Want to practice how to safely lower off a sport route? Try out one of our Sport England funded lower-off simulators at a wall near you.

Lowering off a sport route on real rock is very different to clipping the carabiner at the top of an indoor climbing wall. The leader will often have to thread the rope through a closed metal loop and re-tie in, whilst ensuring that they are always safe.

To allow this skill to be practiced in safety, the BMC has supplied practice lower-offs to a number of climbing wall's throughout the country. Each practice station features the two types of lower-off that you are most likely to find at a British sport climbing crag; two bolts linked by chains to a ring, and two rings each on independent bolts.

Each practice lower-off station is acompanied by a plaque, complete with a QR code which redirects smart phones to a BMC TV video showing how to safely lower off sport routes.  

WATCH: Lowering off a sport route on BMC TV

Practice belay stations are being installed at the following walls:

• The Foundry, Sheffield
• Awesome Walls, Sheffield
• Nottingham Climbing Centre
• Harrogate Climbing Centre
• The Leeds Wall Climbing Centre
• Newcastle Climbing Centre
• Sunderland Climbing Centre
• Rock Antics- Newton Aycliffe
• Redpoint Climbing Centre- Birmingham
• Kilnworx Climbing Centre- Stoke-on-Trent
• Manchester Climbing Centre
• The Reach Climbing centre  -London
• Westway Climbing Centre - London
• Whitespider - Kingston 
• Calshot Activities Centre - Southampton 
• Mile End Wall - London 

Further stations will be installed at walls across the Lakes, North West, Midlands, South West and London & SE.

Many thanks to Jenny Clinging at the Foundry Climbing Centre for providing the images used in this article.

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