37-Foot High Wall Ready for Climbing at JCC in Rockville

A 37-foot high climbing tower is up and ready to scale for campers and members of the Bender Jewish Community Center in Rockville.

Staff members were trained Thursday on climbing, belaying and confidence building techniques. They also tried the tower itself, climbing up 30 feet  and touching the top deck, said Camp JCC Director Phil Liebson. The extra seven feet consists of the steel cables at the top that hold the ropes and other safety equipment. They even practiced dropping to better learn how to help and protect future climbers, he said.

“We are really excited to have it,” Liebson said.

10 Days until Camp JCC – We are ready to ROCK it!! pic.twitter.com/m85AQtaFfl

— Bender JCC (@BenderJCC) June 11, 2021

Money for the tower, fence and ramp came from a Yashar grant from the Foundation for Jewish Camp. The JCC went through a competitive application process and had to raise funds that were matched by the grant.

Besides making sure all users are safe and having fun, Liebson said the staff intend to strive to convince climbers to take one more step and “go from the comfort zone to the growth zone,” he said. The idea is to guide climbers to try one more step each time they attempt the wall and gain more confidence.

Currently the JCC is open only to members due to the pandemic.

To view a time lapse video as the wall is built, watch the video below.

About Suzanne Pollak

Suzanne is a freelance reporter with Montgomery Community Media. She has over 35 years professional experience writing for newspapers, magazines, non-profit newsletters and the web.

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