The First Kilter Global Community Board Has Arrived in Malawi
January 31, 2026
Our first Kilter Global Community Board is officially live at the Climb Centre in Lilongwe, Malawi.
The Global Community Boards program was created to connect climbing communities across continents with world-class climbing infrastructure, helping climbers of all levels access this sport.
In November, Climb Malawi celebrated the board’s launch with a kickoff event that welcomed both first-time climbers and experienced athletes onto the wall. For climbers in Lilongwe, the Kilter Board opens new ways to explore movement, build strength, and develop routesetting and coaching skills within their own community.
As Climb Malawi shared at the launch:
“The Kilter Board gives climbers of all levels a new way to train, learn movements and challenge themselves, and for us it's a big step of growing climbing in Malawi.”
Why Global Community Boards
The Global Community Boards program, launched in 2024 by GCI and Kilter Board, aims to connect climbing communities worldwide through infrastructure and tools that invest in routesetting and climbing technique.
By placing the same training system used in gyms and home walls across the globe into emerging climbing spaces, the program helps:
Lower barriers for people discovering climbing for the first time
Support advanced climbers in building technical skill and consistency
Nurture local routesetters, coaches, and leaders who shape the future of their own climbing community
Each board is a long-term community resource, serving as a tool for learning, mentorship, and progression.
Shaping a global community
As climbers who already train on Kilter Boards know, the ability to set and climb a new problem on the board, share it through the app, and see videos of climbers trying your problem on the other side of the world creates instant connection. The experience of climbing on the same holds, using the same movement language is one way to bridge distance through a shared experience of climbing.
The Climb Malawi board is the first of what we hope will be many Global Community Boards placed with locally led organizations around the world shaped by the needs, innovation, and leadership of the communities they serve.
Click through the photos below to see the install, the first climbs, and the new members of the global Kilter community, and consider a donation to the Global Community Boards program if you would like to help us send more boards around the world.
