The Rock School- Rock Climbing for kids

The rock school

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I was invited to The Rock School for a 2 hour introductory workshop.

Rock Climbing as stated by the school is one of the best sports to develop a child’s psychomotor, cognitive as well as affective skills. This sport intrigues our little minds and challenges our physical abilities.

I love physical exercises and obstacles ( I am a semi-pro at the indoor playground). My Daddy thinks I am ready for rock climbing, but Mummy was not sure about the class as she knows I have a fear of heights. A good thing for this class is that parents are encouraged to watch and cheer which would boost my confidence.

Rock Climbing Course for kids!

Initially I was hesitant about taking the class, especially since Louis cannot participate in it. Need some brotherly support!

However after some subtle persuasion by Mummy, I decided to give it a try.

The Rock School is located at Bedok CC. I am quite familiar with the area as I had accompanied my cousin to some dance classes before in the CC.

The mini rock Wall

Upon reaching The Rock School, I was greeted by a sight of small rocks on 3 panels of walls in an air-conditioned room. I like what I saw and immediately warm up to the set up (Whew, no last minute jitters here!)

Equipments !

The class is conducted in 3 phrases by youth Rock Guides led by Instructor Fadhil for our class .There are adequate Rock guides in the class to guide us along and pay ample attention to us as an individual. The group that is participating ranges from age 5 to 14.

Rock Guide Intro

Phrase 1 – The warm up

This is where we play some games that require us to have group participation as well as opportunity to ‘scale’ the wall. Mummy was afraid I may resist the group setting, but I was quite involved and actually love the activity. I was the youngest in the class, but that did not deter me from having my share of fun

Fellow nominees in the Singapore Blog Awards ‘The Cheekie Monkies ‘ were there as well.

Phrase 1 : Warm up

Picasso- On the Rocks.

Phrase 2 – Practice Climb
 This is followed up by 3 practice climbs on the walls from one end of the room to the other. Each time, the instructors added more obstacles to challenge our mobility

Ready to climb!

The Starting rock

The circuit is known as the Junior Power Circuit and prove to be a great practise session for most of us who are first timers to the sport.

Phrase 2

I am proud to say I am a Spiderman Wannabe as I managed to stay on the wall for all 3 different sessions

Spiderman , here i come!

Touch the Volcano at the end!

 Phrase 3 – The Wall

Gearing up!

After an hour of practice, the instructor decided that we are ready for the big wall.
 We were all suited up on harness to prepare for our climb.

The Wall

The instructors had demonstrated to us what we should do when we were up the wall. They had also taught us how to come down from the wall. However the ‘warnings’ of having my head splatter on the wall should I do it wrongly got me all spooked!

Briefing time

I got real worried and my face turn white as I took their words literately.

Uh-Oh

There are 4 targets that have been set out for us. They are the Slope, the hill, the mountain and the peak. Each station depicts how tall we will be scaling. The peak is about a 3 story height.

The Wall

 I managed to step it up and climb to the top of the first stage - The Slope

The Slope

The climbing was not the issue, I had some problems trusting the robes on the descent.

The Descent

 Every time we reach a milestone, we will receive one sticker to indicate we made the climb.

Our Scorecard

The next stage was The Hill. I had managed to reach the top, however I was afraid of letting go of the rocks and trusting the ropes during the descent.

The hill

As a result, I decided I needed more practice before I proceed any further. Maybe Little Lou can join me in the future and perhaps I would be more confident then.

Practice Part 2

Little Lou having a go as well

There were other kids in the class. Some of them had managed to reach the peak. Overall it was enjoyable even if I did not reach the top. It’s a new experience for me. Daddy hopes that this activity will make me more confident about heights in the future.

Thanks to The Rock School for this experience. Special thanks to our instructor Fadhil for his engaging tips and attentive guidance to us for this workshop.

Our Rock Guide- Fadhil

The Little Details

The rock school

850 New Upper Changi Road Singapore 467352

Bedok Community Centre

Tel : 62422106

http://www.facebook.com/therockschool.sg

Operating Hours

Weekdays 1pm-10 pm (Closed on Wednesday)

Saturdays : 1-am -10 pm

Sunday – Varies, please refer to website

For reservation, do call them or email laine@therockschool.sg

  Selected Courses

  Fun Climb Workshhop

  Class Fees : @30 /pax ($24 for PA members)

  Mon or Fri : 4-6pm or 730-930pm

  Sat /Sun : 930-1130am,2-4pm or 4-6pm

  Other courses information are available at www.therockschool.sg

The Rock Challenge and Carnival

There will be an event hosted by The Rock School on 21-22 July

The Rock Challenge and Carnival 2012 is the first rock climbing competition and carnival for children age 4 and above. There will be fringe events like balloon sculpting, parent-child climbs and shopping booths for parents together with rock climbing activities.

There will be a climbing competition for kids between 7 and 14 years of age. There will be 3 separate categories for the competition. Junior (7-9 years old), Senior (10-12 years old) and Lower Sec (13-14 years old)

Minister in the Prime Minister Office Mr Lim Swee Say will be Guest of Honour for the event

For the rates and prizes, please refer here

Courtesy of the rock school

Disclosure
This review was due to an invitation from the rock school. A complimentary workshop were given as part of the review. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are of my own.