UKC

Has anyone come across the following problem, and if so, did you find a solution to it?
Most walls require juniors to be supervised whilst belaying, and 14 - 17 year olds to pass a paid for test to be able to climb unsupervised, which is fine at your local wall, where you pay for it once and then that's it. However, my daughter wants to do the Leading Ladder comp, and I want to do it too rather than just drive her round the south east and be a belay bunny, but to do that she's got to do the paid for Junior competency test at every different wall we go to because she's only 15. Makes it prohibitively expensive!

In reply to karinbradbury: Tricky one because of her age and many walls' (understandable) caution to younger users but try this:

You should be able to sign your daughter in as a guest at most walls and have her belay you. 'Guest' is not the same thing as 'Novice' so there shouldn't be any restriction on whether or not she can belay unsupervised. I suppose this would depend on each wall's Conditions of Use so give them a scan online ahead of time if possible.

This is something we often do to get around high registration/sign-up fees for one-time visits at walls, but then we're all well over 18. I'm not sure how much this is a factor.

In reply to karinbradbury:
Hi, its a common question that any wall hosting the comp will probably have an answer to. Just give them a call. Some are sensible, flexible and open minded, others not so much.
If they expect you to pay extra for competancy tests that you know from experience you do not need then vote with your feet, don't give them the business.
Good luck and enjoy.
Oz.