You asked for more and we listened!
The message was well received from our recent survey: the vast majority agreed that increasing the quantity and access to more route setting workshops and outdoor climbing courses continues to benefit our sport and community.
To respond to the needs of our community, we’ve decided to make a few changes.
After much deliberation, we have decided to charge a nominal 20$ fee for all our outdoor rock climbing courses moving forward. While our route setting workshops will remain free, we will openly encourage donations during both types of events.
The main reason why we are asking for this small amount is to discourage last-minute no-shows to our outdoor courses. We understand that things come up last-minute, but so far, this has occurred at least once per outdoor course and removes an opportunity for another participant that could have benefited from the opportunity.
On our end, to also ensure full engagement to the outdoor courses, we will make sure to announce the courses at least 1 month in advance so that planning gets easier.
Moreover, the B.I.G. Initiative always ensures to pay fair wages for our instructors for both outdoor courses and route setting workshops and it is in our values to continue to do so, especially in our industry where fair compensation is a frequent problem.
Another reason to this change is the effect of inflation and, unfortunately, the costs of organizing these activities have increased. As we are looking for additional sources of funding, we will ask for donations to help highlight the value of the passionate work from our instructors. It will also allow us to offer more varied events in more locations while keeping their quality.
To ensure that we do not contribute more to the issue of financial accessibility in climbing, we want to give everyone the opportunity to participate. People can reserve their spot with the fee and then apply for a reimbursement.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out!