ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH CLIMBING WALLS LAUNCHES PIONEERING NEW ACCREDITATION PROGRAMME

 

Leading the sector with exemplary safety standards

 

In a first for the indoor climbing industry, the Association of British Climbing Walls (ABC) has launched a climbing wall accreditation programme, with support from the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) and Sport England, to recognise and drive the sector’s professionalism, safety, growth and diversity.

Founded in 1994, the ABC now represents over 200 climbing and bouldering walls in the UK and Ireland, from the UK’s largest wall groups to many small independent operators. It promotes the development of the sector and its individual members through the publication of industry operational guidelines, industry research, services such as the Incident Reporting Database, and events including the ABC Conference, the UK’s largest indoor climbing industry event held every September.

From today, climbing walls in England and Wales can apply for ABC Accreditation, receiving step-by-step support from the ABC. 

Kath Hipwell, CEO of the ABC, said: 

“We are pleased to be bringing Accreditation to the indoor climbing industry and to have already had such a positive reception. This major project promotes continual improvement in safety and professionalism, while enabling climbing walls to demonstrate to their customers, investors and insurers that they are meeting excellent standards of safety and customer care.”

 

As part of the mission to promote safety and participation in indoor climbing, customers will be able to easily identify an ABC Accredited wall, which will receive a plaque to display in the centre, digital marketing materials and a listing on the ABC website. Climbers at any level can visit an ABC Accredited wall confident that an assessor has found that the wall meets key operational safety standards, including following appropriate inspection and maintenance schedules, staff training and safeguarding.

The ABC Accreditation launch in England and Wales follows a year-long consultation phase involving  wall owners, technical experts and other industry stakeholders and a pilot scheme run with a small number of walls. The programme is supported by the BMC and received grant funding from Sport England to support the ambitions of their Uniting The Movement strategy. Over time the ABC hopes to expand the scheme into Scotland and Ireland.

Paul Ratcliffe, Chief Executive of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), said: 

“This is a great step forward for the indoor climbing industry, raising safety standards and providing a quality mark of assurance for customers. 

“It’s been a pleasure working with the ABC to support making this happen. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Sport England for their investment into this project.”

 

Phil Smith, Executive Director of Partnerships at Sport England, said:

“The climbing industry has seen remarkable growth in recent years, and as it continues to expand, maintaining the highest standards of safety is more important than ever. Through Sport England’s investment partnership with the BMC and their associated partner, the ABC, we are committed to supporting climbing walls in being safe, welcoming, and inclusive spaces for everyone.

“The Accreditation scheme builds on existing guidance to ensure climbing structures and personal protective equipment are well managed, with robust approaches to risk management, safeguarding, and emergency response.

“We encourage all climbing walls to consider the benefits of engaging with this scheme as part of their commitment to creating a safer sporting environment for all.” 

 

Bartek Skibinski, Centre Manager at Mile End Climbing Wall, which participated in the pilot, said:

“We are very proud to become one of the first ABC Accredited walls in the country. When the pilot was announced I wanted to get Mile End involved, as there weren’t any similar schemes which met our needs as a climbing wall. We wanted to be able to measure ourselves against the accreditation standards, and give our climbers the reassurance that we take their safety and experience in our centre incredibly seriously. It’s been an insightful process and in my opinion the programme is exactly what the industry needs.”

 

Any interested wall owner or operator can find more details at www.abcwalls.co.uk/accreditation and sign up for our introductory webinar on 12 May 2025, 10-11am.

Over the last few months the ABC has received a number of inquiries from climbing centres looking for advice around what they should and should not be reporting under RIDDOR.

Confusion stems from a few different areas, with walls reporting conflicting advice from relevant authorities, as well as the recent updates to the RIDDOR submission forms.

What is RIDDOR

RIDDOR, or the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, is a UK law that requires employers, the self-employed, and managers of work premises to report certain workplace incidents. These include work related accidents, occupational diseases, dangerous occurrences and gas-related incidents.

RIDDOR helps authorities like the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigate and prevent future incidents by requiring detailed reports of such events.

RIDDOR is primarily a tool for reporting workplace accidents, and its use in that context is relatively well defined. Instead confusion tends to focus on whether accidents which involve the public and/or stem from climbing related activities should be reported.

The ABC’s position on accidents which stem from climbing related activities

 

Accidents involving the general public:

In general, accidents which occur through general participation in sporting activities, such as climbing, are not reportable under RIDDOR. However any accident where equipment failure, or failings in the management of the activities played a contributing role, should be reported.

Specifically, under ‘Examples of reportable incidents’, the HSE states:

‘Q. Are sporting injuries reportable?

A. No, if the injury arose out of the normal participation of the activity. Injuries should be reported if they were due to defective equipment or failings in the organisation and management of an event.’

 

While this is reasonably clear, and can be applied in most circumstances, wall owners/managers must still exercise their judgement over what does and does not constitute ‘normal participation’ and ‘failings in organisation and management’ when it comes to the specific circumstances of the accident.

Accidents involving staff:

Accidents involving staff should be reported under RIDDOR if they:

1. Result in death or serious injury related to work activities.
2. Cause an employee or self-employed instructor to be unable to work for over seven consecutive days.
3. Also involve a member of the public who is injured and taken directly to hospital.
4. Involve a dangerous occurrence, such as structural or equipment failure.

Deferring to relevant bodies

It is important to note that this is general advice. If you have received conflicting information or guidance from a relevant party, such as your local Environmental Health Office or insurer, the ABC advises that you follow that guidance.

Further guidance

The ABC publishes and maintains a collection of guideline documents with the intention of ensuring an excellent and consistent level of operational safety across the climbing industry. The ABC guidelines outline a series of industry standards and make recommendations based on the experience of ABC members, BS EN Standards and relevant legislation and publications.

These guidelines are available to ABC members from the Member Downloads area. If you have a question on any aspect of the guidance, please get in touch.

If you are interested in joining the ABC click here.

The ABC has recently published the new Operational Guidelines Part 3: Safeguarding. This forms the newest part of the ABC Operational Guidelines, which are produced to support an excellent and consistent level of operational safety across the climbing industry.

In response to member feedback and growing demand within the industry, the ABC has worked with partners including the BMC, Mountaineering Ireland and Mountaineering Scotland to publish this set of guidance, which is informed by relevant legislation and expert organisations such as the NSPCC.

Safeguarding children and adults at risk is a fundamental part of running any climbing wall facility. Getting safeguarding right will enable wider participation and ensure safe access for everyone.

To meet ABC safeguarding standards, all members should follow these guidelines and have the relevant documents and processes in place, examples of which are provided for you within the guidelines and as separate downloads.

You will find all Operational Guidelines within the Member Downloads section of our website.

Your Questions Answered

You are invited to join Dean Straw, ABC Board Safeguarding Lead and members of the ABC team for a Safeguarding Guidance Q&A on 26th June, 10-11.30am (drop in).

We welcome all questions, clarifications and suggestions on the guidance and ways that we can develop it in future iterations. Please send any questions in advance to [email protected].

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