Climbing centre business scales the heights at Olympics as expansion planned
Hull-based climbing centre, Rockcity, is going for gold at the Paris Olympic Games, as it looks to expand its operation.
Rockcity, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, has been selected to provide the holds for the competition climbing walls.
It is providing a total of 600 holds for the Games, which run from July 26 to August 11.
This is the latest global success for Rockcity, which also provided the holds for the Olympic climbing qualifiers in Shanghai, China, and Budapest, Hungary.
Its expertise in the design of challenging holds also resulted in the firm providing the holds for the last Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 – when competition climbing made its debut.
The company has provided holds for other major competitions in recent years, including the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Cup in Hachioji, Japan, in 2018, and the European Championships in Zacopane, Poland, the following year.
Rockcity, based in Hawthorne Avenue, is planning to grow with a new climbing hold manufacturing factory in the city.
Credit: Tom Arran Photo
It currently designs all its own holds but has to outsource the manufacturing side to specialist companies.
Rockcity intends to open a new £400,000, 10,000 sq ft facility next to its climbing centre to bring the process in-house.
Managing director and founder, Mark English, said: “It’s fantastic that a small business in Hull has the expertise to be able to influence the Olympic Games.
“It’s such a high-profile event to be a part of, and it’s brilliant for our profile. We’ve developed as a business over time, and we’ve always been interested in the design of the climbing holds.
“We make them from polyurethane, which enables you to have incredible detail and thin holds that would break if they were made from different material.
“They’re excellent for competition climbing because they allow the route setters to make changes to the climbs that really force movement.”
Rockcity, with support from Hull City Council’s business advisors, is now applying for £120,000 from the Growing Places Fund towards development of the new factory, which will create eight full-time jobs. It is hoped the facility will be operational in six months.
English said: “We’ve proven there’s demand and we’ve built a brand. We have international sales and marketing, now we want to bring the manufacturing under our own control, in our home city.
“It will allow us to improve the quality, improve the lead times and the pricing. We’ll also be able to be more responsive.”
Councillor Paul Drake-Davis, the council’s portfolio holder for regeneration and housing, said: “Rockcity is a true Hull success story and it’s great to see a company the council has supported over the years playing a key role in the Paris Olympic Games.
“The company’s plans to expand with a new manufacturing facility in the city, creating local jobs, are also very exciting, and further evidence of its continued success.”
