UKC

I'm trying to find out what policy climbing walls generally adopt when it comes to unsupervised lead climbing by 16 & 17 year olds. By unsupervised I mean either that there is no adult climber present who is part of the climbing group and/or that the climbing takes place in a sports centre where there are no climbers on reception or keeping an eye on the climbers.  I have looked at a few climbing wall sites but haven't found anything specific in their T & Cs hence asking here.

Our local wall which is in a large sports centre is unsupervised by the sports centre staff so the wall policy is set in conjunction with a technical advisor, usually someone with an MIA. The most recent update to the policy now says that 16 & 17 year olds can top rope unsupervised after passing an induction test but not lead climb. The induction comprises putting on a harness, tying in and belaying someone top roping competently and is the same test as for adults although adults are then able to lead climb if they want to whereas 16 & 17 year olds cannot.

Competence can vary widely when it comes to belaying and if it was up to me I'd get everyone to show they can belay lead climbing competently but I'm assuming that walls may have a higher level of responsibility to under 18's ?

Would be reasonable to ask the wall to allow unsupervised lead climbing by 16 & 17 year olds if they had shown their competence first to an an instructor qualified to assess lead climbing ?

Most walls allow what there insurance policy says. I.E all under 18’s must be supervised by an adult.

They compromise on this at their peril.

They are not adults so a Wall will need two things.

1) A provable history of them performing both leading and peer belaying. This is something that an appropriate representative of the Wall has observed and checked. Being within schemes such as NICAS delivers this.

2) A test by a representative of the Wall to confirm their ability to perform the actions and act responsibly.

If something went wrong the onus would be on the Wall to justify why (as U18's) they were allowed to perform these actions unsupervised. Heresay would not suffice here.

Unfortunately the law is rather confused about 16 and 17 year olds (and inconsistent across the UK) they are adults for some purposes and children for others.  

It is clearly bonkers that a 17 year old can drive their own car to a climbing wall and then not be permitted to climb without a grown up.

A 16 year old might quite legally be a parent themselves, living in a flat with their own child.  

But that is the way it is.  

My local wall allows 14-17yr olds to join and top rope or boulder independently of adult supervision, once they have parental consent and passed a competency demonstration with the centre staff. 

If they want to lead climb or lead belay without adult supervision, they need to pass a further competency demonstration.

Under 14s do have to habe adult supervision, either with an instructor or as the guest of an adult member.

I remember last year my daughter turned 14 and got signed off to climb unsupervised at Ratho which includes leading.  It's a bit of a rite of passage for the kids in the youth squad.  

My guess is most of the 14 year olds who are interested in being signed off are already well known to the coaching staff.

That sign off doesn't automatically include lead climbing! But yes being known to the coaches as well as going through an assessment process, and having informed consent from parents make this possible.

Thanks for all the replies, they're helpful.

FYI: The law is clear, a child is anyone under 18 years of age. The fact that you can leave home, get married, or drive a car before age 18 is simply a reflection of the fact that the law specifies a minimum age for such activities which are not, therefore, limited to adults i.e. a 17 year old is still a child but is legally entitled to drive a car once they have passed their test.