WCSx edinburgh
WORKSHOPS
We have three fantastic workshops on offer at WCSx. Attendees will have time to do two of the three and can express preferences when completing the registration form after buying tickets. Workshops will be allocated on a first come first served basis prioritising your first choice.
Delivered by top-level coaches, these workshops are aimed at helping climbers explore skills in a supportive, fun and safe environment.
Click on the links below for information about each of the workshops or scroll down the page to read about them all.
SLAB MASTERCLASS
LOUISE flockhart (SHE/HER)
Do tenuous slab moves fill you with dread?! Are you baffled by balancy moves?! Do you struggle to trust your feet on those slopey volumes?!
This workshop will build up your skills and confidence on slabby terrain, helping you to improve your balance, commit to moves on slabby terrain, and move better on insecure holds. It is suitable for a range of climbing abilities, and your coach will provide tasks for different levels of climbers, whether you have been climbing for 2 months or 22 years!
Louise's background is as a comp climber, having spent 7 years as part of the GB Team, picking up multiple national and international podiums along the way. She brings all this experience to her coaching. Her personal highlights include competing at the North Face Deep Water Solo comp in London and jumping 18m into the Thames, and getting to visit Seoul for Youth World Championships. She loves climbing because of its blend of movement, problem solving and strength, and this interplay is a key focus to her coaching.
Dynamic climbing
thea cameron (SHE/HER)
We are seeing more and more ‘comp style’ boulders, which require a really unique skill set and can seem impossible to many of us! While moving dynamically can feel hard, some dedicated practice and top tips can open up a lot of climbs for us. This workshop is all about learning to move with more coordination, use our momentum, and feel more fluid and confident on dynamic moves. We’ll give you good ways to practise and build up to harder moves, so that you can keep developing your skills and your confidence in your own climbing sessions.
This workshop will be suitable for a range of climbing abilities, and your coach will provide tasks for different levels of climbers, so it doesn’t matter if you feel you are totally new to dynamic climbing or coordination moves, or have done quite a bit before.
Thea started climbing when she was 8 years old with her grandad and instantly became addicted! She grew up in the competition scene and was on the GB team for 5 years and competed internationally in both lead and boulder. As well as competition climbing, she is also a keen outdoor climber.
She has coached for the last 6 years at Boulder UK. She enjoys supporting young climbers entering the competition scene and helping them grow to love the sport she grew up in. She also helps run the Rab Women’s Social, helping more women to feel comfortable in the climbing community, meet new friends and develop their climbing.
committing moves and bouldering falls
esther foster (SHE/HER)
These two areas are often overlooked in climbing, but are really crucial skills that require confidence, practice and technique.
We will start by looking at boulder falls and landings, as there is more to it than you think! We’ll look at landing in a way that’s best for your body and reduces injury risk, and building up falls progressively.
We’ll then look at some top tips for working on committing, or ‘stopper’ moves, where you just can’t make yourself go for it!
This workshop will be suitable for a range of climbing abilities, and your coach will provide tasks for different levels of climbers. You’ll be able to choose boulder problems that suit your level and ability, and there won’t be any pressure to jump down from the top of the wall!
One of the Women's Climbing Symposium Directors, Esther Foster has spent 20 years rock climbing and mountaineering throughout the UK and internationally. With a career coaching, guiding and instructing in both climbing and mountaineering, Esther is one of few women MCI's (Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor) within the UK and a member of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI). Having seen the value of climbing and mountaineering as therapy, as skill mastery, and as simultaneously an empowering and humbling experience, Esther is passionate about removing barriers and promoting inclusivity so that climbing, and the climbing community, is accessible to all. Want to know more about Esther? We interviewed her here so check it out! Read here.
