We are TTC: when members support their own climbing hall

As many feared, following the last DPCM, among the activities that had to undergo a forced stop, there are again gyms, including climbing gyms.

Of course, there is nothing to prevent you from moving your activity outdoors, but for those who practice this sport the gym is not just any place. It is not in fact an aseptic space that we are given on loan for a few hours a week, but a second home where we can get to know and challenge ourselves, create connections with others, solve dilemmas on the wall together and uncork a beer to celebrate goals that seemed far away.

In Ostia, on the outskirts of Rome, that second home is called Time to Climb and is located in Viale dei Romagnoli, 245. Someone mistakes it for a department store next door, comes in convinced he is in the wrong place and in the end finds himself in the right one, small but cosy, without even knowing it. From 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., from Monday to Saturday, it’s impossible not to see us struggling with blocks, streets or playing foosball to snort a little bit. And even when the pandemic came, the managers and we, the visitors, did everything we could to keep those few square metres a safe space for everyone, following the protocols required by the Lazio Region.

But no one controls this pandemic and adapting has become the new keyword. For this reason, our second home, like that of many others, has stopped, but not those who frequent it. In fact, if we cannot cross the threshold, armed with liquid magnesite and masks, we members decided to support it with a fundraiser. If we cannot hug each other, beat our fist and cheer under the wall at yet another attempt, we have decided to virtually squeeze around this kind of space once again to protect them, so as not to leave them alone, not wanting to follow the example of usually absent state bodies. Our hope is that this kind of support will be replicated in Italy by all sports lovers, so that they can spend this new wait not with their teeth clenched, but together, only in a different way. Because it is not only about home, but also about family.

The fundraiser was organised by Samuel Algherini and you can find it by clicking here.