Product Release: Belay Balls (UK)
Introducing the new belay training system, Belay Balls – the perfect tool for learning safely and teaching multiple people at once. With its innovative design and user-friendly features, you can trust the system to provide a secure and enjoyable climbing experience for all beginners.
The Belay Ball is a 2.5kg weight, wrapped in silicone for sound reduction and comes in a choice of four bright colours. The Belay Balls are used to replace the beginner climber on the wall without the risk of a belaying accident. The Belay Ball device has been designed to mimic the actions of an ATC-style device. The Belay Ball device has 3 U-guided pulleys reducing drag to be able to feel the weight of the ball ascending and descending. Please note that the Belay Ball device is for use with Belay Balls only. The Belay Ball training system is appropriate for use by adults and children.
Belay Balls believe that climbing should be accessible and fun for everyone! They are passionate about improving safety and reducing anxiety for new climbers. Using Belay Balls, everyone can learn at the same time, with no risks and reducing stress whilst everyone is having a good time!
The creator behind Belay Balls, Jordan Rimmington, spoke with us about his innovative, new product and the process from concept to release.
A climbing instructor based in the South West of the UK, having taught countless people the art of belaying, he knew that there must be a safer and more consistent method of teaching people to belay.
With a concept in mind, he created the first of what would be many Belay Balls - A simple 2.5kg weight with an attachment point to tie into a rope, with which a belayer using an ATC-type device would be able to practice belaying techniques without a live partner on the wall. Jordan quickly found that the ball was simply too light to be effective with the amount of friction in the system; he progressively increased the weight of the ball to compensate, but this represented an uncomfortable scenario of having one, or multiple, several-kilo balls hanging above a group!
Going back to the drawing board, Jordan devised an ATC replacement incorporating pulleys which would eliminate the friction element of the belay system, allowing him to revert to the original 2,5kg Belay Ball. This addition formed the complete Belay Balls system and has proven a successful training tool for both individuals and groups.
We reached out to seasoned climbing trainer, Mark Garland, for his review on his use of the system in various scenarios:
”I have recently tried using Belay balls on a number of different Mountain Training courses and when teaching students/pupils on how to belay. The advantage of the Balls is that belayers can experiment with the belay action in a safe environment. This allows repetition of practice after initial instruction without the levels of supervision required in a real context. The system has been well thought out to allow enough friction to allow a realistic belay action, and the ball is the ideal weight to provide a little resistance when taking in and lowering. They look smart, come in at a very reasonable price, and a great option for teaching belaying or any commercial climbing wall for doing their customer competency test.”
We can see this system being a welcome addition to facilities and organisations where they teach belaying in large volume, such as Scouts/Guides/Cadets, schools and colleges, and of course climbing gyms.
