Announcement
Climbing for Every Budget: Our New Sliding Scale Membership Offering
Brooklyn Boulders is committed to making climbing more accessible and inclusive.
Building Community at BKB
Climbing is more than a solitary activity. At every level of climbing, progress comes not only from time spent on the wall, but also from the community. It takes belayers, spotters, setters, coaches, and fellow climbers to encourage us, support us, and push us to do better. Whether you are new to the sport of rock climbing or have been climbing for years, everyone can appreciate the feeling of sending a difficult climb, feeling stronger and more capable than the day before.
When Brooklyn Boulders first opened our doors in 2009 in Brooklyn, we built a space meant for future climbers to build that strength, confidence, and community around our challenging and exhilarating sport. As we close out 2020 and look towards a new year, we are doubling down on that mission by making our space more accessible for every climber.
There is no “perfect” in climbing, there is only its pursuit. There are always ways to push your limits and improve your skills, and oftentimes what seem like shortcuts turn out to be dead ends. But that pursuit is what climbing is all about. Grades that seem unattainable now can be reached with years of practice, patience, and focus. And anyone who has made it to those upper reaches will tell you that it takes more than just outside appearance and brute force to truly make it to the top.
The same applies to building a successful community. Aiming for perfection has left us running in circles to maintain a reputation, but outside appearances mean nothing without the impact and culture to back it up. Today we are embracing the opportunity to become a more positive presence in our community and to build a stronger future together.
As we continue this important work, I know we can grow stronger together and fulfill our mission of creating an inclusive community of climbers and adventurers that inspires personal connections and ignites physical potential.
Launching sliding scale membership options
As part of this continuing work, we are excited to roll out new sliding scale memberships at every Brooklyn Boulders location.
Through our sliding scale membership options, we are inviting prospective members who currently face barriers to joining our community to choose the membership price that is most accessible for them. By introducing a sliding scale model, anchored in the economic realities of families in our cities, we are working to ensure that no one is turned away due to an inability to pay.
Like climbing, we realize that the work is never done and there are always more steps we can take to improve. So while we are excited to launch more accessible membership options for our communities, we know that there is more work to do and tough conversations to be had. We invite you to track our progress through our DEI Dashboard as we continue down this path.
“What gives me hope is that there are so many of you out there who care about making the BKB community better for all. It is because of your belief that BKB can and should do better that we are having these tough conversations and making these important changes. As we continue this important work, I know we can grow stronger together and fulfill our mission of creating an inclusive community of climbers and adventurers that inspires personal connections and ignites physical potential.” – Martin Adler, Interim CEO
As our team continues to take steps forward we hope you will spread the word about our sliding scale membership to those in the community who might benefit. Or if you live or work near a BKB location and are facing barriers in your own life that have affected your ability to sweat it out in one of our communities, review our three tier options to find the one that best matches your situation. At BKB we want everyone, regardless of income, background, or experience, to feel welcome at BKB and have the opportunity to build that power within to climb smarter and stronger, together.
