Power
Up Center for Climbing and Fitness pioneered
the sport of indoor rock climbing when it opened the first
commercial gym in Quezon City in October 1994. Spearheaded by two
active outdoor rock climbers from the UP Mountaineers, the
gym opened its doors to the public, hoping to find individuals who
share the same spirit of fun, adventure and fitness. True enough,
there existed people like these and the sport rapidly grew. Power
Up then set out to achieve its goals of (1) promoting the sport
of SAFE rock climbing, (2) providing an alternative form of
recreation, (3) creating a highly skilled group of climbers worthy
of representing the Philippines in international events.
Three
months after opening, Power Up held its first climbing
competition, the first structured climbing competition in the
country ever. Its success paved the way for the 1st National
Sport Climbing Competition Circuit, bringing climbers together
from 3 cities which had early beginnings in artificial rock
climbing, Metro Manila, Cebu and Dumaguete. The sport continued to
grow, although slowly, at the start. For one whole year, the efforts
of Power Up were felt inside the gym where all the action was
In
February of 1996 Power Up made another breakthrough in its
promotion of the sport, setting up the country's first totally
free-standing climbing wall for free climbing clinics and a demo
competition at the Glorietta, Ayala Center in Makati.
Harnessing the potential of bringing the sport closer to the public,
Power Up then set up more climbing clinics all over the
country. As anticipated, the general interest of the public grew
along with the indoor climbing scene. More than 7 other wall
climbing facilities came into being in the country, with their own
walls.
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