All climbing and bouldering activities have a risk of serious injury or death. Participants must be aware of and accept that even if they follow all good practise there may still be the risk of accident and injury. It is the responsibility of the participant to adhere to the conditions of use outlined below.

It is important that you understand this document. There is an inherent risk involved with climbing centres and associated activities. By undertaking to climb or boulder within this centre you are accepting these risks and acknowledging that these risks cannot be completely removed.

If you do not understand any of the terminology or content contained in this document, ask a member of staff to clarify.

The bouldering wall is the site of most injuries at a climbing wall. THE SOFT MATTING DOES NOT REMOVE THE RISK OF INJURY. Injuries can still occur even after a controlled/planned jump but are more likely after an uncontrolled fall. You should always be doing your utmost to avoid the risk of uncontrolled falls. This includes paying attention to how you will land and continually assessing the risk of each climb that you undertake.

Lead climbing also contains inherent risks, which are always present. Any leader fall can result in an injury and you must exercise great caution and preparation before you expose yourself to that risk.

In top rope climbing and lead climbing, the greatest risk is presented by the belayer. Always make sure they are skilled enough to keep you safe; if you are unsure consult a member of staff.

Climbing beyond your capabilities on any wall is likely to result in a fall. Any fall may result in an injury despite the safety systems in place to avoid it. You must make your own assessment of the risks whenever you climb.

Our Duty of Care

The rules of the climbing centre are not intended to limit your enjoyment of the facilities; they are part of the duty of care that we, as operators, owe to you, the customer, by law. As such, they are not negotiable and if you are not prepared to abide by them then the staff may ask you to leave.

Your Duty of Care

You have a duty of care to act responsibly towards the other users of the centre, follow good practice and abide by the rules of the centre. Statements of ‘Good Practice’ are posted around the centre adjacent to the relevant facilities. These describe the accepted methods of use of equipment and climbing areas. 

Unsupervised Climbing

Before you can use the top ropes or lead walls without supervision the centre expects you to be competent in the use of a climbing harness, a suitable knot to attach a rope to the harness and a belay device to secure a falling climber or lower a climber from the wall using a rope. Before you can use the bouldering walls without supervision, you must know how to use the bouldering walls safely. You are required to register to say that you know how to top rope, lead or boulder, that you are prepared to abide by the rules and that you understand the risks involved in your participation. Anyone who is not competent to climb unsupervised must be supervised by an instructor. If you are not confident in the use of any of the required climbing equipment or technique then do not attempt to use it.

Unsupervised Young People (14 to 17 year olds)

Experienced and competent young people who are known to the centre and our instructors, aged 14 to 17, maybe registered and allowed to use the centre unsupervised and without accompaniment by an adult once they have fulfilled the following criteria:

  • Must have attended a minimum of 6 supervised youth coaching sessions
  • Must have passed the unsupervised youth assessment
  • Must have completed the appropriate parental consent form

This permission to climb without supervision may be revoked at any time by the management following unsafe or disruptive behaviour.

Supervised Climbing

An adult who has registered at the centre and proved competency (by attending a centre induction or through assessment), may supervise up to two youth (under 18 years of age) climbers. The member must be the youth climbers legal guardian in order to complete their Acknowledgement of Risk (registration) forms and take full responsibility for the safety of those youth(s) under their care. In addition to the normal sign-in procedure the Adult Supervising Member and the supervised youth climber(s) should sign-in on the Supervising Member form at reception. 

As a user of this climbing wall, you must be aware of and accept the following:

General Safety

  • Report to reception immediately on each visit.
  • You must exercise care, common sense and self-preservation at all times.
  • Report any problems with the walls, equipment or other climbers’ behaviour/bad practice to a member of staff immediately.
  • Be aware of the other climbers around you and how your actions will affect them.
  • Do not distract people while they are climbing or belaying.
  • Never stand directly under someone who is climbing.
  • If you have children, you must keep them under control and supervise them directly at all times.
  • Please make yourself aware of the location of the fire exits in the building and fire assembly points.
  • Climbing Safety

    • Volumes on the walls are designed to enhance the quality of climbing but you must be aware that when climbing above them there is an additional risk of falling onto them.
    • Climbing beyond your capabilities on any wall is likely to result in a fall.
    • Any fall may result in an injury despite the safety systems in place.
    • You must make your own assessment of the risks whenever you climb.
    • Participants must understand that climbing while pregnant can increase the risk posed to mother and unborn child.
    • Participants must be aware and accept that climbing holds can spin or break.
    • You must do everything reasonable and practical to avoid endangering yourself or others.
    • You have to be aware of and adhere to the safety rules of the centre at all times./li>
    • Stand back from the climbing walls unless you are belaying or spotting a climber.
    • You take responsibility for adequately maintaining your equipment.
    • Please empty your pockets and remove all jewellery before climbing.

    Top Rope Climbing

    • Many of the climbs in the centre have top ropes already in place. Do not take them down to use on other routes.
    • Always use a climbing harness to attach yourself to the rope tying the rope directly into the harness using a figure of 8 knot with a stopper. Clipping in with a karabiner is not allowed.
    • It is your responsibility to vet your climbing partner’s ability before they belay you.
    • Always abide by the good practice when belaying.

    Lead Climbing

    • Lead belaying requires a higher degree of skill and understanding from top rope belaying and should only be undertaken if you have received training or are experienced in these techniques, if you are unsure ask a staff member.
    • When using the lead walls, you must supply or rent (if available) your own appropriately rated dynamic rope.
    • Quickdraws/runners/clips are provided on the lead wall. Please don’t use your own.
    • You must not skip clips and clips must be clipped in order.

    When Belaying

    • Always use a belay device attached to your safety harness with a locking karabiner. ‘Traditional’, or ‘body’ belaying is not acceptable.
    • The sandbags are provided to give support to people belaying a climber who is much heavier than they are.
    • Always pay attention to what the climber is doing.
    • Always stand as close to the climbing wall as is practical. Sitting or lying down is not acceptable.

    Bouldering

    • Whenever possible down climb, or if this is not possible, use a controlled/planned jump.
    • It is your responsibility to ensure that you can climb down or land safely; don’t climb into a situation that you cannot safely get out of.
    • Never climb directly above or below another climber.
    • Always take your harness off before bouldering.
    • Never Top out (climb over the top) of the bouldering surface.
    • Remove anything from pockets that could hurt you when landing.
    • Always be aware of people climbing above and around you.
    • It is your responsibility to ensure the landing area beneath your chosen climb is completely free from obstacles/obstructions. 

    Training Area

    • The Training Area is strictly an adults-only area.
    • No members/climbers under 18 years of age are allowed to access the training area and use the equipment within. 
    • You use the training equipment at your own risk.
    • If you are unsure how to safely use any item, do not use it before asking a member of staff.
    • Always return training equipment to it’s correct place once finished using it.

    Auto Belays

    • If you are unsure in any way on how to use an auto belay or have never used one before, then ask a member of staff for assistance before using one.
    • The coloured box (usually yellow or red) on the ground around the auto-belays is a landing zone; be aware of descending climbers when standing within it.
    • Good practice instructions are located next to/near to the auto-belay. To ensure your own safety, please ensure you follow them. 

    Photo on File

    We request and hold a photo of all our registered members on our system. This will be viewed by our staff on your entry each visit.

    Refunds

    Items Purchased

    If you are not entirely satisfied with your purchase, we’re here to help.

    Returns

    You have 30 calendar days to return an item from the date you received it.

    To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. If an item is faulty after use, then please contact the manufacturer.

    Your item must be in the original packaging.

    Your item needs to have the receipt or proof of purchase.

    Returns

    Once we receive your item, we will inspect it and notify you that we have received your returned item. We will immediately notify you on the status of your refund after inspecting the item.

    If your return is approved, we will initiate a refund to your credit card (or original method of payment).

    You will receive the credit within a certain amount of days, depending on your card issuer’s policies.

    Shipping

    If you are unable to return the item to one of our climbing centres, you will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs for returning your item. Shipping costs are non-refundable.​

    Bookings

    All cancellations made before your booking’s cancellation time (48 hours before the booking if not outlined differently in your confirmation email), are entitled to a full refund.

    We strive to provide an awesome climbing experience and all complaints are taken very seriously. In the unlikely event of poor performance from your climbing instructor or our services, any partial refunds for pre-paid bookings as a result of a complaint will be refunded via the same method as payment.

    If you are unhappy with your climbing session at Awesome Walls, be it a party, kids session, coaching… please contact the Centre Manager within 30 days of your visit.

    Awesome Walls Climbing Centres Ltd. (“Awesome Walls”, “AWCC”, “we”, “us”) (registered company number 5516862) is committed to protecting your privacy. At all times we aim to respect any personal information you share with us, or that we receive from others, and keep it safe. This Privacy Notice (“Notice”) sets out our data processing practices and your rights and options regarding the ways in which your personal information is used and collected (including through our website).

    This Notice contains important information about your personal rights to privacy. Please read it carefully to understand how we use your personal information.

    The provision of your personal information to us is voluntary. However, without providing us with your personal information, your use of our services or your interaction with us may be impaired. For example, you may be unable to sign up as a member or make an online booking.

    CONTENTS OF THIS POLICY:

    1. HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
    2. WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE USE?
    3. HOW AND WHY WILL WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
    4. LAWFUL BASES
    5. COMMUNICATIONS FOR MARKETING/ FUNDRAISING
    6. CHILDREN’S PERSONAL INFORMATION
    7. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
    8. WILL WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
    9. SECURITY/ STORAGE OF AND ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
    10. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS
    11. EXERCISING YOUR RIGHTS
    12. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
    13. LINKS AND THIRD PARTIES

    1. WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:

    a. When you give it to us directly

    For example, personal information that you submit through our website by making a booking to use our facilities, registering as a member or signing up for our email newsletter; or personal information that you give to us when you communicate with us by email, phone or letter.

    b. When we obtain it indirectly

    For example, your personal information may be shared with us by third parties including, for example, the Association of Climbing Walls (Britain) Limited (“ABC”), an organisation established to promote safe management practices in climbing walls of which we are a member; third party service providers; analytics providers and search information providers. To the extent we have not done so already, we will notify you when we receive personal information about you from them and tell you how and why we intend to use that personal information.

    c. When it is available publicly

    Your personal information may be available to us from external publicly available sources. For example, depending on your privacy settings for social media services, we may access information from those accounts or services (for example when you choose to interact with us via Facebook).

    d. When you visit our website

    When you visit our website, we automatically collect the following types of personal information:

    (a) Technical information, including the internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your device to the internet, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions and operating systems and platforms.

    (b) Information about your visit to the websites, including the uniform resource locator (URL) clickstream to, through and from the website (including date and time), services you viewed or searched for, page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, referral sources, page interaction information (such as scrolling and clicks) and methods used to browse away from the page.

    We collect and use your personal information by using cookies on our website – please see our Cookie Notice.

    In general, we may combine your personal information from these different sources set out in a-d above, for the purposes set out in this Notice.

    2. WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE USE?

    We may collect, store and otherwise process the following kinds of personal information:

    your name and contact details including postal address, telephone number, email address, emergency contact details and, where applicable, social media identity;
    your date of birth and gender;information about your computer/ mobile device and your visits to and use of this website, including, for example, your IP address and geographical location;
    personal descriptions and photographs;
    details of your qualifications/ experience; and/ or any other personal information which we obtain as per paragraph 1.

    Do we process special categories of data?

    The EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) recognises certain categories of personal information as sensitive and therefore requiring more protection, for example, information about your health, ethnicity and religious beliefs.

    In certain situations, the Awesome Walls may collect and/or use these special categories of data (for example, information on climbers’ medical conditions relevant to their use of our facilities). We will only process these special categories of data if there is a valid reason for doing so and where the GDPR allows us to do so.

    3. HOW AND WHY WILL WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

    Your personal information, however, provided to us, will be used for the purposes specified in this Notice. In particular, we may use your personal information:

    to register you as a member of the Wall;
    to allow you to make a booking to use our facilities;
    to otherwise provide you with services, products or information you have requested;
    to provide further information about our work, services or activities (where necessary, only where you have provided your consent to receive such information);
    to assist you with certification schemes, such as NICAS;
    to answer your questions/ requests and communicate with you in general;
    to allow you to apply for a job or volunteer role with us;
    to manage relationships with our partners and service providers;
    to analyse and improve our work, services, activities, products or information (including our website), or for our internal records;
    to keep our facilities safe and secure;
    to run/administer the activities of the Wall, including our website, and ensure that content is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your device;
    to audit and/ or administer our accounts;
    to satisfy legal obligations which are binding on us, for example in relation to regulatory, government and/or law enforcement bodies with whom we may work (for example requirements relating to the payment of tax or anti-money laundering);
    for the prevention of fraud or misuse of services;
    and/or for the establishment, defence and/ or enforcement of legal claims.

    4. LAWFUL BASES

    The GDPR requires us to rely on one or more lawful bases to use your personal information. We consider the grounds listed below to be relevant:

    Where you have provided your consent for us to use your personal information in a certain way (for example, we may ask for your consent to use your personal information to send you email newsletters or to collect special categories of your personal information. Special categories of personal information are explained in paragraph 2 above).
    Where necessary so that we can comply with a legal obligation to which we are subject (for example, where we are obliged to share your personal information with regulatory bodies which govern our work and services).
    Where necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request prior to entering a contract (for example, to provide you access to our facilities in return for your booking fee).
    Where it is in your/someone else’s vital interests (for example, in case of medical emergency suffered by a climber).
    Where there is a legitimate interest in us doing so.
    The GDPR allows us to collect and process your personal information if it is reasonably necessary to achieve our or others’ legitimate interests (as long as that processing is fair, balanced and does not unduly impact your rights as an individual).

    In broad terms, our “legitimate interests” means the interests of running of Awesome Walls as a commercial entity and ensuring the best possible user experience.

    When we process your personal information to achieve such legitimate interests, we consider and balance any potential impact on you (both positive and negative), and on your rights under data protection laws. We will not use your personal information for activities where our interests are overridden by the impact on you, for example where use would be excessively intrusive (unless, for instance, we are otherwise required or permitted to by law).

    5. COMMUNICATIONS FOR MARKETING/PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES

    We may use your contact details to provide you with information about our work, events, services and/or activities which we consider may be of interest to you (for example, about services you previously used, or events involving our, or other walls’, facilities).

    Where we do this via email, SMS or telephone (where you are registered with the Telephone Preference Service), we will not do so without your prior consent (unless allowed to do so via applicable law).

    Where you have provided us with your consent previously but do not wish to be contacted by us about our work, events, services and/or activities in the future, please let us know by email. You can opt out of receiving emails from the Wall at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of our emails. We may use a 3rd party provider to send out these emails.

    6. CHILDREN’S PERSONAL INFORMATION

    When we process children’s personal information, where required we will not do so without their consent or, where required, the consent of a parent/ guardian. We will always have in place appropriate safeguards to ensure that children’s personal information is handled with due care.

    7. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

    In general, unless still required in connection with the purpose(s) for which it was collected and/or processed, we remove your personal information from our records six years after the date it was collected. However, if before that date (i) your personal information is no longer required in connection with such purpose(s), (ii) we are no longer lawfully entitled to process it or (iii) you validly exercise your right of erasure (please see Section 11 below), we will remove it from our records at the relevant time.

    If you request to receive no further contact from us, we may keep some basic information about you on our suppression list in order to comply with your request and avoid sending you unwanted materials in the future.

    8. WILL WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

    We do not share, sell or rent your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. However, in general, we may disclose your personal information to selected third parties in order to achieve the purposes set out in this Notice.

    These parties may include (but are not limited to):

    The ABC and the ABC Training Trust;
    local government agencies;
    funding bodies such as Sport England and NGB;
    awarding bodies such as Mountain Training;
    other members of the ABC;
    healthcare professionals;
    suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter into with them, for example, IT service providers such as website hosts, cloud storage providers, sending of marketing emails via a marketing platform, gaining customer reviews and feedback from sites such as TripAdvisor…;
    professional service providers such as accountants and lawyers;
    parties assisting us with research to monitor the impact/effectiveness of our work, events, services and activities;
    and regulatory authorities, such as tax authorities;
    In particular, we reserve the right to disclose your personal information to third parties:

    In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we will disclose your personal information to the (prospective) seller or buyer of such business or assets; if substantially all of our assets are acquired by a third party, personal information held by us may be one of the transferred assets; if we are under any legal or regulatory duty to do so; and/or to protect the rights, property or safety of Awesome Walls, its personnel, users, visitors or others.

    9. SECURITY/STORAGE OF AND ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

    AWCC is committed to keeping your personal information safe and secure and we have appropriate and proportionate security policies and organisational and technical measures in place to help protect your information.

    Your personal information is only accessible by appropriately trained staff, volunteers and contractors, and stored on secure servers which have features to prevent unauthorised access.

    10. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

    Given that we are a UK/Ireland-based organisation we will normally only transfer your personal information within the European Economic Area (“EEA”), where all countries have the same level of data protection law as under the GDPR.

    However, because we may sometimes use agencies and/or suppliers to process personal information on our behalf, it is possible that personal information we collect from you will be transferred to and stored in a location outside the EEA, for example, the United States.

    Please note that some countries outside of the EEA have a lower standard of protection for personal information, including lower security requirements and fewer rights for individuals. Where your personal information is transferred, stored and/or otherwise processed outside the EEA in a country that does not offer an equivalent standard of protection to the EEA, we will take all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that the recipient implements appropriate safeguards (such as by entering into standard contractual clauses which have been approved by the European Commission) designed to protect your personal information and to ensure that your personal information is treated securely and in accordance with this Notice. If you have any questions about the transfer of your personal information, please contact us using the details below.

    Unfortunately, no transmission of your personal information over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure – however, once we have received your personal information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try and prevent unauthorised access.

    11. EXERCISING YOUR RIGHTS

    Where we rely on your consent to use your personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This includes the right to ask us to stop using your personal information for marketing or fundraising purposes or to unsubscribe from our email list at any time. You also have the following rights:

    Right of access – you can write to us to ask for confirmation of what personal information we hold on you and to request a copy of that personal information. Provided we are satisfied that you are entitled to see the personal information requested and we have successfully confirmed your identity, we will provide you with your personal information subject to any exemptions that apply.
    Right of erasure – at your request, we will delete your personal information from our records as far as we are required to do so. In many cases, we would propose to suppress further communications with you, rather than delete it.
    Right of rectification – if you believe our records of your personal information are inaccurate, you have the right to ask for those records to be updated. You can also ask us to check the personal information we hold about you if you are unsure whether it is accurate/up to date.
    Right to restrict processing – you have the right to ask for processing of your personal information to be restricted if there is disagreement about its accuracy or legitimate usage.
    Right to object – you have the right to object to processing where we are (i) processing your personal information on the basis of the legitimate interests basis (see paragraph 4), (ii) using your personal information for direct marketing or (iii) using your information for statistical purposes.
    Right to data portability – to the extent required by the GDPR, where we are processing your personal information (that you have provided to us) either (i) by relying on your consent or (ii) because such processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contact, and in either case we are processing using automated means (i.e. with no human involvement), you may ask us to provide the personal information to you – or another service provider – in a machine-readable format.
    Rights related to automated decision-making – you have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing of your personal information which produces legal or similarly significant effects on you, unless such a decision (i) is necessary to enter into/perform a contract between you and us/another organisation; (ii) is authorised by EU or Member State law to which the Wall is subject (as long as that law offers you sufficient protection); or (iii) is based on your explicit consent.
    Please note that some of these rights only apply in limited circumstances. For more information, we suggest that you contact us.

    We encourage you to raise any concerns or complaints you have about the way we use your personal information by contacting us using the details provided in paragraph 14 below. You are further entitled to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office – www.ico.org.uk. For further information on how to exercise this right, please contact us.

    12. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

    We may update this Notice from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by contacting you directly where reasonably possible for us to do so and by placing an update notice on our website. This Notice was last updated on 24th April 2018.

    13. LINKS AND THIRD PARTIES

    We link our website directly to other sites. This Notice does not cover external websites and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any external websites you visit via links on our website.

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    We also use some non-essential cookies to anonymously track visitors or enhance your experience of the site. If you’re not happy with this, we won’t set these cookies but some nice features of the site may be unavailable.