Sliema Scouts Climbing Wall!
Back in 2003 having a climbing wall inside our
headquarters was just the dream of a couple Unit members, but now seven years
on, after a hefty amount of fund-raising, a lot of patience and perseverance
it’s finally a reality!
Actual work on the wall began in the summer of
2009, with the purchasing of all the materials that would go into the actual
wall. After the completion of the actual structure the Unit went about getting
the wall ready for its own personalised paintjob with a couple of coats of white
undercoat - then came in Matt and Pablo, a couple of graffiti artists who
happened to be friends of the Unit leaders who offered their time and skills to
give the wall the aesthetic value it deserved.
A work in progress…
Together with the ideas and guidance of several
leaders they started the process of designing the colour scheme and design of
the wall – something which judging from the final result didn’t just happen
overnight! After agreeing on the design, Matt and Pablo went about the tedious
task of spraying and painting the wall by hand using only a projected image to
guide them. They managed to complete the job in about five or six sessions after
which members of the Unit began to varnish the wall to protect the paint from
getting worn away.
Unfortunately as the wall neared completion,
problems obtaining the holds for the wall stretched out the project longer than
expected. After months of waiting, lengthy discussions and phone calls the
decision was taken to purchase the holds from another supplier – a cost which
was unfortunately not budgeted for.
The wall almost complete
However with the holds in the hand, the Group
pushed on and with the help of the newly formed Malta Climbing Club, started
planning and setting the several routes on the wall - with this done the leaders
in the Group immediately started organising training sessions under the guidance
of VSL Anthony and ASL Andrew, sometimes as frequent as three times a week to
get accustomed to the wall and to gain the proper experience and training to be
able to organise activities on the wall and to use it in a safe and controlled
environment.
The wall all ready to go!
At the moment talks are also underway with the Malta Climbing Club so that the
wall will be open for use by their members and with other outside bodies, though
nothing is set in stone yet. Now that the wall is up and running the Group is
looking into ways how to utilise the wall as a fund-raising tool to fund the
Group’s many ongoing projects, though at the moment everyone’s focus is on
getting the leaders of the Group experienced and trained well enough so that
they could in turn take the members themselves out to enjoy and learn from the
sport of climbing.
For more information about our climbing wall,
please contact climbingwall@sliemascouts.net
Published by AVSL Sam Cremona on 2010/08/31
|
