Partly cloudy with a slight chance of thunderstorms. High 88F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..
Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low near 65F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Olivia Sears, 9, of Wyoming, makes her descent at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
Zack Kaufer, of Kingston, climbs one of the rock walls at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Caroline Sears, 11, of Wyoming, tries to grasp a hanging rock sphere at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Olivia Sears, 9, of Wyoming, climbs one of the rock walls at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Caroline Sears, 11, of Wyoming, left, puts on her safety belt with the help of her aunt, Larisa Palmentore, visiting from Portland, Ore., at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Jordan Raynov climbs a wall at the new United Sports Academy Ninja Nook in Mayfield.
Emil Raynov climbs a wall at the new United Sports Academy Ninja Nook in Mayfield.
Olivia Sears, 9, of Wyoming, makes her descent at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
Zack Kaufer, of Kingston, climbs one of the rock walls at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Caroline Sears, 11, of Wyoming, tries to grasp a hanging rock sphere at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Olivia Sears, 9, of Wyoming, climbs one of the rock walls at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Caroline Sears, 11, of Wyoming, left, puts on her safety belt with the help of her aunt, Larisa Palmentore, visiting from Portland, Ore., at Chakstone Indoor Climbing in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Jordan Raynov climbs a wall at the new United Sports Academy Ninja Nook in Mayfield.
Emil Raynov climbs a wall at the new United Sports Academy Ninja Nook in Mayfield.
As an interest in rock climbing has been growing in popularity, climbing gyms in Northeast Pennsylvania have been busy and expanding.
Avid climber James Barrett purchased and opened Chakstone Indoor Climbing Gym at 102 S. Main St. in downtown Wilkes-Barre in 2020. Since then, he said the gym has performed much better than he anticipated.
The gym was formerly owned by Mike Miscavage, who owns Top of the Slope ski shop next door.
Barrett, 31, a Dallas resident, said climbing has been a big part of his life for the last 10 years and when the opportunity presented itself for him to purchase the gym, he couldn’t turn it down.
“Since I started climbing, I’ve seen the sport pick up a lot of momentum in regards to popularity,” Barrett said. “Climbing has been such a niche sport for many, many years. I think people thought of climbing as this dangerous, terrifying thing, but are now realizing how controlled and safe a climbing gym can be.”
Barrett has traveled to different places throughout the U.S. where he found unique climbing opportunities including Pittsburgh and San Diego as well as Boulder, Colorado, and Fayetteville, West Virginia. He even spent a month climbing in Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Ireland.
“If it weren’t for climbing, these are places I most likely never would’ve gone,” he said.
At Chakstone Indoor Climbing Gym, people can find more than 4,000 square feet of space with climbing opportunities in Wilkes-Barre. The facility offers slab and overhang climbing with a specific bouldering area, lead climbing section and top rope walls as well as auto belays.
“If you’re a new climber or a seasoned vet, auto belays are a great way to get more pitches without the need of a partner,” Barrett said.
The gym also features a large training area with a “MoonBoard,” campus training board and hang board. Snacks, drinks, gear and apparel are available for purchase at the front counter.
The gym also has a kids climbing team. The eight-week program includes a one-hour practice session once or twice a week.
Barrett said kids seem to really enjoy climbing and seem to be “inherently good at it.”
“It’s always nice to see the enjoyment climbing to the top of the wall brings to kids,” he said. “Climbing can be an extremely rewarding activity for the majority who try it and I recommend everyone to at least try it once.”
Although Barrett opened Chakstone Indoor Climbing Gym during the pandemic, he said it has been very busy. He said he is appreciative of the patrons who visit the gym because if it weren’t for them, the business wouldn’t have been able to reopen.
“There was a point when people started to understand a little more about COVID and felt more comfortable taking their families out for activities,” he said. “I’m thankful I was able to provide a physical and unique activity for people to blow off some steam.”
As the gym remains busy, Barrett said he plans to expand and open another location in the Lackawanna County area. He would not yet disclose the location but he said it will be bigger than the Wilkes-Barre gym.
“I believe there’s a market for rock climbing in almost every city in the U.S, with the Scranton area being one of them,” he said.
Pricing, hours and more information can be found on chakstonegym.biz or by calling 570-824-7633.
United Sports Academy has opened its newest gym called Ninja Nook at 603 Scranton-Carbondale Highway in Mayfield that boasts 20-foot climbing walls, both 12-foot and 14-foot warped walls, a ropes course, salmon ladder, chimney and speed walls.
The facility also has an above ground trampoline, a double-mini trampoline, a 30-foot Tumbl Trak, balance beams and gymnastics bars.
Ninja Nook, which had a soft opening in Mayfield in July, marks the third location for United Sports Academy. A grand opening is scheduled on Aug. 25 from 4-8 p.m.
Emilia McCormick, director of operations for United Sports Academy and co-owner of the Mayfield Sports Complex, said the gym is open to children as young as 3 through adults.
It offers recreational group classes for children and adults, private birthday parties, private field trips and camps, private team building events in addition to being a public open gym for the whole family.
McCormick said the walls at the Ninja Nook are fun and beneficial to children, especially children with special needs or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder because they each have hidden elements in them to help with focus.
They include the Labyrinth Wall where they have to trace the maze with the provided pegs and try to find the path to the targeted areas and the Gearhead Wall where you have to focus on where to place your hands and feet so the gears don’t spin.
“Another wonderful thing about the fun walls is that each child is in a full harness which makes the climb completely safe so they can focus on the task, risk-free,” McCormick said. “The same goes for the adults as well, since our location is open to all ages.”
McCormick said United Sports Academy opened its third location as they have seen families looking to do more fun things together. Each of its three locations specializes in different areas and each has seen growth, she said.
”With each of our locations, we try to bring something completely new to the area to keep it fun and exciting for our current members as well as new members,” she said.
United Sports Academy’s first location at 1035 Reeves St. in Dunmore was founded in 1995.
Although it offers tumbling and ninja classes, the gym specializes in artistic gymnastics and offers classes for children as young as 15 months old through 17 years old. The gym features two large foam pits, a competitive gymnastics floor, multiple balance beams, multiple uneven bars, a vault table and a 30-foot Tumbl Trak.
”Over the years, we have had dozens of Division I scholarships awarded as well as athletes accepted into Ivy League schools such as Yale, Cornell, Ursinus, BYU and many more,” McCormick said.
Dima Raynova, the owner of United Sports Academy, is a 1980 Olympian who works alongside fellow teammate Silvia Topalova, who was a two-time Olympian in 1980 and 1984 and well as an Olympic coach in 2012 and one of the top gymnastic judges in the U.S.
“Every single one of our coaches is highly experienced, dedicated and just overall phenomenal,” McCormick said. “All of our coaches have been a part of our staff for over 10 years, some even 25 years, which speaks volumes.”
Its second location, United Sports Academy Trampoline and Tumbling at 1817 N. Main Ave., Scranton, offers recreational gymnastics but specializes in trampoline and tumbling.
McCormick said its trampoline and tumbling team has held the state championship for five consecutive years and consists of 30 boys and girls ranging in age from 6-17 years old.
The gym has two in-ground trampolines, a double-mini trampoline, a 60-foot Tumbl Trak, a full-size competitive rod floor, a large foam pit and a small ninja course. It also has a horizontal rock climbing wall, which is about 8 feet tall and 20 feet long and used to teach the children the basics and traversing, McCormick said. She said climbing has many benefits, especially for children.
“I believe it helps tremendously in building fine motor skills, hand and foot coordination, body awareness, confidence, grip strength, even critical thinking skills by making them look at the walls they are climbing and figuring out what the best route to take is,” McCormick said.
She said she believes children enjoy climbing for many reasons. One reason is because even though it’s challenging for them, it’s still in reach, maybe not from the first try in every case, but they see progress with each attempt which gives them a confidence boost, she said.
“It also gives them a sense of accomplishment once they complete a course that they haven’t been able to complete prior to.” McCormick said. “Another reason is, for many kids, they have to learn to overcome their fear of heights which can lead to a release in endorphins, also known as the ‘feel-good’ chemical that increases happiness.”
For more information about United Sports Academy, go to unitedsportsacademygym.com.
Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115, @CVAllabaugh
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