indoors are extremely low.

Common Indoor Climbing Gym Accidents Are Avoidable

The main reason people think rock climbing is dangerous is due to the public

misunderstanding of the intricacies involved. According to Jake (2019) the most common

indoor climbing gym accidents usually involve use error, bouldering fails, head, finger and

neck injuries, and scrapes and bruises. These are all things that climbing gyms teach people

to avoid and they put safety precautions in place so that they don’t happen. Use error are

usually injuries caused by people forgetting to check their tie in and their partners. To avoid

bouldering fails or head, fingers and neck injuries you need to properly learn to fall. To avoid

scrapes and bruises try wearing long pants and long sleeves to avoid getting scraped by the

wall.

Educational benefits

Rock climbing helps develop soft skills that can transfer easily from the climbing gym

to school and jobs. Climbers learn to plan routes and how to solve problems when they

encouter a challenge on their climb. Therfore, climbing presents the opportunity for people to

learn planning and decision making abilities along with problem solving abilities. Rock

climbing is a team sport that does require communication and listening skills. Unless they are
Running head: CLIMBING WALL 5

using a auto belay system there will be a climber and a belayer. Which means, the climber

and the belayer has to be able to communicate properly and clearly in order to climb safely.

Conclusion

To conclude, Oxford County should have a climbing gym available to the public. The

reasons being that, rock climbing has mental and physical health benefits alogn with it being

a safe indoor sport. Lastly, rock climbing has great educational benefits that can tranfer from

school into the work environment.

Running head: CLIMBING WALL 6

References

Granholm, C. (2015, October 16). Benefits of Campus Recreation – Forrester, 2014.

Retrieved from https://nirsa.net/nirsa/portfolio-items/forrester-2014/

Jake. (2019, October 14). Is Indoor Rock Climbing Dangerous? Retrieved from

https://www.therockulus.com/is-indoor-rock-climbing-dangerous/

Rock Climbing For Kids - The Benefits. (2020, February 11). Retrieved from

https://australiansportscamps.com.au/blog/benefits-of-rock-climbing-for-kids/

Schöffl, V. R., Hoffmann, G., & Küpper, T. (2013). Acute Injury Risk and Severity in Indoor

Climbing—A Prospective Analysis of 515,337 Indoor Climbing Wall Visits in 5

Years. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 24(3), 187–194. doi:

10.1016/j.wem.2013.03.020

user_bmthpier. (2018, November 5). Reducing stress levels, and other benefits of climbing.

Retrieved from http://rockreef.co.uk/reducing-stress-levels-benefits-climbing/