Olympic champion Toby Roberts’ example is scaring young people

“He is Real “He’s really good at climbing,” says eight-year-old Ivy Wilson, who has just scaled a wall at the Cambridge branch of Clip ‘n Climb, the New Zealand-founded “amusement park meets climbing wall” experience that has spawned a global phenomenon. “I like how he did it so quickly.”

The man in question is Toby Roberts, the 19-year-old climbing prodigy who won gold for Team GB in the bouldering and lead events at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

The fresh-faced Roberts, who was given the unlikely nickname ‘the Terminator’ by his teammates, became the first British male climber to qualify for the Games when he won the 2023 European qualifiers in Laval, France.

His surprise win in Paris is now bringing a whole new generation of climbers to this Cambridge climbing centre, says owner Beth Walthew. So many, in fact, that she saw a 35% increase in visitors the week after Roberts’ win.

Walthew isn’t the only one experiencing the ‘Terminator’ effect, with climbing centres across the UK reporting a surge in interest following the teenager’s historic victory.

“There was a lot of buzz around Toby Roberts here,” says Walthew. “We had an internal speed climbing competition the week of the Games and everyone was talking about it. Anything that gets climbing into the public psyche is good.”

Walthew estimates that about 80 percent of her clientele is under 18, with kids as young as two trying out the sport as part of the center’s “Little Rockers” toddler group. “Kids come to us as a first step before they move on to traditional indoor climbing walls and that’s great to see.”

Climbing is a new addition to the Olympic roster, having debuted at the Tokyo 2020 Games. But interest in the sport has been slow to pick up, says Katie Varian, managing director of Eden Rock Edinburgh, home to Scotland’s largest indoor bouldering wall. “Climbing seems so behind other sports in terms of how much people know about it,” she says.

Unlike Tokyo 2020, where climbers competed for a combined top score in the speed, bouldering and lead events, climbing at this year’s Olympics was split into two separate competitions: speed climbing as a standalone event and bouldering and lead climbing combined as another event.

That’s a good thing, because it was Ivy’s favorite thing to do. “I climb everywhere,” she says. “Even in places I shouldn’t.”

Her mother Sarah’s interest in the sport, meanwhile, will resonate with parents around the world: “It’s a great place to take them because they don’t have to climb on the furniture in my house.”

Ashley Loveday, 15, is considering signing up for an indoor climbing course after honing his skills at Clip ‘n Climb. “It’s just fun to do,” he says. “I really enjoy climbing to new heights and taking on new challenges.”

Walthew opened the centre with her husband Chris in 2016, after visiting one of the UK’s first Clip ‘n Climbs while on holiday in Exeter. “Our daughter loved it and it was amazing to see how quickly she progressed,” she says.

The Clip ‘n Climb approach uses an auto-belay system, meaning kids can climb paths of up to seven metres, safe in the knowledge that if they fall, they’ll be gently released back to the ground. The UK is the Kiwi company’s biggest success story, with 80 centres and counting across the country.

But not everyone in the climbing community is happy about the craze. “It’s a bit like we’ve struck gold and everyone’s going mini-golfing,” says Phil Minal, co-owner of Redpoint Birmingham.

“It wouldn’t exactly increase golf participation. Not to disparage Clip ‘n Climb, but indoor climbing gyms like ours are more of an opportunity to learn proper technique, which ultimately leads to people becoming independent climbers.”

But for many, the colourful walls of these school holiday hotspots are a vital stepping stone. “We’ve seen an increase in interest in our climbing classes, which hopefully means there will be a steady stream of aspiring climbers coming into Team GB in the future,” says Keely Weir, managing director of Clip ‘n Climb Bicester.

Oliver Scott, 11, first climbed at the Weir centre at the age of five and has now progressed to a traditional climbing gym. “I’d like to be as good as Toby Roberts,” he says. “It’s cool that my friends now know the name of a climber. Before he won gold, they didn’t know many.”