TRYOUT INFO 2024-25

The CU Climbing Team 2024-25 team has been selected. At this time, we are not accepting any more applications for the year. Please reach out to us if you have any questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any qualifications for being on the team?

Answer: The short answer is no. We appreciate any previous climbing experience whether on or off a competitive team and take climbers from all backgrounds and settings. We acknowledge that the climbing community is incredibly diverse and do not label a specific grade or experience in order to be on our team. That being said, we are a competitive climbing team and will accept applicants who are passionate about competing and representing our school.

How do tryouts work?

We will usually start by advertising our team at the beginning of the school year and collect participants who are interested in joining. You can find us at events like Club Fair, and if you miss us there always feel free to contact us. More tryout information can be found below!

What are the responsibilities of being on team?

We expect all accepted participants to show up and compete in the CNQE (Collegiate National Qualifier Event). This is imperative to our team since as a competitive team, this event is one of many metrics of performance for our team.

If you are able to make it past the CNQE and to Nationals, we also expect all qualified athletes to represent themselves and our team on the national stage! It can be nerve-wracking but we spend all year competing and expect our team to be comfortable doing so, as this is a *competitive* team.

Financial issues are addressed on a case-by-case basis. We acknowledge that Competitive Climbing is often an expensive sport and not accessible to all communities and do everything in our power to help our athletes get over these hurdles.

Accepted athletes are also expected to come to no less than 50% of practices. We honor exceptions like personal tragedy, religious holidays, and academic commitments, but attendance at practice is monitored closely to foster team spirit and participation.

How many people do you accept and how many people apply?

Our applicant pool changes from year to year, though it has shown significant growth since our starting year. Last year we had roughly 150 participants interested in joining our team. The cap we accepted for the 2023-24 year was fifty (50) members, not including our eight board members. The number of participants applying and accepted can change year to year depending on the current board.

What are practices like?

Our practices are twice a week at our sponsored gym - The Spot Climbing! See "Our Gym" for more information. We usually will start at the allotted time and practice as a team, though we don't always have an agenda.

The start of the year might begin strength tests/organizing training plans with the Training Director, but that changes throughout the year.

We will end every practice with a group activity, usually stretching or group conditioning to foster our team strength. Finally, we finish off with our chant!

Here are some helpful tips left by previous members:

Try Hard. Part of what makes the CU Climbing Team such an awesome community is shared motivation for training, sending, and improving! An easy way to stand out is giving it your all.
Don't skip over the application. Every application essay is read before considering who does and does not make the team. Take your time and write a thoughtful response.
HAVE FUN! It goes without saying that not everybody can make the team, but that doesn't mean we don't want you to be a part of our community. We hope that every person who attends tryouts will walk away with new friends and climbing partners, regardless of your spot in team.

How Do We Make the Roster?

Deciding who makes the roster is never an easy task, but here are a few considerations made in the process:

Remember, there are many factors that go into our considerations, but here are the most major ones:

How hard you climb. As previously mentioned, we host tryouts that are mandatory for all prospective athletes. This is one of the only times in our screening process that we can see how you compete. We take into account all experiences, so if competition is not your strong suite, be sure to lean into that in your application and reach out to us so we are aware!

Your application. Every application is read by every member of the board. We cannot express how important it is to show effort on the application. We urge every single applicant to take this part seriously.

Attitude. Come to the info meetings, start of year events, and tryouts with a good attitude. We consider your eagerness to be a part of this community and your ability to socialize and interact within this community just as much as your tryout!

The Process:

Interest Meetings: We will publish the date, time, and location for our interest meeting. It's a great way to introduce yourself to fellow prospects and returning teammates and also shows your interest and drive in the team. This is a place to ask all questions as well.

Application: (MANDATORY) This is your opportunity to tell us why you think you should be on team, your special interests, background, anything that you think we should know when considering you for team. This is important, do NOT skip over this. Board members look over every single application and question.

Open Practices: We will publish dates, times, and locations for open practices. This is an opportunity to show the Executive Board how you climb outside of competition and also serves as a demonstration of compatibility with our team and understanding of gym etiquette - since you are representing us and the school, this is extremely important.

Tryouts: (MANDATORY) We will publish more details on the format and location of tryouts. There are no rewards or podiums after tryouts, it is simply another metric we take into consideration.

Acceptance To Team: Usually within 24-48 hours after tryouts the Board will release the roster and invite candidates to join. If accepted, we will reach out to you through the contact information given to us in the application form (or CU Outlook account).