Climber Development - Regional Academies

At the end of 2024, Mountaineering Ireland are working with four climbing centres to create Regional Academies to support climbers, coaches and parents from the start of 2025. The Academies are being developed in:

Belfast Boulder World
Awesome Walls Dublin
Awesome Walls Cork
SUAS Limerick

The Regional Academies plan to deliver weekly sessions by coaches trained to deliver the MI Regional Academy curriculum. The Regional Academies will focus on delivering a sound technical and physical preparation programme to climbers aged 9-18 years of age. The Regional Academies will act as an example of best practice whilst also providing an appropriate environment to nurture talented young climbers emerging from grass roots and schools competitions.

The Regional Academies will address the building blocks of climber development. Each 90-minute Regional Academy session prepared to the standards set by the MI Performance department will include:

A dynamic warm up focused on movement competency
A technical focus to work on boulder and lead progressions
A physical focus to work on power and endurance progressions.
A static cool down focused on recovery

Regional Academy coaches will progress climbers according to their competency levels and not chronological age.

Mountaineering Ireland encourage coaches to gain experience of the Regional Academy curriculum through a coaching apprenticeship programme. Each year there will be places for several apprentice coaches to work within a regional programme, under the supervision of an experienced mentor coach. With the support of experienced Regional Academy coaches, the MI Regional academy model may also be adopted and rolled out at other walls across Ireland.