Ximena Gomez-Arceo sat on a beanbag on the bottom floor of Boston University’s Fitness and Recreation Center at noon on April 6. Above her, exercising students buzzed along as usual, but here, it was quiet.
Gomez-Arceo, a freshman in the College of Fine Arts, is a FitRec climbing wall attendant. As she speaks, she looks to the vacant 30-foot rock wall towering over her, blocky and dull brownish-gray except for the brightly colored hand-and foot-holds speckling its surface.
This midday calm may not accurately represent climbing’s current popularity at BU.
Gomez-Arceo has worked at the FitRec climbing wall since last semester and said she has noticed the sport growing since she started in the fall. She said the wall tends to get busy on Thursday and Friday evenings.
“I think it’s getting more popular now,” Gomez-Arceo said. “I think more people are starting to find out about it.”
Jackie Chang, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and the secretary of the BU Climbing Club, also works at FitRec as a climbing wall attendant and route-setter. She agrees climbing has seen a surge in popularity this semester and attributes it to the social aspect of the sport.
“I’m a very social person, and that’s how I started climbing,” Chang said. “I just went, and I got to know a ton of people, and it feels like everyone knows everyone. When you go, there’s no way you wouldn’t say ‘hi’ to someone you knew there.”
Chang said the welcoming staff and atmosphere make the rock wall a friendly oasis in a gym that can otherwise be intimidating. For her, the community is the best part of climbing.
“It’s really nice to have other people to climb with, and you’re never really alone, even if you show up alone,” Chang said.
But climbing can be more than recreational. Hannah Schmidt, a senior in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and the captain of BU Climbing Club’s competitive team, said competitive climbing is experiencing growth as well.
Schmidt said this trend is not exclusive to BU. USA climbing, the governing organization for climbing, increased in popularity.
“I was probably 13 or 14, so 2012, 2013 … youth climbing was really popular, and now that all those kids are in college, collegiate climbing has become really competitive and really intense,” Schmidt said.
However, Schmidt, who is one of two members of the BU Climbing Club who qualified to compete at the national level this year, said BU lags behind other schools in terms of climbing opportunities.
“It’s a good way to introduce people to climbing but I don’t think it’s sustainable for people who want to continue,” Schmidt said of the FitRec climbing wall.
Schmidt said the BU Climbing Club struggles with funding. Though she and one other club member qualified for the national championship, they may not be able to attend due to funding issues.
“We made a GoFundMe to get funds because the school just won’t give us anything,” Schmidt said.
Jonathan Zhang, a sophomore in CAS and the communications chair of the BU Climbing Club, confirmed the club’s limited budget, but he added that climbing is an easy sport to start. It does not have many barriers to entry, and FitRec is “very beginner-friendly.”
“I believe anyone can try it out,” Zhang said. “Anyone can come into the FitRec climbing wall, just as long as they have climbing shoes, which they can rent from the Pro Shop.”
It costs $3 to rent shoes from the FitRec Pro Shop. Climbers also have to sign waivers to show they understand they could get hurt.
While BU and FitRec don’t have much to offer for competitive climbers, Zhang still encourages people to give the sport a chance.
“Don’t get intimidated from trying out new things, and that includes climbing,” Zhang said. “I’ve definitely gotten a lot of emails from people who have said that they have never done climbing before and what they should do. I always say to them to just try it out. Come by the FitRec climbing wall anytime.”
