Speakers & Content
2026 Conference Programme
Indoor Climbing: Next Generation
Our agenda for 2026 is focused on growth: building the pipeline of new climbers, developing the workforce we need, and learning from the successes (and failures) in other sport and leisure sectors.
Agenda
Click on any session to learn more and save your personal schedule using the star feature.
We are still making updates and additions to the agenda so please check back for the latest version.
- Wednesday 16 Sep 2026
- Thursday 17 Sep 2026
Wednesday 16 Sep 2026
9:30 am
Conference registration
Collect your badge at the Magna Centre main entrance
RedpointHQ Exhibition Hall and Face of Steel room open 9:30 am - 5:30 pm
10:30 am
Welcome from the ABC
Kath Hipwell, Dean StrawTruBlue Tech Main Stage
Join the ABC team and board members for an insight into the work of the ABC over the last year and what's on the horizon for the association and the wider sector over the next 12 months.
11:15 am
Who's On Our Walls? What Indoor Climbers Are Telling Us
Garnet MooreTruBlue Tech Main Stage
In 2019 and again in 2026, the Climbing Wall Association surveyed nearly 18,000 indoor climbers across hundreds of gyms in North America. The trends that emerged are from the United States and Canada, but we will discuss how the findings are representative of the climbing community at large. This session presents the most significant findings from both surveys, including shifts in climber demographics, training behavior, outdoor participation, community structure, and what climbers actually want from their gyms. Drawing on experience working with climbing walls around the world, we will translate the data into practical advice for UK operators navigating their own communities' needs. We are all facing an evolving climbing wall user base that is more diverse and more fitness-oriented with an evolving attitude towards climbing indoors and out.
12:00 pm
Visit Exhibition & Lunch
Explore the Redpoint HQ Exhibition Hall and the Face of Steel demo room. Lunch from our fantastic street food vendors is available outside the Face of Steel room.
2:30 pm
Promoting our Sport
TruBlue Tech Main Stage
Climbing is great, we know that. How do we make sure everyone else does too?! This panel brings together journalists, climbing wall marketeers and sector innovators to discuss the next level.
Moderator: Mary-Ann Ochota, Broadcaster
Panellists:
Danaan Markey, Founder, Pro Climbing League
Rebecca Ting, Director, Women's Climbing Symposium
3:20 pm
Employment Rights Act | What’s Changed and What Your Wall Needs to Do Now
Patrick Carroll-FoggBreakout Room 2
Get up to speed with 14 key reforms, including changes to day one rights, Statutory Sick Pay, unfair dismissal, fire and rehire, and other important areas. Learn what they mean in practice and the steps you can take now to prepare your organisation over the next 12 months. As a part of the session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask WorkNest’s Employment Law expert your pertinent questions relating to the ERA.
Host: Patrick Carroll-Fogg, Employment Law Specialist and Engagement Lead, WorkNest
Wired differently, working better: a practical guide to managing neurodiverse teams
Sarah Castor-PerryBreakout Room 3
Around 1 in 5 working-age adults in the UK is neurodivergent. That means neurodivergent people are already in your teams, whether or not anyone has named it. Drawing on research directly with climbing wall managers and staff conducted over summer 2026, this session brings the data closer to home: how prevalent neurodivergence is in this workforce, what challenges it creates for managers, and what the evidence says about how to address them. The session will show what neurodivergent staff bring to businesses, what gets in the way of their best work, and what managers and teams can do to support them. Grounded in current UK evidence and industry data, with practical tools and principles that apply across team sizes.
Host: Sarah Castor-Perry, Kernel Consulting
4:10 pm
Visit Exhibition
The RedpointHQ Exhibition Hall and the Face of Steel room will stay open until 5:30 pm.
4:15 pm
ABC AGM
ABC BoardBreakout Room 1
ABC Voting Members only (climbing walls)
Meet the ABC board and participate in the AGM. Voting members will be informed of the agenda in advance.
4:30 pm
Senior management workshop: industry growth and development
Breakout Room 1
ABC Members only - join the ABC Board for a workshop and networking event on how we can work as an industry to drive participation in climbing at both local and national level.
Facilitator: Mary-Ann Ochota
6:00 pm
Inside Edge: climbing & networking evening
The Climbing Works Sheffield
Join us at The Climbing Works Sheffield for a friendly evening of bouldering, networking, dinner and drinks!
Our team comp returns so get ready to take on your industry friends and rivals on some of the newest holds on the market.
What to expect:
- Comp blocs including team challenges
- Drinks from The Works Taproom
- Dinner included
You will need to register if you have not climbed at The Climbing Works before.
Transport will not be provided to/from The Works. There is parking available and the site is easily accessible by public transport and Uber. Please consider car sharing. Cars can be left at the Magna Centre overnight (and will be locked in until the morning).
Thursday 17 Sep 2026
9:30 am
Apprenticeships in Climbing: Opportunities and Challenges
Breakout room 1
The Membership Code: Cracking Growth and Retention with Industry Data
Miura HawkinsBreakout Room 3
Your members are telling you something before they leave, are you listening? Using data from across the industry, we'll identify the key moments that make or break retention, giving you practical, high-impact wins to improve your bottom line.
Host: Miura Hawkins, CEO, BETA
Working together: Technical Advisors & Walls
Pete Nellist, Dan CrossdaleBreakout Room 2
An interactive session exploring how TAs and walls can work together for better outcomes. We will look at supporting walls through an incident and where the TA fits in: how they can be represented as an expert witness and how they can best work with walls to provide good documented support. We will also discuss safety checks undertaken by TAs and the benefit of working to agreed standards.
Contributors:
- Pete Nellist
- Dan Crossdale
10:35 am
What next for climbing? Learning from the wider leisure industry
TruBlue Tech Main Stage
How hot really is Padel? What's the next big thing?
Join us for this fireside chat to gain a broader view on the leisure sector at a UK and European level, and where climbing sits within that. Who is spending what, and where? What's up, what's down? What does saturation really mean? What's micro, what's macro, what's local, what's national?
Moderator: Mary-Ann Ochota, Broadcaster
In conversation:
Mark Booth, KPMG Leisure
11:20 am
Visit Exhibition & Refreshments
12:00 pm
Face of Steel: Battle on the Boards
George Lonsdale, Core Climbing, WalltopiaFace of Steel Room
Join us in the Face of Steel room to see the training boards in action!
12:45 pm
Visit Exhibition & Lunch
Explore the Redpoint HQ Exhibition Hall and the Face of Steel demo room. Lunch from our fantastic street food vendors is available outside the Face of Steel room.
Tradeshow-only ticket holders (12-4pm Friday) do not have lunch included in their ticket, but can purchase light refreshments in the Exhibition Hall.
2:00 pm
From Passion to Profession: Building Stronger Teams in the Climbing Industry
TruBlue Tech Main Stage
How can professionalisation, training and leadership pathways strengthen climbing teams and improve retention? The panel will discuss the dangers of the "Accidental manager", how they approach management training, the role of national qualifications and the pros and cons of internal promotion vs bringing in strong talent from outside of the industry.
Moderator: George Lonsdale
Panel:
Katya Creed, London Climbing Centres
Jack Griffiths, Flashpoint Group
2:45 pm
Route setting panel
George LonsdaleBreakout Room 1
Safeguarding in Practice: What Good Looks Like
Dean Straw, Helen Murphy, Jamie SmithBreakout Room 1
An informative and interactive session exploring what effective safeguarding looks like in climbing walls and indoor climbing environments. Led by safeguarding specialists and sector experts, the session will cover current legislation, emerging risks and practical approaches to creating safer spaces for participants, staff and volunteers.
Hosts:
- Dean Straw, Develop Through Challenge
- Helen Murphy, Inclusion & Safeguarding Manager, BMC
- Jamie Smith, ClimbScotland Development Manager & Safeguarding Lead, Mountaineering Scotland
3:30 pm
Visit Exhibition
The RedpointHQ Exhibition Hall and Face of Steel room will stay open until 4pm.
Meet our speakers
We’re excited to be joined by another fantastic line-up of experts from the world of climbing and beyond. Stay tuned as we announce more speakers in the coming weeks.
Click on any image for the speaker’s bio
Keynotes
Garnet Moore (he/him)
Executive Director, Climbing Wall Association (USA)
Garnet Moore is the Executive Director of the Climbing Wall Association (CWA), with 20 years of experience in the outdoor and climbing industries from retail to manufacturing to operations to regulatory affairs.
Since joining the CWA in 2019, Garnet has served as Director of Operations, Director of Standards and Regulatory Affairs, and Interim Executive Director, guiding the industry through the challenges of the pandemic before being named Executive Director in 2023. He oversees the CWA's work in advocacy, industry standards development, professional certification, research, and the annual CWA Summit
Garnet is passionate about ensuring that climbing facilities of all sizes have the resources they need to thrive while preserving climbing’s culture of independence, whimsy, adventure, and personal responsibility.
Garnet Moore
Climbing Wall Association (USA)
Panels
Katya Creed (she/her)
Chief of Staff, London Climbing Centres
Katya has worked in the climbing industry since 2011 and is currently Chief of Staff at London Climbing Centres. Her role spans recruitment, people development, events, partnerships and operational support across the London region.
She has hired and helped train and develop over 200 staff, working closely with managers on recruitment, onboarding, internal progression and team culture. She is particularly interested in how clearer leadership pathways, better management support and stronger workplace culture can improve retention and protect the future of the industry.
Katya Creed
London Climbing Centres
Jack Griffiths (he/him)
Director & CEO, Flashpoint Climbing Group
Jack is the Director and CEO of Flashpoint Climbing Group, a collection of five climbing walls and activity centres across the South West and South Wales.
Originally from London, Jack discovered climbing at the age of 14 through the kids’ club at The Castle Climbing Centre. Since then, he has built a lifelong career and passion in the climbing industry. He holds the Mountaineering and Climbing Instructor qualification and is a provider for the Climbing Wall Instructor and Bouldering Wall Instructor awards. Over the years, Jack has gained extensive hands-on experience across all aspects of climbing wall operations, including route setting, reception, instruction, and management.
Recently completing a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Jack is excited to combine his academic learning with his industry experience to support the ABC and help to deliver value to its members and the wider climbing community.
Jack Griffiths
Flashpoint Climbing Group
Kath Hipwell (she/her)
CEO, Association of British Climbing Walls
Kath is passionate about sport and its powerful positive impact on the body and mind. She has loved the mountains and climbing since she was a child and is now enjoying introducing her own children to her friendly local wall, NICAS and the outdoors.
Kath is responsible for the development and execution of the ABC’s strategy: working with the board and partners to promote the professionalism, health, growth and diversity of indoor climbing.
Kath Hipwell
ABC
George Lonsdale (he/him)
Professional Routesetter & Climbing Event Presenter
George is a staple now on the UK climbing scene. He’s the host of many of the major comps here on home turf, and is the “go to” for interviewing climbers and athletes from across the industry. George has worked in the outdoor industry for the past 15 years and as the head routesetter of a major climbing wall chain and as an advocate for diversity and inclusion in our industry and customer base, offers vital extra insight into the topics we’ll be talking about.
George Lonsdale
Routesetter & event presenter
Danaan Markey (he/him)
CEO, Pro Climbing League
Danaan Markey is the CEO of the Pro Climbing League (PCL), a new competition series that launched its debut event in London and is now expanding internationally. He has climbed for nearly 20 years and spent 15 of those working across the climbing industry in various roles including coaching, routesetting and marketing, giving him a ground-up view of how the sport grows. He leads PCL's mission to grow participation by building a professional league that brings new audiences to climbing and strengthens the wider ecosystem.
Danaan Markey
Pro Climbing League
Mary-Ann Ochota (she/her)
Broadcaster
Mary-Ann Ochota is a professional broadcaster, author and Patron of the British Mountaineering Council. She is Chair of the Protected Landscapes Partnership and President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Mary-Ann Ochota
Broadcaster & author
Louis Parkinson (he/him)
Managing Director & Head Coach, Catalyst Climbing
Louis has been climbing for over twenty years and coaching professionally for more than a decade. He has competed nationally and internationally, representing Great Britain in the 2015 climbing world cup. In 2017, he founded Catalyst Climbing, which has grown into one of the world’s leading climbing coaching organisations, working with thousands of climbers of all ages and abilities – including athletes who have gone on to join the GB junior climbing team. Through his popularity on YouTube and Instagram, Louis has become widely known for his work on climbing performance and mindset.
Louis Parkinson
Catalyst Coaching
Rebecca Ting (she/her)
Director, Women's Climbing Symposium
Rebecca discovered climbing in the Army Reserves and it rapidly took over her life. Rebecca has been involved in the Women's Climbing Symposium since 2015, helped found Grimpeuses in 2017 and was part of the BMC Organisational Review Group in 2018. She is also a Part-time Editor for UKC and Rockfax.
Favourite adventures to date include multipitch trad in Anti-Atlas Morocco and Wadi Rum, skimo in the Rockies and canyoneering in Utah.
Rebecca Ting
Women’s Climbing Symposium
Breakout sessions
Patrick Carroll-Fogg (he/him)
Employment Law Specialist and Engagement Lead, WorkNest
Patrick brings over 14 years’ experience, combining specialist employment law expertise with hands-on HR business partnering across a wide range of sectors.
He is passionate about building strong, lasting relationships with clients and stakeholders, working collaboratively to deliver pragmatic solutions that support commercial success while effectively managing risk. Patrick is known for communicating complex legal and HR issues in clear, accessible language, and regularly delivers seminars across the UK on employment law and workplace issues, helping organisations build confidence in navigating challenges.
With a strong blend of legal knowledge and HR insight, Patrick enables organisations to achieve both immediate results and longer-term strategic goals, supporting sustainable growth.
Patrick Carroll-Fogg
WorkNest
Sarah Castor-Perry (she/her)
Director, Kernel Coaching & Consulting
Sarah is a certified ADHD/AuDHD coach, and experienced facilitator and consultant.
Since her own late ADHD diagnosis in 2023, she has been on a journey that has seen her leave her decade-long corporate career and found a business dedicated to helping neurodivergent individuals thrive, whether that’s through 1:1 coaching, or transforming the working environments they exist in through workshops, training & supervision, and in-depth support to becoming more neurodiversity-friendly.
She’s worked with clients across the UK and across sectors, from the food and drink industry to professional services and legal sector.
Sarah Castor-Perry
Kernel Coaching
Dan Crossdale
Group General Manager, Depot Climbing
Dan Crossdale is the General Manager of Depot Climbing. Having started climbing in secondary school, Dan began working in the climbing industry as an instructor in 2008 and has been involved with every element of running centres from initial development through to Management.
Dan has been involved with the ABC for 14 years and has developed a passion for Health and Safety across the sector. He believes there is scope for innovation within this area and hopes to bring the sector together to see progress for the betterment of all gyms.
Dan Crossdale
Depot Climbing
Miura Hawkins (she/her)
CEO, BETA Climbing
Miura has been involved in the climbing world since she tied her first figure eight at the age of six. She has been a team kid, birthday party belayer, front desk employee, setter, coach, IFSC World Cup competitor, and gym owner. She studied Neuroscience and Machine Learning at Johns Hopkins University and ETH Zürich and worked for almost a decade in the fintech industry before founding BETA Climbing to unite her passions for climbing and data. She lives in Aix-en-Provence, France with her husband and cat.
Your members are telling you something before they leave, are you listening? Using data from across the industry, we'll identify the key moments that make or break retention, giving you practical, high-impact wins to improve your bottom line.
Miura Hawkins
BETA Climbing
Graeme Hill (he/him)
Mountaineering Instructor and Technical Expert
Graeme Hill is Mountaineering Instructor and Technical Expert in accessible climbing activities. He has been delivering the Climbing for All course for over 20 years. He cofounded the GB paraclimbing team with the BMC and has sat on many panels advising on access including the BMC Equity Steering Group and IOL Accessible Outdoor Learning committee. He was recently appointed as a trustee of the Association of Mountaineering Instructors and lead of the Equity Diversity and Inclusion group.
Graeme Hill
Instructor and Technical Expert
Joe Lewis
Head of Activities and Leisure, Rock UK Summit Centre
Joe is a passionate climber dedicated to introducing new people to the sport and developing those within it to reach their potential whatever that looks like. He currently is the Head of Activities and Leisure at Rock UK Summit Centre, South Wales developing the climbing pathways for both adults and young people. He is also a BMC volunteer for South Wales promoting indoor climbing and organiser of multiple area climbing competitions.
Joe Lewis
Rock UK Summit Centre
Ged MacDomhnaill
Founder and CEO, The Climbing Hangar
Founder and CEO of The Climbing Hangar, co-founder of the Women’s Climbing Symposium, creator of the UK’s biggest UV Climbing Competition and party and the first UK Climbing company to introduce private equity into the industry – Ged’s industry CV is diverse and only just getting going.
Ged is passionate about protecting what’s precious in our climbing culture while it evolves with the times, a flux often seen as conflict but something he believes can benefit both our crags and our sport.
Ged MacDomhnaill
The Climbing Hangar
Helen Murphy (she/her)
Inclusion and Safeguarding Manager, BMC
Helen has worked in a safeguarding capacity for almost 20 years in sport. Working at a Regional and National level currently at the BMC and previously for British Gymnastics and Manchester Football Association.
Helen is passionate about creating safe and inclusive environments in sport and recreational activity with a person-centred approach. She has experience in all aspects of safeguarding from strategic to operational, compliance, education and investigation of complex safeguarding concerns.
She is considered an expert in her field and works collaboratively with sector partners ABC, NICAS and Mountain Training.
Helen Murphy
BMC
Pete Nellist
Pete is the Climbing Development Officer for Active Stirling in Scotland, a sports trust for the Stirlingshire area. He focuses on developing climbing in the local community through schools, clubs and organisations.
He has been climbing since a young age and has widely varied experience in the sector, from wall-management to outdoor instructing and summiting 6000m peaks.
Pete holds the Mountain Training Mountaineering Instructor Award and is a Ready to Rock course provider for Mountaineering Scotland.
Pete Nellist
ABC Board
Emma Perera
Employmewnt Lawyer and Independent Director (Legal), ABC
Emma Perera is an employment lawyer who is passionate about climbing and supporting the ABC with its aim of promoting the professionalism, health and growth of indoor climbing.
Emma joined the ABC as a Legal Non-Executive Director in 2021 to provide support and guidance to the ABC both in relation to its own operations and its work within the climbing community. When she is not climbing at the walls in East London she likes to run away to the hills for long days out hiking.
Emma Perera
ABC Board
Dean Straw
CEO, Develop Through Challenge
Dean is the CEO of Develop Through Challenge, the charity that operates Mile End Climbing Wall, one of the UK’s first dedicated indoor climbing centres.
Before working in the climbing sector, Dean’s background was in Youth & Community work. His safeguarding knowledge is born from years of experience and practical application in this field. He is no expert, but an experienced amateur with a desire to see young people protected from harm. Alongside his work with Develop Through Challenge and Mile End Climbing Wall, he has worked as lead Trustee for Safeguarding with the ABC Training Trust (NICAS), and as the ABC Director with the same remit.
He has been a climber and climbing coach for 25+ years and is proud to lead such an amazing team at DtC and Mile End Climbing Wall.
Dean Straw
Develop Through Challenge
Ian Walton
Independent Director (Treasurer), ABC Board
Ian’s background is in accountancy, followed by a period teaching maths, and then back into accountancy in business change management, leading finance functions through periods of change or challenge.
He became involved in climbing and comps in particular when his kids took up climbing, holding various positions as comps chairs and is an IFSC accredited judge.
Ian Walton
ABC Board
David Watson
Climbing Wall Manager, University of Hertfordshire
David had a successful career as an insurance professional for many years before deciding to work in the climbing industry. A keen climber since a teenager, he has managed to combine his business skills with his passion for climbing to embark on a second career.
He now runs the climbing wall at the University of Hertfordshire and helps represent the interests of smaller walls and individual members.
He has a wealth of experience working with youth groups together with commercial expertise in brand building, strategic partnerships and business acquisition.
David Watson
University of Hertfordshire
Jamie Smith (he/him)
ClimbScotland Development Manager, Mountaineering Scotland
Jamie has served as Safeguarding Lead at Mountaineering Scotland for the past 13 years, working closely with Children First to strengthen safeguarding policies, procedures, and best practice across the sport. He has also supported and mentored other Scottish Governing Bodies in developing their own safeguarding frameworks and represents Mountaineering Scotland on the national Safeguarding Working Group.
With more than 20 years’ experience working with young people across youth work, secondary education, and climbing clubs, Jamie brings extensive expertise to the role. A passionate climber for over 22 years, he has experience across indoor and outdoor climbing disciplines and holds CWI, CWDI, and RCI qualifications.
Jamie Smith
Mountaineering Scotland
