Membership

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Benefits of Membership

A. Membership Fees (due per Annum)

* Top Out Club Fees                  R0-00

If competing in any local indoor climbing competitions, the Western Cape Climbing (WCC) Annual Competition Fee is also payable. WCC Membership is free.

* WCC Fees                              R250-00

If competing in any Provincial, National or International climbing competition, the South African National Climbing Federations (SANCF) Annual Fee is also payable.

* SANCF Fees                            R250-00

TOTAL                                      R500-00

B. Membership Rights

By being a member of Top Out Climbing Club:

  1. The Climber has an opportunity to participate in a structured sporting environment; and
  2. The Climber can compete at official Club/School competitions whose format follows the international rules and standards; and
  3. The Climber can participate in the official Provincial Competitions if they are also a member of Western Cape Climbing through Top Out; and
  4. A Climber participating in any official Provincial competition (s) where the climber may earn the right to participate in a national and thereafter potentially an international competition, will be required to pay their full Provincial and SANCF fees at the beginning of the year before entering the competition; and
  5. The Climber may then earn official Provincial Colours (through Western Cape Climbing’s  membership with Western Cape Provincial Sports Confederation); and
  6. The Climber may then earn official SANCF Colours; and
  7. The Climber may then earn official Protea (SASCOC) Colours if the Climber competes in official IFSC Championship Competitions if selected by the SANCF and approved by SASCOC to do so; and
  8. The Climber can compete in the official World Games as a member of Team SA if the IFSC is represented and the Climber qualifies in terms of the criteria set by the SASCOC and SANCF (future Youth Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and Africa Games)
  9. The Climber can compete in official IFSC World Cup Competitions(individual) if approved by the SANCF; and
  10. The Climber can form part of the Solidarity Programme of IFSC event sponsored programs if proposed by the Provincial member and approved and selected by the SANCF; and
  11. On representing their Province or the SANCF, the Climber will receive official Club (or School – if their School recognises the sport of climbing) Colours for Provincial and National Representation.

C. Membership Benefits

Top Out Members benefit from the following:

  1. Being able to receive coaching from the Club: and
  2. Being able to participate in workshops and courses offered by the Club; and
  3. Being able to attend Outdoor events such as Climbing Days, Climbing Camps and Outdoor Camps
  4. The SANCF sits on the SASCOC Sports Federation Presidents Committee as a voting member.

D. The sport of Sport Climbing – Direct and Indirect Benefits

The Benefits of Climbing are now able to be realised for those who will benefit directly from a structured climbing program and environment as a result the official structures due to the SASCOC membership and indirectly through the actual participation in the sport of Sport Climbing;

There are many direct and indirect benefits:

  • Many children who don’t excel in other, more traditional sports will find that they can succeed in climbing. In a world where the pressure to look a certain way or achieve a certain level of success reaches even to the very young, it can be hard for young children to find their own niche or identity;
  • Climbing is a one on one sport:

i. A person is challenged only by themselves and the obstacle before them.

ii. Success is measured and controlled by setting attainable goals;

iii. This is a new tool to help your children build self-esteem, confidence and physical strength;

iv. Participation in climbing develops a child’s mind and body;

v. It develops eye/hand coordination, muscle strength and flexibility; and

vi. It teaches them how it feels to be successful on their own.

  • Participation in climbing gives a child a higher level of self-esteem, and confidence;
  • Most importantly climbing is fun;
  • It teaches them the importance of dedication, and focus;
  • They make bonding friendships;
  • Physical activity keeps your child healthy;
  • Climbing activities answer a need for adventure, challenge and discovery that is very natural in children at the elementary school level. It is an activity which captures their interest at once and brings them face to face with situations that are motivating but which demand some kind of effort;
  • Climbing provides the opportunity for authentic motor development in a play context, a  chance to learn how to surpass oneself and achieve self-control, and to develop the values of courage, solidarity and respect;
  • Climbing develops:

i. Individual skills: visual acuity, lateral movement, spatial perception, coordination, muscular strength, emotional control (fear), commitment (calculated risks), taking responsibility for safety, problem solving, observation, analysis and method, self-confidence, concentration and creativity;

ii. Team skills: keeping an eye on one’s teammate, acting as advisor, providing motivation, offering encouragement and having confidence in the other person; and

iii. Collective skills: Cooperating with another person and ensuring their safety.

  • Risk management and cost concerns usually associated with climbing were recently addressed and minimised for indoor-climbing walls in the public schools in the USA. A 15-year study found that participation in Project Adventure ropes courses is safer than participation in traditional physical education classes (Steffen & Stiehl, 1995), and climbing on a traverse wall reportedly produces fewer injuries than playing on the playground (Hinson, 1998);
  • The use of a traverse climbing wall within a physical education class opens the door to some stimulating pedagogical situations. One of the aims is to have more time available for motor activities and thus avoid having youngsters sitting around inactive for long periods; and In the initial learning phase:

i. Beginners are fascinated by climbing walls and typically they will want to find out how to use it as quickly as possible. Finding oneself obliged to move over a vertical surface, one is quickly challenged by the fact of being a quadruped.

ii. At this early stage, learning takes place by means of tasks which are not closely defined; this is followed little by little by semi-defined tasks where instructions are given in relation to a goal, to some kind of organization and to the motor operations that need to be carried out.

iii. A good part of the learning that takes place will be built on by the youngsters themselves, initiated by a climbing space that is attractive to them, making for an organized structure with pedagogical supports of a playful nature that call upon the imagination Ends.

Note: Direct & Indirect Benefits listing Courtesy of SANCF.