Getting the Most From Your Setting Team on a Tight Budget

It's a classic problem for climbing gyms around the world: We want to develop our routesetters but don't have the budget to send them on expensive courses.

Of course there's a case for sending setters on these courses, and there are a few to choose from, although not with the frequency to match demand:
Impact Routesetting, The Movement, The Devil's in the Details (Ryan Henderson), 360Holds Setting Course, Jacky Godoffe Courses, and other one-offs with big-name setters.

Benefits of these courses include: Networking, being able to soak up decades of setting experience, a change of scenery at a new gym, new holds, structured course delivery and high quality feedback from the course providers and new peers.

There are downsides that have been noted by setters we have talked with, and from our own experiences. These have been an actual lack of post-course feedback, not enjoying the format - be it working in pairs, being asked to set a movement you already know, courses being too short - too expensive, or providers not being able to properly convey their incredible knowledge to the participants.

So what can gyms do outside of these options? Let's look into in-house ‘Creative Days’. A creative day is a simple concept that can help develop your setters - and others but we'll get to that - and your gym’s setting offering which can increase customer interest and, hopefully, your bottom line.

The most effective method of running this day is to strip back the expectations and criteria for the day - no set number of blocs, grades, styles, etc. and give your setters the space they need to fully experiment, play and mess around to find out about new movement. This movement can range from something simple that they can refine, to wild concepts, or even replicating World Cup blocs!

Once a setter has their 3 ‘drafts’ (maximum) on the wall they should test for a short while in insolation, focusing on forced movement and an approximate grade. The team can then test together once the blocs are in a presentable state which, again, should aim to preserve the intended movement/sequences, thus giving them the mental challenge of problem solving and encouraging discussion.

These days can be worked into an existing setting planner; we would recommend resetting the given area on a shorter rotation to ensure the overall product offering isn't greatly disrupted. Competition Walls are often under-utilised by the average customer and tend to offer the best range of angles for your setting team to experiment on, and so are usually best to run these creative days on.

We mentioned getting others - external setters - involved. This can be a great way to offer freeform professional development, either as a freebie by inviting setters to get involved - taking a ‘rising tide’ approach, or as a chargeable space which can be booked on to. By charging for external slots gyms can recoup some of the cost of an extra set day - there is a fine balance though as the fee must reflect both the opportunity for development but also the uninstructed, peer-led nature of the day.

As routesetting continues to grow and professionalise the need for continual development grows with it. For a climbing gym to offer the best possible product for their customers their setters need to be at the top of their game; Creative Days offer a cost effective, fun and inclusive option to not only develop a setting team, but to keep them engaged with their role.