Active Climbing - Indoor Rock Climbing - Grovetown liza cammarano: I’ve been climbing here for a few years now and it seems like management skills need to greatly improve.
This gym used to be a place where myself and my friends would look forward to going multiple times a week, and would convince non-climbing folks to come and try out, since there was a wide variety of routes and difficulty levels for every experience level. I was a great testament to this, since I am relatively short and wasn’t super athletic prior to joining this gym. There used to be so many different setters with their own personal style, and I had so many different options to choose from to build my skills. I am by no means the most advanced climber, but I have certainly been able to challenge myself and hit new goals. In the past year or so, there’s been a massive drop off in the number of bouldering setters, and a physical energy shift in management style. Myself and others have tried to be patient with the changes (inconsistent route grading, unprofessional employees, careless cleaning habits from the staff, etc), and I’ve seen some improvements from the newer staff. They are eager to learn route setting and it’s been a pleasure seeing how creative they are! The only caveat to this is that due to the noticeable toxic work environment, these newer setters are not given the opportunity to set any routes. There will be 3-4 walls set in a row from the same person, and only maybe one from other setters. This can be very frustrating for a paying member, since it seems that these 3-4 walls are being set only with themself and their buddies in mind. I can understand being passionate about your work, but when you are in a customer-facing job, your work should not be your personal playground. Setting walls and the only “v0-v2” being a tiny ladder climb feels like weaponized incompetence!
To touch on the unprofessional behavior mentioned prior, it is baffling to me when employees are on the clock and are actively creating a safety hazard to -again- paying members of the gym. I have my own busy work schedule, so having my time at the gym interfered with because of managements/employee’s poor time management skills is extremely frustrating. I can understand trying to get routes set for an event/group and time getting away from you- but do so safely and be considerate of those coming in to climb. Swinging on the walls and almost kicking someone in the face/not letting someone else climb due to poor spatial awareness is unacceptable. These are basic etiquette rules that are taught at any gym on your first day there. The employees should be setting the standard, which evidently has gone underground. I love(d) this gym and love the community that I’ve formed here! But unfortunately if a new climbing gym opened up in Augusta, I’d be switching. I suspect a lot of members are only members due to lack of options in this city, and if I were the owner I’d be nervous if another gym opened in the CSRA area. I hope and pray this place gets it together so that climbers of all skill levels can enjoy their time here again!
