Milwaukee City Wire

Milwaukee Recreation has introduced a rock climbing club for high school students, which began its inaugural season in the 2024-25 school year. The club provides a community for students across Milwaukee, with teams from Rufus King, Reagan High School, and Milwaukee School of Languages (MSL) participating in the initiative.

"After a brief team huddle and icebreaker to start practice, students and coaches scattered around the gym, testing themselves against Adventure Rock’s wide range of climbing walls," as practice opened at the Adventure Rock in Walker’s Point on April 7.

Milwaukee Recreation's program offers cost-effective opportunities for students to improve existing skills and develop new ones. "Our team is very welcoming to beginner climbers, all the way up to anyone who has been climbing for a handful of years,” said Rufus King coach Vicente Delgado.

Students of all climbing backgrounds join the club. Junior Devon Weber has been climbing since age two, while Phoebe Combs joined as a freshman to make friends and is now a co-captain. Inocybe Gutierrez joined despite a fear of heights, expressing a desire to conquer it. "I feel more able to come down from those difficult situations... and I can more easily put myself in the mindset where I’m in the zone, this is not that hard, I do this all the time," Gutierrez said.

Practices consist of training sessions with coaches, team instruction, and free climbing time. The Wisconsin High School Climbing League (WHSCL) hosts monthly competitive events, with reduced fees for participants. Rufus King, Reagan, and MSL sent students to these competitions, and 12 represented Milwaukee Recreation at the state competition on April 12.

The Rock Climbing Club aims to engage more students and schools in the next school year. One participant remarked, "I really like that climbing is something that you never master... It’s so empowering because you are always getting better."

Milwaukee Recreation is broadening its extracurricular activities for high school students, also supporting an Esports League and a Ski & Snowboarding Club, enhancing options outside traditional athletics in the Milwaukee City Conference.