Climbing wall safe alternative to diving board
By JOSEPH M. DELEON News-Post Staff
jdeleon @ fredericknewspost . com
LEESBURG — A wall climber clung to a 10-foot wall wearing only shorts last week in Leesburg, Va. No safety harness or helmet protected him. In an instant, he lost his grip and fell. But he wasn't hurt. Water broke his fall, and he swam to the pool edge to climb again.
The newest summer diversion combines swimming and wall climbing. It's called the Aqua-Climb, built by Leesburg-based Pyramide USA Inc. Swimmers climb out of the water onto a partially submerged wall. They scale the incline like a gecko, the textured wall surface helping the climber grip with his hands and feet.
The fusion is the concept of a man who spent five years leading youth on 26-day adventures in the wilds of Australia.
Russell Moy, 45, turned that experience into a business designing and building outdoor adventure-based structures, such as rope courses and climbing walls.
In 1993, a $3.5 million project in Singapore changed his focus to climbing walls exclusively.
“There is no wilderness in Singapore, so everything we did was artificial,” he said.
Mr. Moy soon realized the market in Singapore and Australia was limited compared to the U.S. market.
He moved his operation to the U.S. in 1999. Since 2001, the company has erected more than 30 climbing walls in the United States.
Mr. Moy recently considered marketing climbing walls to playgrounds, gyms, challenge courses and aquatic environments. He chose water for two reasons.
“Many swimming pools are removing slides and diving boards for safety reasons,” he said.
Traditional swimming pool fixtures such as diving boards and slides are on the decline as safety concerns have weakened their popularity.
Leslie Baugher, 18, is the assistant manager of Brunswick Municipal Pool. Safety is always on Ms. Baugher's mind while watching as many as 150 swimmers. She pays close attention to how swimmers enter the pool.
“There are not many pools that have diving boards anymore,” Ms. Baugher said, citing insurance and liability reasons.
While safety is the foremost concern for those who work for public pools, private owners don't seem to care as much, said Paul Gorgol, owner of Pools Patios and Porches in Frederick.
He said the most popular recreational products at his store are floats and basketball games; he also sells slides and diving boards, but not as many as he used to.
“They never ask about safety,” he said of his customers. “I think they don't ask about it because they see swimming pools as a fun thing.”
Mr. Gorgol still makes it a point to educate his customers about safety.
“They learn that, if used correctly with common sense, there should be no safety problem,” he said.
Mr. Moy believes the Aqua-Climb would make a good substitute for diving boards and slides. He also wanted to take advantage of the popularity of aquatic activities.
Bridging the gap between water and wall climbing has been a challenge of changing perception, Mr. Moy said. Most people associate vertical climbs with rock climbing, but Mr. Moy is quick to point out the difference between rock climbing and wall climbing.
“U.S. companies would try to take the rocks of Utah and put them indoors,” he said of the U.S market of the 1980s. “They built huge permanent concrete courses.”
The problem with such structures, Mr. Moy said, is relevance. Once a climber has scaled the course, it no longer presents a challenge.
“Our system is hinged and can be reconfigured to be relevant to the climber every time,” Mr. Moy said.
Climbing holds are locked into place, but can be rearranged and panels can be rotated. This flexibility allows users to adjust how challenging a course will be.
How safe is the AquaClimb?
Lifeguard Amy Cantilena, 19, of Urbana Highlands Pool is skeptical about the AquaClimb.
The pool she works at does not have a diving board or slide to avoid the risk of injury to patrons.
“I feel like it would make me nervous to have children climbing around on a wall over open water like that,” she said. “I could see children falling off and getting hurt.”
She said too many rules would make it difficult to manage swimmers in a public pool.
“I think it would be really dangerous,” Ms. Cantilena said.
Dr. Tom Griffiths, the aquatic director of Pennsylvania State University, who serves as an aquatics expert for lawsuits involving injuries and drownings, disagrees.
“It's exactly the opposite,” he said. “It's a safer alternative to a diving board.”
The former University of Maryland spring board diving coach said diving boards are not unsafe — falling off one is.
“Falling off of a diving board is dangerous because of the risk of hitting something other than water,” he said.
Dr. Griffiths, who helped author the safety guidelines for the AquaClimb, said the wall is relatively safe because if climbers fall, the 10-degree wall tilt ensures climbers will fall into the water feet first — the safest way to enter a pool.
Also, a drop zone is cordoned off with buoys to prevent climbers from falling on swimmers below.
Dr. Griffiths said the Aqua-Climb encourages physical conditioning.
“Now we see a new fitness element for people who are not necessarily competitive swimmers,” he said. “AquaClimb adds a new challenge and element of fitness that has not been available until now.”
Dr. Griffiths is excited about the potential for disabled athletes to use the AquaClimb.
Pennsylvania State University hosts a daily special populations swim for swimmers who have physical disabilities. Dr. Griffiths is pleased with how disabled swimmers benefit from upper body strength training with the AquaClimb.
“It's as much for the gifted athlete as for the disabled athlete,” he said.