A discount of £1 is offered to NMC members at the Byker bouldering wall (Climb Newcastle) on Wednesday evenings commencing 19th November provided they are members at the wall and present their NMC membership Card. There is no change to the arrangements at the Burnside wall which remains booked on Wednesday evenings for the exclusive use of the NMC

Wow! That's worth giving up the Burnside sessions for!

Freefall wrote:

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Wow! That's worth giving up the Burnside sessions for!:huh:

You don't boulder, do you?

Not strictly true - I used the ClimbingWorks in Sheffield when I was recovering from injury and was a billy no mates for a while. Fortunately the ankle recovered, the sun came out and I found a willing partner to go out onto the Edges with. Still did the odd Burbage Boulder. Returning to the NE I was just in time to buy the new bouldering guide, and used it on the one outing before the poor summer set in! I was keen to try the new venue, but was rather hoping for a club discount on more than the one night when I was doing other things!

Well, that's big of Climb Newcastle, one whole pound discount on one day only and on the day that is the club meet night.

It strikes me that Climb Newcastle aren't that bothered at all about the NMC or its members.

Hi all,

Just to say that we are trying to accommodate clubs in the centre as much as possible, Andy and I are NMC members after all...

As with all the other clubs we have using the centre, we have offered a £1 discount off the normal entry price one day a week and the committee was invited to choose the day for this. I have to be honest and say that this is the first I've known of the outcome of that, but I'm guessing that the regular club night was chosen as at least we know people climb on that day and they could have a choice of bouldering or not.

I'm sure that if the club decided on a separate day to meet at the centre then this could be sorted out.

Thanks,

Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for taking the time etc., etc., it is appreciated (sincerely, by me at least).

There are a couple of things I'd like to throw into the mix, none of which are personal although they might seem to be "aimed" at individuals, I'm afraid it probably is a case of "if the cap fits, wear it".

First of all, is simply having a membership card the same as being a club member? I don't think so, I don't think so at all. Semantics? Maybe, but its a distinction I believe in. To me being a member of any club is shown by participation in the club otherwise I think membership is a matter of convenience and nothing more.

I'd also say the fact that the committee would seem to have its hand in this decision, as you say it was invited to choose a day, is something I was unaware of. Peter Bennett's post being the first indication [to ordinary members] of that. To my mind the committee has made a pig's ear of this if that was their choice. The NMC also has an established activity on Wednesday evenings, the Wednesday evening meet's, which is reinforced even more over the winter with the hiring of Burnside wall and the club social events that are held at Burnside over the winter. If what you suggest is correct, and I've no reason to doubt it, what is the committee playing at? Is it purposefully trying to fractionate [even further] the primary "club" meeting???

There is another question this situation raises for me. Namely, why are Climb Newcastle restricting the discount to NMC members attending on a single, nominated day of the week? As far as I'm aware no other indoor climbing venue where the NMC has been given discount restricts discounted access to a single, specific day of the week. When I was Secretary I was involved in brokering the £1.00 per admission discount arrangements at both Sunderland and Durham and they placed no such restriction at all on when anyone can visit, none whatsoever.

I can't fathom Climb Newcastle's attitude at all, perhaps you could put me right? I'd have thought that a basic approach would be "bums on seats", the more people through the door the merrier; £5.50 at any time of the week is still £5.50. But it seems that Climb Newcastle are saying that they want £6.50 on 6 days out of 7 and, by inference, the £1.00 discount is given begrudgingly.

The only possible explanantion I can personally think of is that you're (putting it politely) penny pinching.... you will know more than anyone that if you're serioulsy into your training then one day a week is nowhere near sufficient, therefore what it seems to me you're trying to do is take an extra £1.00 on those other days that NMC members want to train at Climb Newcastle. Assuming, of course that Wednesday is convenient for that member and they do, in fact choose your venue rather than the dedicated club "meet", which I doubt a lot of people will do to be honest.

....maybe that's it, maybe you're banking on a relatively small number of members going along on a Wednesday and hitting them for the extra quid on other days.

YMMV (your mileage may vary), as the saying goes but I still can't get my head around why you're restricting discount to only one day of the week???

The committee's lunacy is another matter.

Cheers



No delicate dispositions were intentionally slighted during the scripting of this post.

PS interesting to see that "Climb Newcastle" are using the profile of the Gateshead Millenium Bridge in their logo

What about a three month pass? If I promise to only climb on a Wednesday do I qualify for the concession rate?

PhilyS wrote:

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What about a three month pass? If I promise to only climb on a Wednesday :whistle: do I qualify for the concession rate?

3 months? Not sure if there is need. I went 2 weeks ago for the first time. I did all the easy ones (blue, green and some yellow) in an hour or so. Give it a month. I think I'll crack most of them but the hardest. I don't know if 3 month pass would worth my while.

Regarding the specific night of £1 discount, that's weird. As Steve said, Sunderland, Durham would give discount any time. Why specific night? What's the motive behind it? I'm intrigued. Majority of walls up and down the country either give discount everyday or not in general but not on a specific night.