I thought it was interesting when I looked up US gyms that they require a belay test.
In Austria, the gyms I went to you just had to sign a form that you know how to climb top-rope, lead, and how to belay.
In Austria, the gyms I went to you just had to sign a form that you know how to climb top-rope, lead, and how to belay.
There is a second test for lead but most people take a class and get the lead card during the class.
Most of the rest of the world goes ‘meh, don’t be so obviously dumb then’ and kicks the lawsuits out.
What does that have to do with US gyms requiring belay tests, which is a bunch of steps that doesn't involve "extensive warning in writing".
Which requires due diligence.
Which means there is some guarantee that people belaying at the facility meet some basic standard of skill, so that people are not being dropped all the time and then turning around and suing the facility for negligent supervision/creating a dangerous environment.
It lowers insurance bills. If you don't let anyone climb without having done a belay test and putting that paper in a cabinet for 10+ years, then you can get cheaper insurance.
It's the same reason why some gun ranges won't let random people in without joining up and going through a safety intro thing - cheaper insurance.
In the U.S., for climbing gyms, part of the standard is a belay test. In the article, Mayfield talks about trying to get the industry self-regulating before the government steps in. This is basically how that works: industry founders or leaders establish some procedures for safety, prove them out over time, then insurance companies implicitly adopt them and everyone else follows.