YMCA Unveils New Rock Wall and Welcomes New Partner

The YMCA unveiled its new, state-of-the-art rock climbing wall at the SwedishAmerican Riverfront YMCA thanks to the generous support of OrthoIllinois. OrthoIllinois donated $100,000 to the YMCA to move the rock wall to a more accessible location within the activity center. Rock Climbing is an exciting and challenging sport that all ages and abilities can take part in. We are one of the very few locations in the area that offers an indoor rock climbing wall, lessons and tournaments.

The Y worked with Boulder, Colorado-based Eldorado Climbing Walls on the project. The company has built more than 1,900 climbing walls – many for other YMCAs across the country – in its 24 years of business. The new wall is much safer than our previous wall because of auto belays. Belays are the rope system we use to secure the climber. Our previous system required us to have a staff person for each climber to manually secure the climber and help them release. Now, we will have auto belays that do that for us. This means we can have one staff member for several climbers. This will open up availability for more climbers and increase safety. The new belays are self-regulating and automatically adjust the to climber’s weight – that means it works for adults and children.

OrthoIllinois recently opened a new rehabilitation location at the SwedishAmerican Riverfront YMCA.
The two groups have worked for the past few years on a potential partnership. The new 3,000-square-foot space provides physical therapy services with room for treatment, exercise and office space. Services focus on conservative management of injuries and post-surgical recovery.

“Bringing our two organizations together presents a really strong benefit to both Y members and our patient base, allowing us to share talent, resources and equipment,” said David Rezin, chief operations officer at OrthoIllinois.

"We are thrilled with our partnership with OrthoIllinois and are so appreciative of their investment in our downtown location," said Brent Pentenburg, CEO of the YMCA of Rock River Valley. "Partnership and collaboration is how non profits thrive. We are aiming to utilize our spaces more effectively and this partnership allows us to do that."

The YMCA rehab location will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and will have some durable medical equipment items for sale. Individuals are not required to be an OrthoIllinois patient or a YMCA member to access services. Outside physician referrals are accepted.


Pictured in Photo (L to R)
Brian Slinde, OrthoIllinois Director of Rehabilitation; Jaron Bertelsen, YMCA Executive Director; David Rezin, OrthoIllinois Chief Operations Officer; Brent Pentenburg, YMCA CEO; Don Schreiner, OrthoIllinois CEO; and Tyler Anderson, YMCA Chief of Staff.