We have partnered with a fantastic friend of the UKPC called Access To Climb. Here you can find basic accessibility information for you local wall, and walls all over the UK. If your wall isn't on there, then try and get in contact with the centre for information, as they will be best placed to help you. In addition, if you know about the accessibility information of your local walls, please feel free to submit their accessibility info to the Access to Climb website to expand the database and support other climbers to access walls across the UK!

We strongly believe that if you identify as a paraclimber, you are a paraclimber! Any kind of mental or physical health condition, neurodivergence, sensory difference, or another visibile or invisible disability or condition can make somebody a paraclimber. You don't need to justify why you are a paraclimber to anybody; we believe wholly in self-identification. We have had members attend our socials who identify as autistic, blind or partially sighted, have anxiety disorders, brain injuries, chronic pain conditions, are D/deaf or hard of hearing, have hypermobility, specific learning differences, ADHD, depression, and so much more. We celebrate the whole range of differences and disabilities within our community!

At the moment, there are four National Paraclimbing championship competitions a year. Usually, three of these are run by the BMC and one by Mountaineering Scotland. Any paraclimber can enter these competitions, however there are criteria dictating which categories athletes have to compete in. The competitive paraclimbing scene has recently moved to the International Paralympic Classification (IPC) system, which unfortunately means that some disabilities are no longer considered eligible to be classified as the International Federation for Sport Climbing (IFSC) criteria have become much stricter. However, if you are not able to compete in one of the IFSC categories at national competitions, you can still compete in the Open category here in the UK. Just a note on fun comps: For fun competitions, there is generally one category for all paraclimbers. Sometimes they may be split, but they are usually not strict and you can enter the category you feel is most fitting for you. Some fun paraclimbing comps also have additional categories such as: mental health, autism, learning disability, and other categories. This generally makes them more inclusive to all self-identifying paraclimbers. However, the format can vary depending on which centre and competition it is.

Just wear clothes you can move around easily in! Unless otherwise specified, all our socials include equipment hire, and if one doesn't you can still hire anything you may need such as climbing shoes from the centre for a small fee.

If you would like to know more about the IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing) criteria, here is a brief summary! - Categories are based on 'type' of disability and how much they affect you from 1-3, with a lower number indicating it affects your climbing 'more'. - The categories are split as follow: B1-3 is for climbers who are blind or partially sighted; RP1-3 is for climbers with certain neurological and physical disabilities; AU1-2 is for climbers with an upper limb difference; and AL1-2 is for climbers with a lower limb difference or who are seated respectively. - If a climber has multiple types of impairments, they should choose for the one that affects them the most. To compete at IFSC international climbing comps, climbers must be selected to be a member of the country's national paraclimbing team. The selection process is based on your performance at national competitions, and unfortunately only applies to those climbers in the eligible categories laid out above. You can find information on what is and isn't classifiable in the appendix of this hefty document - good luck! We want to reiterate that even if you are not eligible to compete in an IFSC category, you are still a valid paraclimber! In fact, most of our members would not fit into the current classification system. In the UKPC community we make an active effort not to focus on classification at all and are inclusive of ALL disabilities and conditions.

Here at UKPC we strive to make climbing accessible to everybody, whatever your disability or ability. Many of our members even say that they find climbing easier than activities such as walking, standing, and other day to day activities. If you would like to try climbing but aren't sure it's right for you, feel free to come down to one of our friendly socials and try it out in a disability-aware and safe environment, where we will do everything we can to adapt to your needs. If you have any specific questions or access needs please feel free to contact us beforehand.

You can use our contact form or email us directly at UKParaclimbingCollective@Gmail.com We also have a discord, please contact us with your discord handle to be added.

Yes! We are a collective, and we welcome anyone who would like to start running their own socials at any climbing wall within the UK. Please contact us with your details, where you would like to run socials, and any other relevant information you would like to share with us. We will get in touch about partnering up, and take it from there... Thank you for volunteering your time!

Details of all events, including fun competitions, national competitions, free climbing coaching, and our regular UKPC socials can be found on our events page.

Yes! We have a discord, please contact us with your discord handle to be added.

Please contact us and we will answer your query as soon as possible. A member of the team will aim to get back to you within 5-10 working days. Thank you!