Climbing to the top

ROCK CLIMBING TO THE TOP

For the last seven years I have been responsible for the maintanence and instruction for rock climbing at an international school somewhere.

It has been my pleasure to work with a fabulous team of professionals to renovate this climbing tower, which stands at a progressive international school in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The four sides now offer four different types of climbing experience, and the sides are designed to allow for better grip for young climbers.

How does Rock climbing help in education? Well, I think there is no other sport that requires so much focus. Not only is there the physical aspects, which include balance, posture, considerable muscle strength and also foreward planning, before a move. There is always mental focus, as gear such as belay devices must be carefully and safely used, and a constant stream of communication with between climbing partners maintained.

In a Study at the University of Glasgow discovered that higher level rock climbing ability is correlated to better powers of concentration. As we know, correlation is not proof of cause an effect but my own observations of students with poor attention, support the idea that rock climbing does improve mental focus in adolescents.