As the new year dawns it’s time for our annual reminder to past members to renew their club membership for the calendar year.

This year the MCC has been particularly busy. In addition to the regular committee meetings, we have maintained our ever popular outdoor meets (monthly in winter, weekly in summer), the most recent one being the Christmas Eve club meet, complete with Santa hats. Stay tuned for our January / February club meet which will be announced in the coming weeks.

Besides the usual activities we’ve also contributed to the continued development of sport climbing routes across the islands (with the generous support of the MTA and SportMalta), showed Adam Ondra around our local crags, organised a National Bouldering competition, launched the Challenge National Bouldering League; hosted a training session with Steve McClure and carried out the first assessments for a qualification for rock climbing instructors (Sports Single Pitch Instructors) under the auspices of the UIAA. This year we will host two rounds of SSPI training – the first in January and the second round in the 4th quarter of the year.

We’ve set up an online shop (click the SHOP link in the navigation menu) to make payments for club meets, membership, and wall sessions simple. You can also snag yourself some MCC swag like a t-shirt or the Sport Climbing guide book (but only once the new edition is published, as the 2013 version is out of print. Rumour has it that the latest edition may be out by spring).

We cannot do all this without your support. This is where we appeal to all local and visiting climbers to renew their membership or to join the club. We do our best to keep membership fees low to make the sport as accessible as possible. In return for your membership fee you get the use of club equipment during our regular outdoor meets, access to the Sliema indoor climbing wall, and a 10% discount on purchases of climbing and outdoor equipment from Mochika Outdoor Life in Qormi and the Surplus & Adventure Equipment Store in Mosta. You also get that special feeling of knowing you have contributed to the growth of the sport in Malta.

Finally, we also value your time and effort. If you think you can help out with any of our work and activities, please get in touch with a committee member. Even something as simple as helping out with belaying during club meets makes a big difference. If you are qualified in accounting or law, your help would be particularly appreciated.

Thanks once again for your support and we look forward to meeting you at the crags soon.