Adventure Facility Concepts and Management
Millennials are parents who are busier yet spend more time with their children than parents did in the 1950s. They value togetherness, though not always at mealtime. Learn why Climbing is a perfect sport for them and their kids.
Globally Millennials are now more in numbers than any other generation, including the Baby Boomers. And they are in their time of young adulthood so many of them now have families and kids. They are the ones raising the yet-to-be-named future generation and it is only natural that we look to help them.
Years of observation on family entertainment have taught us that spending quality time with their children may be the most critical thing parents can do to ensure their healthy emotional development and growth. Time spent together means opportunities for parents to teach, children to learn, and the whole family to strengthen a loving, nurturing relationship.
Nowadays, the traditional 6:00PM family dinner is becoming increasingly harder to pull off, and for many families, the weekends have become the time for being together.
What is essential to Millennial parents?
We live in the times of the health craze to raise kids who are fitter, healthier, and environmentally conscious. So Millennials seek activities that challenge their kids’ minds and bodies, encourage team play, courage, and positive competitiveness, and are socially engaged and entertaining.
Why choose climbing for their kids?
Parents go for Climbing for their kids because it develops the whole body and trains the mind in many ways – to be focused and visualize solutions to problems. Just like running and swimming, climbing is natural and inherent in children, but it particularly fosters determination, perseverance, and focus.
Climbing a route requires thinking a few steps forward with calculating your physical effort so that one has the power to reach the top. And when that happens, it gives a sense of satisfaction and a goal achieved. If not, the experience brings valuable lessons and the ability to learn to accept failure (when we fail to climb a route) and be able to shake off the loss and motivate ourselves to try again and again until we manage to cope.
Climbing trains all muscle groups.
It is an ideal overall workout that has an element of play, adventure, and thought. The feeling of a healthy dose of adrenaline and achieving a goal brings a smile, and the safety equipment, the flooring and the watchful eye of the instructors make sure that all this happens in a safe environment.
Climbing gives children a sense of success and fosters a competitive spirit.
When they climb, children set and achieve their own goals, overcome their fears, trust each other in insurance, and work in a team. All of this helps build confidence and leadership skills.
Climbing improves motor planning skills.
This sport increases spatial perception, bilateral coordination, eye-hand coordination, and eye-foot coordination. In addition, fine motor skills are improved by climbing, as it is necessary to apply different grips.
Climbing gives children with autism critical skills.
Climbing is a fun, dynamic, and exciting activity for children. They gladly accept the challenges to go through various obstacles, to unlock new skills, to dive into adventure. Climbing can be an excellent physical activity for children with mental or physical disabilities for a number of reasons.
That’s why we created Climb Academy
Last year in Sofia, AFCM built the first Climb Academy. Located in the same building as the famous Walltopia Climbing Center – the biggest climbing gym in Eastern Europe, Climb Academy perfectly complements the parents’ climbing activities and passion. Designed entirely with children in mind, this kid climbing center results from the company’s efforts to provide more opportunities for intensive physical activity in a safe environment for those aged 3 to 11 years.
AFCM entrusted the training programs to climbing and gymnastics coaches with numerous years of experience with kids. Each program is tailored to the age and individual abilities of the children. The task was to find the balance between technique, difficulty, and speed. Gymnastics are incorporated into the concept because they enhance children’s physical development and develop skills like strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, and body control and help frame a healthy sports routine for kids.
Climb Academy is a bright and cozy climbing hall with a combination of natural and vivid colors that children enjoy. It appeals to their senses in every possible way.
The academy has an impressive installation of climbing walls, a boulder area, gymnastics facilities for kids, a parkour track, a slackline, and a Ninja course. Training sessions incorporate lots of relay games and physical efforts are combined with fun competitions and challenges.
For the little ones, there is a special play area – an elevated playground – as always, inspired by climbing, but unharnessed and designed to be safe for children from the age of two.
The Academy also provides Ergotherapeutic sessions for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. They are integrated into the gym community and feel welcome and at home. Trainers who are both climbing and occupational therapy specialists work with them to improve their independence and autonomy. Climbing has proved to be an extremely successful tool for Ergotherapy of autistic children and the benefits are numerous. Read more about this here (link to Danimira’s interview).
Climb Academy is also where you can celebrate your birthday with friends in the most fun and healthy way – playing, competing, sharing. It is a climbing paradise for children. Still, most importantly, it is a place where a young community comes together. All climbing gyms are the homes of their communities, but they are all for adults. With Climb Academy, kids finally have their own space to grow together, overcoming challenges and sharing a common passion — a place to feel that you belong and you are always wanted and supported by your happy group of like-minded buddies. That gives children the best start, and Climb Academy has turned that into its primary mission.
Climb Academy was manufactured and built by Walltopia, the world leader of the Climbing and Active entertainment industry. Walltopia has designed, engineered, manufactured, and installed more than 2000 projects in more than 75 countries on 6 continents. Some of the company’s clients include names such as National Geographic, DreamWorks, and Cirque du Soleil.
Adventure Facility Concepts & Management (AFCM) is a management, operations and design services company for sports & family entertainment centers. For a decade already the company has created and successfully runs a number of projects for the sports & active entertainment industry in Australia, Bulgaria, Middle East and USA.
