CEC announces recipients of 2020/2021 CEC Gender Equity Grant

Jan 18, 2021

CEC is excited to announce the selected recipient of the 2020/2021 CEC Gender Equity Grant. The Diversity and Inclusion Committee received multiple applications – all of which were projects furthering the status of womxn in the climbing environment. It has not been an easy decision, and we believe the selected projects will bring value to the entire Canadian community!

  • Ontario Climbing Federation – Girls and Womxn in Climbing: A three-part educational series for athletes and coaches
  • Ground Up Climbing – Spring Break Climbing Workshop
  • The Hive Climbing and Fitness – BelayALL Academy

For more details on the CEC Gender Equity Grant, or the selected projects, please contact the chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee at [email protected] 

OCF – Girls and Womxn in Climbing: A three-part educational series for athletes and coaches

This educational series will be offered through webinar to the Canadian climbing community, and will support coaches in developing their understanding of the female athlete. The proposed topics for the series are:

  • Hormone Cycles: Estrogen, periods, and how a female’s hormonal cycle can influence their performance, training, and injury risk.
  • Nutrition and Eating Disorders: How female nutrition needs differ from those of males, and how to spot and prevent eating disorders and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (Red-S).
  • Psychology of Competition Between Women: overview of research into female rivalry and social comparisons in sport specifically relating to climbing. 

Ground Up Climbing – Spring Break Climbing Workshop

The CEC grant will support an addition to our Youth Recreational Programs which will increase preteen and adolescent girls’ and young womxns´ participation in indoor rock climbing, and provide leadership opportunities for both womxn employed by Ground Up and young community members. This pilot week-long workshop for up to 8 girls and young womxn aged 13-14 will take place during the March Spring Break. The workshop will foster an inclusive and positive learning environment where girls are supported to be themselves and explore their mental and physical strengths.

A detailed curriculum will be developed and shared with the Canadian community, along with a report of this experience. 

The Hive Climbing and Fitness – BelayALL Academy

The BelayALL Academy will host, in partnership with The Hive Climbing Gyms, three clinics in order to create space for women and gender nonconforming (gnf) individuals to learn skills traditionally associated with cisgender men. 

  • a strength session in order to close the gap in how non-male folks feel accessing the training area of the gym. 
  • a mobility session to help involve womxn and gnf folks in one of the forefront areas of study in the sport of climbing.
  • a route setting clinic to create a pipeline to get more diverse bodies setting routes and considering this area of the sport as a viable career.

A detailed curriculum will be developed and shared with the Canadian community, along with a report of this experience.