Community Spotlight - Paraclimbing London
Our community spotlight series highlights the incredible work that groups are already doing to make climbing inclusive. In this spotlight we share words written by the Paraclimbing London team about their background and how community started. As well as hearing from community members about why spaces like this are so important.
Paraclimbing London was founded in 2018 by Anna Knight and Anoushé Husain. Anna enjoys bouldering and lead climbing, indoors and outdoors, and is a particular fan of multipitch sport climbing in places like the lake district, Portland and even Kalymnos. She also has lived experience of climbing with invisible disabilities, and creating a supportive environment was paramount to her in building Paraclimbing London. Anoushé is a civil servant and public figure who speaks widely about climbing with both visible and invisible disabilities. She has competed regularly in UK paraclimbing nationals and uses this experience to help other aspiring climbers work towards their goals, and has been a finalist for awards such as the Muslim Women in Sport, the Baton Awards, and the Asian Achiever Awards.
Back in 2018, Anoushé and Anna realised they knew of lots of other people climbing in London with physical disabilities, mental health conditions and chronic illness. What was missing was a dedicated space for paraclimbers. After many hours of work, lots of support from friends and partner walls and plenty of coffee and cake, Paraclimbing London was born, with the aim to bring paraclimbers together, from beginners to international champions, and work towards breaking down the barriers to climbing.
Fast forward a few years and the leadership team is now 6 strong, with dedicated roles for Lead Facilitator (@kennethparaclimbing ), Logistics (@nouskiyoga), Social Media (@thepoppypotamus) and Marketing (@gemlaurensmith). We also depend on a team of passionate volunteer facilitators, comprised of paraclimbers and non-disabled allies, to make the magic happen, although we believe we all get at least as much out of Paraclimbing London as we give; as paraclimbers ourselves, we also benefit from the sense of community our organisation gives us.
All of us have experienced the benefits of climbing, from supporting our mental and physical health to expanding our social circles and connecting us to nature, and we want to share this with other people. Sadly we know there can be lots of barriers to climbing if you have a disability or long term health condition and this is what we want to change.
Paraclimbing London is a group of climbers dedicated to helping more disabled people access our sport. This might include physical or cognitive disabilities, mental health conditions or chronic illnesses and we don’t have any entry criteria - anyone who feels like a paraclimber is a paraclimber.
📸 Paraclimbing London
Our work began with social climbs at local walls, and this is still the core of what we do. Sessions are hosted by two of our disability aware facilitators, who can help people navigate adjustments such as sight-guiding, pacing, using different kinds of belay device or practising safer falls, in a relaxed environment. We hope that this empowers participants to develop their climbing safely and become great allies to peers with different disabilities or illnesses. We also acknowledge the significant financial barriers disabled climbers can face, and so with grant funding from Arcteryx and The North Face we now have a social fund to provide discounted sessions to members who need them.
Thinking of accessibility barriers, you might picture practical things- stairs, inaccessible toilets or bad parking perhaps. While these are a huge part of the issues we’re facing, lesser known barriers like overwhelming sensory environments or other climbers’ attitudes can be just as disabling; it’s natural to feel disempowered in spaces where we feel we don’t fit in. This means as well as considering the physical space at our events, we might also ask walls to provide a ‘quiet space’ or turn down their music, and we look to dismantle social barriers by improving disability awareness among climbers.
This involves things like consulting on the BMC’s accessibility guidelines, and feeding back accessibility advice to walls our members use. We also use social media to share stories from members to improve public understanding of the huge range of people who go climbing, how we participate, and how the wider community could help - the great news is YOU could be part of this mission! By following us, putting into practice the small things paraclimbers ask for and calling out ableism where you see it, you could help us make climbing a more accessible sport.
Now it’s time to pass the mic to some of your community members. Here are some quotes they’ve shared about joining the sessions….
Paraclimbing London are the organisation who got me into the paraclimbing community. Through them I have experienced comp simulations, fun socials, learnt about loads of adaptations that can be made to climbing, and met so many wonderful people. PL also opened up loads of opportunities for me, including meeting a lot of other climbers with the same disability as me which has been amazing as it inspired me to set up a community for climbers with EDS, @eds_climbers - thanks PL!
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I have always wanted to get into climbing but thought my disability would stop me as it has multiple small impacts eg my balance and my right hand side. Paraclinbing London has offered me the best opportunity to get into something I never thought was out there and the group of people in the group is really special. I tend not to think of my self as all that different but I am learning to celebrate my differences as things that are positive! I really am enjoying learning about the different approaches to tackling problems! There is nothing like climbing to make a level playing field!
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I have several impairments including ADHD and really struggle to digest information about things like knot-tying, but everyone was so incredibly kind and generous with their time and knowledge. People were happy to belay me (and show me how to tie-in repeatedly!) despite me not being able to return the favour, and it was just such a lovely, warm and welcoming atmosphere. PL is really special.
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You can find out more about ClimbMuz on their Instagram page where they share information about upcoming meet-ups and how to get involved. And you can see more about United We Climb’s partner communities here.
