Jennifer Al-Saeed can see a transformation come over her 13-year-old son, Zack, when he is on a climbing wall.
“The first time I took him climbing, he just became very calm and focused,” Jennifer says. “It’s such a great activity for him.”
When the Winona State Indoor Climbing Center at Wabasha Recreation Center opened this spring, Jennifer and her two sons, Zack and Zane, 11, immediately became regulars. The family had been climbing for several years, but had to travel to facilities in Rochester and La Crosse.
Climbing holds special significance for Zack, who is on the autism spectrum. His mom says he’s a smart kid who’s good in school but sometimes gets distracted, and team sports do not fit his personality. He is now an experienced climber and belayer—the person who controls the rope at the bottom of the wall and ensures the climber’s safety.
“We are connecting in a way we’ve never connected,” Jennifer says. “When I’m climbing, he will belay for me. It’s a way that I’m involved in his activity.”
For many families like Jennifer’s, the WSU Climbing Center is more than just a place for fun, learning, or exercise. It is an extension of the community.
“I love the staff because they are so interactive with my kids,” Jennifer says. “It’s not just rules and teaching, but asking what other activities they’re doing, asking them about school. It becomes more of a community.”
That is what Eric Barnard, director of the Outdoor Education and Recreation Center, hoped for when he began to develop programs for the Indoor Climbing Center.
The brainchild of Barnard, the 6,000 square-foot Indoor Climbing Center was completed in April 2015. It is one of the largest in the Midwest and features three climbing sections, including a 30-foot modular-style wall, two 14- foot bouldering walls, and two training stations. Barnard and his student staff are all highly trained climbing instructors.
The Climbing Center is a valuable resource for both WSU and the Winona community. Barnard said it is being used by a kids’ rock climbing club, area high schools, corporations and families. There is open climbing five days a week. Barnard continues to plan new programs—date night is one of them—and estimates the facility will have 20,000 users in its first year.
“It’s inspiring for me to see the families come in and say, ‘This is our family activity,’” Barnard says. “Students really like it, and a lot of them are using climbing as a new mode of activity and wellness, and you see them come here and make a lot of connections. It’s been embraced by a lot of people.”
The WSU Indoor Climbing Center is located at Wabasha Recreation Center, 351 Lafayette Street. For more information and photos, go to winona.edu/outdoor.
