Climbing Sessions at the AU

Our climbing wall is at the Athletic Union where we currently run 4 sessions a week but we are hoping to get it increased and will keep everyone updated! There will be committee members at each session to make sure that everything runs smoothly and to answer any questions you might have.

To find the wall:

• walk past the reception
• turn right
• if the gym is on your right, the wall will be on your left! Just past the vending machines and inside the sports hall 

Or, ask at reception when you sign in and they’ll keep you on the right path!

Current club wall times:

TBC – check back closer to the start of the semester!

Public Sessions:

If you can’t make it to the club times, there are public sessions open to the community that you can also attend on a pay as you go basis, or with an AU membership/+FIT. They’re pretty much the same as the club sessions, except there is no guarantee that any club members will be there.

Monday	18:00 – 21:00
Tuesday	18:00 – 21:00
Wednesday	18:00 – 21:00
Friday	18:00 – 21:00

What to bring:

Climbing shoes, a harness, and a belay device if you have them; that’s it! But, if you don’t have them, you can rent any of these from the AU for £3.

If you want to get into climbing long term, it’s a good investment to have your own harness and shoes. Great name brands are Black Diamond, Petzl, Evolv, La Sportiva, and Scarpa, but this is not an exhaustive list.

These can be pricey so online outlet shops can be a good place to look, and a great Facebook page is Outdoor Gear Exchange UK, where people post lightly used gear for low prices:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/usedgearexchangeuk/

With second-hand gear, do make sure to check the safety of it, especially making sure that soft gear is not over 10 years old and that any stitching is not pulling loose.

Bouldering

Unfortunately there isn’t a bouldering wall in St Andrews, but there are a couple of great ones in Dundee; Block10 and Avertical World (AV)! They aren’t too expensive for entry for an entire day, and there’s a group of people who go several times a week – get in touch and we can add you to the group chat.

There’s also some good bouldering along the coast, particularly at Maiden Rock, a sea stack a 15 minute walk along the Fife Coastal Path. The club has a bouldering mat, just let us know if you want to borrow it!

Competitions

BUCS

BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sport) is an annual national competition that takes place in February in Sheffield, historically at The Climbing Works bouldering gym. If you are selected to go, you will represent St Andrews as you compete against other British universities in bouldering competitions. It’s a weekend trip because Sheffield is eons away so you will stay in a hotel and get to know the other club members verrry well!
Kira, our competitions secretary, runs weekly training sessions throughout the year with fun drills (and a killer core workout!) to improve your climbing even if BUCS isn’t your goal!