Reach for the top gets new meaning with climbing program at MacLachlan College

TORONTO — Reach for the top has a new meaning these days at MacLachlan College.

The private school in Oakville, Ont., is home to a new high-performance sport climbing program, created by Canadian climbers Zach and Madison Richardson.

The program started with the school year in early September.

The school already had a climbing club, using a 24-foot (7.3-metre) climbing wall in its upper school gymnasium — a top-rope wall which has the climber attached to a rope with someone belaying the climber from the bottom.

Climbing was part of gym class. But looking to add climbing to its high-performance sports portfolio, the school reached out to the Richardsons, husband and wife who have both competed for Canada.

There are three tiers: the entry club level, a competitive team and high-performance program.

While the climbing program is open to all ages, the high-performance end is generally for students in Grade 7 and above.

Madison, 24, began climbing in 2011, entered her first competition in 2014 and first competed for Canada in 2016, shifting her specialty to bouldering in 2017.

Zach, 24, got into the sport at an early age, thanks to his parents’ Climbers Rock climbing gym in Burlington, Ont.

“I started climbing at eight years old and it kind of shaped the course of my life,” said Zach, now an eight-time Canadian champion. “And now with this new program, we have the opportunity to create a really great pathway for young climbers in Canada to help shape their life through climbing and pursuing high performance at the same time.”

Madison is ranked 25th — the top Canadian — in the world in bouldering by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) while Zach is No. 117.

She is coming off a 27th-place finish at the recent IFSC World Climbing Championships in Seoul, just missing out on the semifinals.

Climbing is a growing spot, helped in part by its addition to the Olympic program in Tokyo in 2020.

“We’re kind of experiencing a climbing boom right now,” said Zach. “More casual climbing gyms are opening up around Canada. More people are hearing about climbing and wanting to go try it for the first time.”

Madison estimates there are at least 40 climbing gyms in Ontario.

“But the infrastructure is not quite as developed as it should be compared to a province like Quebec, which I think is probably the most developed in Canada,” she added. “Or internationally. A lot of European countries have a very developed gym culture.”

While most gyms feature climbing teams, the Richardsons and MacLachlan saw an opportunity to fill a high-performance hole.

“Canada, as a whole, is missing that next level of athletes … trying to get to that high-performance level,” Madison said. “It’s very difficult to find someone that’s able to bring an athlete through those stages — those very critical stages

“And typically a climbing gym in Ontario, their local coaches won’t be able to get an athlete that far. They can get them from beginner to maybe the national team, but that next step is a crucial step. And something as a country we’re really focusing on at the Canadian climbing national team level. How do we get our national team athletes to compete more successfully on the international circuit?

“I think it all starts at our next-generation athletes. And we need more programs. MacLachlan’s the first, but we’re hoping by starting this program and just kind of putting our foot in the door, other provinces and other gyms and potentially even other private schools might be interested in taking this step with us and helping to boost the Canadian climbing scene.”

Zach says the sport combines both a physical challenge and a “mental workout.”

“Because of course you’re scaling these walls and it’s very physically challenging, working every muscle in your body. But you’re also tasked with having to find the best way up the wall. It’s basically like solving a puzzle during the entirety of your physical workout.

“It’s this very unique experience that not a lot of other sports provide.”

While the MacLachlan facilities allow for top-rope climbing, the Climbers Rock gym is used for bouldering. That discipline sees athletes climb a short wall — about 15 feet (4.5 metres) in the Olympics — without ropes but with a large foam mat below in case of falls.

Based in Montreal, the Richardsons will commute to MacLachlan to help with the program, although their focus will be on the international climbing season from April to mid-summer. They moved to Quebec because of its healthy climbing community. Madison estimates there are 25 to 30 competition-focused climbing gyms in the greater Montreal area alone.

MacLachlan’s climbing head coach is Jan Stevenson, a former firefighter with more than 25 years of teaching and coaching experience in Denmark, Japan and Canada.

The Richardsons, both boulder specialists, have more than 40 World Cup appearances between them and have the L.A. Olympics in the sights with Madison taking the lead.

“I would never say never but Maddie’s definitely kind of more the Olympic hopeful between the two of us right now,” said Zach. “Her results on the international stage have been more promising than mine.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2025.