Autobelay Parks: Cultivating the Next Generation of Climbers
How a Kiwi company has propelled Fun-Climbing to the foreground
Introduction
You’ve likely heard of Clip ‘n’ Climb. Originally an offshoot of an adventure company founded in New Zealand in 2005, the brand now has a global presence, operating over 300 centres across more than 50 countries.
But what exactly is Clip ‘n’ Climb and what does it mean for the future of climbing? In this article, we take a look at the presence of the brand globally and discuss what this expansion might mean for the next generation of climbers.
What is Clip ‘n’ Climb?
Clip ‘n’ Climb is a brand of autobelay parks in the so-called “Fun-Climbing” industry. It was acquired by EP (formerly Entre-Prises) in 2015, itself a subsidiary of French multinational Abéo. Since then, it has created a new entry point into rock climbing by offering a fun, engaging experience for the sport’s youngest participants.
In the UK, Clip ‘n’ Climb operates as a franchise; owners are able to run their own centres under a recognisable brand whilst customising their centres as they see fit. They can also decide on the size of the centre, ranging from 807 ft² to 1,614 ft², each with a ceiling height of 7.5m.
On top of that, owners can select from a range of unique “Challenges”—the different climbing walls that make each centre stand out. Options include Spaghetti Junction, where climbers navigate holds dangling from moving strings, and Stairway to Heaven, a towering circle of cylinders that participants must climb without using their hands. It’s like stepping into a real-life Ninja Warrior course!
A Global Expansion
Just last week, during a conversation with an EP maintenance employee at the gym where I work, I learned how widespread autobelay parks have become globally. The young man had spent the previous week installing Headrush Technologies’ flagship Tru Blu autobelay machines in parks across Venezuela and Panama.¹ He described how he and his colleagues had also been sent on trips to the Middle East to meet the growing demand for these activities in places such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait..
Despite the brand’s presence across the world, one continent stands out. With roughly 150 gyms across 15 countries, Europe has more than twice as many locations as North America.² Considering that the combined population of young people in the USA and Canada is roughly equivalent to that of the 15 European countries where Clip 'n Climb has already gained traction, the disparity in the number of centres highlights a striking difference in market adoption.³
At this point, it is worth honing in on the UK and France, the two countries driving the strong adoption in Europe.
As mentioned above, Clip ‘n’ Climb is owned by French giant Abéo, which in turn owns a number of leading companies in the climbing sphere, including EP, a world leader in the supply of artificial climbing walls. It is no surprise then that Clip ‘n’ Climb has been able to leverage the connections of its parent company to establish itself as the main player in France.
EP also has a strong presence in the UK, being a main supplier to many of its traditional indoor gyms. However, this doesn’t fully explain why Clip ‘n’ Climb’s presence in the UK has dwarfed that of other countries. In particular, the size of the key target market in Germany is more or less the same as that of the UK and France (each of these countries has approximately 11-12 million 0-14 year olds, according to data from the World Bank), yet Germany has 1/7ᵗʰ the number of Clip ‘n’ Climb gyms.
One explanation is that Clip ‘n’ Climb has established a franchise model in the UK, something that it hasn’t done in other countries, smoothing the process for independent business owners to set up and run one of their centres.⁴ Whilst this development has likely facilitated the growth of Clip ‘n’ Climb in the UK, its presence was strong prior to this business-model change. According to the company itself, “Clip ‘n Climb UK’s dedicated sales team is another key driver for growth in the country”. Whilst this may be true, further research is required to understand exactly why adoption in the UK has been so impressive.
A Growing Trend?
As discussed in previous articles, climbing as a whole is growing, and it seems logical that traditional climbers (those who visit traditional climbing/bouldering gyms) will use Clip ‘n’ Climb as a way to grow their little ones into their future climbing partners.
Clip ‘n’ Climb seems to have caught onto this, developing new challenges that introduce young climbers to side-pulls and under-clings (typical hold types found in indoor climbing). In doing so, they are starting to create a pathway from “Fun-Climbing” to recreational or even competitive climbing in the future.
The “Fun-Climbing” sector has indeed seen growth in the past year. In February 2024, three new Clip ‘n’ Climb franchise centres were opened in a single week, demonstrating the business case and potential profit to be made by opening one of these gyms.⁵
Moreover, a license agreement signed in 2023 between Clip ‘n’ Climb and Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) will bring 21 new centres to Saudi Arabia as part of the country’s Saudi Vision 2030, This expansion underscores the growing demand for sportainment activities in parts of the world that are relatively new to adventure sports.⁶
Conclusion
With the buzz around climbing at a high point following this year’s Olympics, and a whole new generation of kids looking up to athletes such as Toby Roberts and Janja Garnbret, the industry has a unique opportunity to collaborate in shaping the future of the sport.
While there is money to be made by setting up these spaces, it’s important that we do not saturate the market with a low-quality equivalent of crazy golf for climbing (a thought echoed by Phil Minal of Redpoint Birmingham).⁷ If done properly and with careful thought to encouraging the basic principles of climbing (see NICAS Clip), autobelay parks can serve as a springboard for cultivating the next generation of climbers.
Footnotes
1 https://headrushtech.com/climb/.
2 These countries are UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.
3 Data from the World Bank, Population ages 0-14, total. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.0014.TO?most_recent_year_desc=false. Calculation excludes Mexico as there is no presence of Clip ‘n’ Climb.
4 https://clipnclimb.com/clipnclimb-uk-launching-franchise-model/#:~:text=Working%20with%20the%20Clip%20'n,only%20available%20in%20the%20UK.
5 https://clipnclimb.co.uk/blog/three-new-centres-opened-in-one-week/.
6 https://blooloop.com/play/news/clip-n-climb-seven-saudi-arabia/.
7 https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/sep/01/olympic-champion-toby-roberts-example-is-sending-young-people-up-the-wall.