New £30k climbing facilities opened by Rio Paralympian

A NEW £30,000 climbing area at a Haslingden climbing centre has been opened by a silver medal-winning Paralympian.

Rio star and double medal winning swimmer and Thomas Hamer opened the new facilities at Grip & Go, based at the Adrenaline Centre, on Saturday, October 1 in front of excited climbers and fans.

A former birthday party zone has been transformed into a 9m high by 6ft wide state-ofthe-art climbing area by a specialist team from climbing wall manufacturer Hangfast.

The wall offers climbers the opportunity to gain a climbing and abseiling qualifications.

Rachael Kershaw, Grip & Go marketing officer, said: “The new area will provide a platform for visitors to progress on to professional climbing, especially with the introduction of the National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme qualification.”

Founder and director of Hangfast John Beers said: “It’s great to see customers really benefitting from XHeight.

“The introductory, fun climbing walls have proven to be such a hit with novice climbers, that they have inspired a generation of climbers who are now looking for more challenging and advanced levels of the sport.”

Amanda Melvin’s son Matthew was thrilled to meet the swimmer at the grand launch.

Amanda said: “Tom was lovely to Matthew. A lovely young man!” ●● Thomas Hamer with Matthew Melvin at the opening of the new wall at Grip and Go