Green Bay climbers looking for a big Olympic boost

• Climbing is in the Olympics for just the second time ever
• Odyssey Climbing and Fitness in Green Bay, a relatively new climbing gym, hopes to capitalize on the growing sport's newfound global platform

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)

Climbing is a relatively new sport in the Olympics, but there's already a community of climbers in Green Bay. At Odyssey Climbing and Fitness, they're hoping the presence of climbing in the Olympics will help the sport grow in Northeast Wisconsin.

Climbing is back in the Olympics for just the second time ever and at Odyssey Climbing and Fitness, they're ringing in Paris 2024 like a holiday. They're holding their own Odyssey Summer Games, giving climbers a taste of Olympic competition.

"It's really cool to be able to provide that opportunity here at Odyssey for people to come in and have such a great experience and experience a little bit of what they're seeing at the Olympics," said Odyssey Head Route Setter Travis Kaney.

With more eyeballs on the sport than usual, Odyssey believes they'll be more than able to accommodate anyone in Northeast Wisconsin looking to try something new.

"People having the opportunity to see someone climb, maybe that's a spark of inspiration for 'This is something that I want to try' and realizing that Odyssey is in the area and that's something they don't have to drive a couple hours to go do," " said Odyssey climbing staff member Shawn Cushman.

Odyssey has only been around since February of last year and already has plans to open a second facility in the Appleton area sometime next year. With climbing in the Olympics, the sport only figures to grow.

"To see it ascend to a level like the Olympics is really special. It makes me feel really optimistic about the growth of the sport in general," said Kaney.