We welcome under 18 climbers at Gallery Bouldering, but we require dedicated and competent supervision at all times. Whilst we have made every effort to make Gallery Bouldering as safe as possible, climbing is an extreme sport and comes with the risk of serious injury – both to the under 18s under supervision, and to other climbers.

Normally, every under 18 who wants to climb at Gallery Bouldering must be accompanied by an adult who has completed our training and assessment process in order to become a Junior Climbing Supervisor. An adult who has successfully completed this process can supervise up to two junior climbers aged 8 and above at the same time. All children aged under 8 need to be supervised at a ratio of one adult to one child.

Supervisors who are not climbing are always admitted for free.

Registering children to climb

The parent or legal guardian of any under 18 planning to climb at Gallery Bouldering must create an account with us if they haven’t already, and add the child(ren) to their account via the Family tab in their profile. It is important that this is done by the parent or legal guardian of the child(ren), as they will need to sign a waiver for their child(ren). This can be done remotely and does not require the parent or legal guardian to visit the centre. The parent or legal guardian does not necessarily need to be the supervisor for the climbing session.

Register to supervise under 18s

Step 1: Register as normal on our website, and then come in for our 30 minute Junior Climbing Supervisor training course, which costs £10 per adult. These run as a drop-in session at 11am every Tuesday and Sunday, and daily during school holidays. You don’t need to book for these times.

If you can’t make those slots, then email us at training@gallerybouldering.co.uk and we will book a specific time.

We ask that you do not bring your children with you to this course. We need participants to be able to focus on the course content.

Step 2: Complete our Junior Climbing Supervisor assessment, which usually takes about five minutes.

Step 3: Once the child(ren) arrive at the centre with their supervisor, the supervisor will need to check the child(ren) into the centre and sign a short waiver regarding their responsibilities as a supervisor.

Step 1: Register as normal on our website, and then come in and complete our normal climbing induction process.

Step 2: Complete our Junior Climbing Supervisor assessment, which usually takes about five minutes.

Step 3: Once the child(ren) arrive at the centre with their supervisor, the supervisor will need to check the child(ren) into the centre and sign a short waiver regarding their responsibilities as a supervisor.

Once an adult has passed the Junior Climbing Supervisor assessment, they have the option of supplementing this with our free autobelay induction.  It is obligatory to have taken this autobelay induction before using the autobelays.

Unsupervised Juniors

Children below the age of 14 must always be supervised.  If a child is 14 years old or above, and is able to demonstrate to our staff that they are competent climbers, there is the option of allowing them to take our Unsupervised Junior Assessment. Upon successfully passing this free assessment, 14 to 17 year olds will be able to climb at Gallery Bouldering without adult supervision. Please note that taking this assessment requires both the candidate and their parent or guardian to be present.

Note that a child who has completed the Unsupervised Junior Assessment will have the option of going on to take their own autobelay induction, to allow them to use the autobelays unsupervised.

FAQ

1) Can I supervise more than two children, if other adults are with us? 

All adults who are supervising children climbing must have passed our supervisor induction.  Then they can be responsible for up to two children each.

If the second adult is not supervisor trained, they can be allowed to keep extra children safely off the mats (perhaps on the sofas, or in the café) but neither the second adult nor the extra children may go onto the mats. We can allow the children to be exchanged between the adults but it must be very clear which children are currently supervised for climbing, perhaps by removing rock shoes for those who are not.

2) I am a very experienced climber, can I supervise more than 2 children at one time?

These rules apply to all supervisors, without exception, regardless of climbing experience.

3) I am a qualified climbing instructor. Can I bring a group of more than two children?

Please email training@gallerybouldering.co.uk for details of our External Instructor Policy.

4) Can I climb during the same session as my child?

This is dependent on their age.  Whilst supervising a child under the age of 8 the supervisor must NOT climb at all. If the children are 8 or older then it is at the supervisor’s discretion but the children must be able to remain safely on a sofa whilst the adult climbs.

5) Can I bring three children, and have one sit on the sofa whilst the other two climb?

No. Your attention is fully taken up by the two climbing children, and this would leave the third child effectively unsupervised.

6) Can I bring three children, and have one wait upstairs in the café whilst the other two climb with me?

No. This would leave an unsupervised child alone in our café, and Gallery Bouldering staff cannot take responsibility for them.

7) Can one child over 8 sit on the sofa, while I supervise a second child who is under 8?

No. Your attention is fully taken by the climbing U8, and this leaves the other child unsupervised.

8) Am I allowed to supervise from the café upstairs watching from above?

Supervisors must be downstairs; it is not possible to supervise effectively from the café upstairs.

9) Do I have to pay to supervise my child?

No, the supervisor does not have to pay a fee to supervise. However, if they are to climb as well, then they would pay for entry to the session as normal.

10) Can Gallery Bouldering staff help me supervise my child?

Unfortunately, supervision from staff is not available outside of specific coaching sessions and classes.

11) Can I supervise children if I am not their parent or legal guardian?

Yes. We don’t mind whose children they are. However their accounts need to have been set up by their parent or legal guardian in the first place as only they can sign their waiver.

12) What about children over 14 years old?

Experienced children over 14 are eligible to take our Unsupervised Junior Assessment. Their parent or legal guardian must be present in the centre when they take this assessment. Once a child has passed this, they may climb without any adult supervision.  They then do not count toward the number of children you are supervising.  They cannot themselves supervise younger children, though.