Rope Team Calls: Warm-Up with Climbing Commands

Partner warm-up in which each standard climbing command is linked to a movement: students hear it, repeat it out loud and respond with the action. It gets the body going while making the language they will later use on the climbing wall automatic.

How to play

1. Introduce the five commands and their moves: "Anchor!" (squat and stop), "Slack!" (easy jog), "Take!" (reverse lunge with arms up), "Lowering!" (slow backward walk) and "Rock!" (crouch and cover the head) (2 min).
2. In pairs, one is the climber and one is the belayer; they jog together inside a 20 x 20 m square marked with cones (1 min).
3. The teacher calls commands at random; the climber repeats the command out loud and the belayer answers "OK!" before both do the move (3 min).
4. Switch roles: now the climber calls the commands and the belayer confirms and performs them (3 min).
5. Wrap-up: each pair names the command that is easiest to confuse and explains why mixing it up is dangerous (1 min).

Rules

• No move is performed without your partner's verbal confirmation.
• On "Rock!" everyone stops and protects their head, without running.
• Jog without cutting in front of other pairs and always look ahead.
• Speak loudly and clearly, but never shout in someone's ear.

Variations

Adaptations

• Hearing impairment: each command also has an arm signal agreed on before starting.
• Limited mobility: performs the moves with arms and trunk from the wheelchair and moves around the square at their own pace.
• Autism: has a card with the commands and their moves and gets a heads-up before each role switch.

Learning goals

• Make the basic rope team communication commands automatic.
• Warm up the body progressively before a climbing session.
• Value verbal confirmation as a shared safety measure.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cones: 12

Teacher tip

Always use the same commands that will be used on the school climbing wall so there is no confusion. Save "Rock!" for unexpected moments and check how students react.

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