WOMEN'S
CLIMBING
SYMPOSIUM
WCS26
A true highlight of the Women's Climbing Symposium, our talks programme offers inspiring headliners and a range of focus talks reflecting this year's theme of 'explore' and covering topics requested by the WCS community.
Though everyone will gather for our headline and plenary sessions, full ticketholders will only have the time and opportunity to attend two focus talks; read more about each talk and the wonderful women hosting them below. If you are coming on a talks only ticket, you can choose four!
IMPORTANT: This year you will submit your coaching workshop requests a few weeks before the event. So you are ready to do so, please take some time to familiarise yourself with the programme so you can better plan around the focus talks you wish to attend.
HEADLINE SPEAKERS
We are so psyched to be welcoming Solenne Piret and Hannah Morris - our phenomenal, inspiring headliners for Women's Climbing Symposium 2026.
solenne
piret
hannah
morris
FOCUS TALKS
Delivered by engaging women, all brimming with extensive knowledge in their respective fields, we are incredibly excited to present a programme of Focus Talks covering a range of topics requested by the community.
Click on the links below for more information about each of our focus talks and the guest speakers delivering them, or scroll on down to see them all!
Nutrition for female climbers; Should women eat differently? Mina Leslie-Wujastyk | Sports Nutritionist
Taking up space: Climbing, disability and becoming unapologetic Lucy Keyworth | GB Paraclimber
In short: Mindset, motivation and making moves up high Tina Breslin | Climber
Healing through climbing: Connection with ourselves, community and nature Meg Donaldson | Founder, Crux Climbing
Navigating Menopause Dr Sam Morgan | Menopause Specialist Doctor
Clover Climb: Building a business around your passion Ahlam Woods | Founder, Clover Climb
Finger health for climbers: Load, pain and resilience Erin Jukes | Physiotherapist
nutrition for female climbers; Should women eat differently?
mina leslie-wujastyk (SHE/HER) sports nutritionist
In this talk, Mina takes us through the nutritional considerations for female climbers; an informative discussion around what we know and what we don't yet know about nutrition for women. Using up to date research and mechanistic understanding, this talk will help you to understand the nuances of nutrition in the context of female physiology and the demands of rock climbing.
Mina Leslie-Wujastyk has been climbing for 30 years and has a keen interest in everything to do with our sport. She qualified as a physiotherapist in her early 20s but instead pursued a career as a professional climber thanks to support from her sponsors, including Arc’teryx, at that time. She has climbed all over the world, both on rock and in bouldering competitions for the GB Climbing team at many world cups; she was ranked ninth in the world for women’s bouldering in 2013. However, climbing outside has always been closest to her heart. Mina has sport climbed up to F8c and bouldered up to Font 8B. In 2017, she studied a foundational course to become certified as a nutritionist, followed by a further two years in postgraduate study of sports nutrition under the International Olympic Committee. Alongside this she is certified as an intuitive eating counsellor. Mina has worked solo and has also supported clients with nutrition services at Lattice Training, the world’s leading climbing coaching company. In 2024, she published her first paper in the Journal of Science in Sport and Exercise which focused on nutrition for female climbers. In Autumn 2025, Mina published Eat to Climb, a book about nutrition for climbers. Mina lives in the Peak District with her husband David Mason and their two children.
taking up space: climbing, disability and becoming unapologetic
lucy keyworth (SHE/HER) GB paraclimber
Parathlete Lucy Keyworth will be giving us an insight in to her world as a climber, competitor and as someone with a disability. She'll be sharing stories and experiences which have shaped her, and the highs and lows of training and pushing for big goals as a paraclimber. Down to earth and challenging, yet lighthearted and engaging, Lucy's talk is not to be missed!
Lucy is a British paraclimber and four times national champion representing the GB Paraclimbing Team. Since discovering climbing, Lucy has found strength, freedom, and community on the wall — and now works to make the sport more accessible for everyone. Driven by a love of challenge and connection, Lucy combines elite competition with advocacy and outreach. She’s passionate about showing that climbing is for every body, helping to break down barriers and inspire new generations of adaptive athletes. When she’s not training or competing, Lucy can be found exploring new crags, sharing her story, and fundraising to support her journey on the international stage.
IG: @lucykeyworth
in short: mindset, motivation and making moves up high
tina breslin (SHE/HER)
This talk explores how to build a sustainable, confident relationship with climbing, drawing on lessons Tina has learned from highballing and as a self-proclaimed ‘short-arse’. It covers practical shifts that help bring joy back into climbing, along with tools to manage comparison, fear, and physical limitations.
Although grounded in personal experience, these ideas apply to all styles of climbing, all body shapes, and to life beyond the grit.
Tina Breslin is a North Yorkshire-based climber drawn to big, bold lines that blur the boundary between bouldering and soloing. She feels most at home at wild, esoteric crags, where climbing higher, more consequential lines offers calm and clarity. At 5'2", and surrounded by gritstone and sandstone crags, Tina frequently encounters reachy climbs that do not suit a shorter climber. Rather than avoiding these lines, she embraces the challenge, developing creative and unconventional solutions to climbs that are rarely attempted by women or by climbers of her height. Through this process, and following her recent ADHD diagnosis, Tina has realised that the focus these lines demand both in preparation and execution, are some of the only times she can quieten her mind and feel at ease. Last year, Tina was the subject of Brit Rock VII: Little Wings and the film Fierce (Stonebound Media). Through her climbing and online presence, she speaks openly and vulnerably about fear, mindset, challenge, and motivation.
Healing through climbing: connection with ourselves, our community and nature
meg donaldson (SHE/HER) founder, crux climbing
Meg Donaldson is a Bristol- based rock climbing development instructor, social worker, tree climber and lover of all things outside. She is also the founder of Crux Climbing - a non-proift organisation that aims to create more space for young people to try climbing for the first time, and if they want to, continue climbing by breaking down some of the sociak and financial barriers to climbing and the outdoors.
NAVIGATING Menopause
dr sam morgan (SHE/HER) menopause specialist doctor
Join Sam to explore how the menopause transition can affect strength, recovery, mood, focus, and injury risk — and what actually helps. We’ll also look at how menopause can uniquely affect neurodivergent people and those in hypermobile bodies. Whether you’re curious about nutrition, supplements, sleep, HRT, or non-hormonal treatment options, this talk will share clear, evidence-based information to help you make informed choices that support your health and wellbeing, and your climbing.
Dr Sam Morgan is a Menopause Specialist Doctor registered with the British Menopause Society with over 20 years of experience as an NHS GP. Sam founded Rethink Menopause to provide reliable, evidence-based information to individuals and businesses, and to enhance healthcare professionals' education on menopause care. Sam offers holistic, personalised menopause consultations and health checks, both in person in Bristol and online throughout the UK. She is passionate about the role of lifestyle in health and wellbeing, integrating her expertise as a trained yoga teacher to offer a holistic approach to menopause care. Driven by a desire to empower, Sam works to create a supportive and informed environment for her patients, helping them navigate the physical and emotional changes that come with menopause. Mum to two very keen female teenage climbers, Sam started climbing herself about five years ago and has really enjoyed the challenge of trying something new, as well as the uniquely welcoming nature of the climbing community.
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building a business around your passion
ahlam woods (SHE/HER) founder, clover climb
Exploring where your passion can take you, join Ahlam on her talk about the journey from first discovering climbing, through to starting her own women's climbing apparel business. From frustrations with ill-fitting clothing, to figuring out how to do it herself, this talk dives into the reality of trying to take on a new challenge, the lessons learnt along the way and not being afraid of making mistakes and trying again.
Using the mindset of learning, adapting and overcoming that climbing is known for, as well as invaluable feedback from the climbing community, Ahlam is trying to build more than just a brand, she’s trying to build a movement. A genuine reflection of what real women climbing looks like, our unique versions of strong, not what we’re told to be but what we actually are. If you’re looking for that push to start your own endeavour, gain some insight into what it’s really like and ask the difficult questions, then you won't want to miss it!
After discovering climbing at University, Ahlam became instantly hooked. From trad, to sport to bouldering, she climbed anything she could get her hands on. Wanting to do even more, she began learning to teach others and started coaching on the side. After working with women’s groups, both indoors and out, she was hearing the same complaints over and over again. Finding clothes that fit the strong shape of a climber. Shoulders never fitting in t-shirts, lats cut in half by sports bras, trousers stuck on thighs. So, she decided to do something about it - and that’s how Clover Climb was born. A women's climbing brand that’s actually Strong Women Shaped. Having recently launched her first collection, she is currently gearing up for the next drop of custom athletic wear that's designed for the climbing build. Her philosophy - we shouldn't have to change to fit clothes, they should change to fit us.
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finger health for climbers: load, pain and resilience
erin jukes (SHE/HER) physiotherapist
Finger pain and injury can feel like an inevitable part of climbing - yet our fingers are incredibly adaptable if we know how to load them well. Drawing on her experience as a physiotherapist with a special interest in climbing- related injuries, Erin will explore how fingers function under the unique demands of climbing. This session focuses on developing resilience rather than avoiding stress, helping climbers make informed decisions and feel more confident when something feels "off".
Erin is a physiotherapist and passionate climber based in Sheffield. Currently working as a rotational physiotherapist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Erin supports patients with a wide range of health conditions, from diabetes to soft tissue injuries. Her love for climbing led her to focus her dissertation on A2 pulley injuries, which sparked her interest in climbing-specific physiotherapy. Erin is dedicated to helping individuals be their best selves through encouraging an active, healthy and balanced lifestyle.
IG: @erin_thephysio