The Board
First, select a spot. A good campus zone should have adequate height (8’ is
enough, but more is better) and width, a clear landing zone and plenty of light. Good
candidates are a basement or garage with exposed framing to tie in to, or part of your
existing climbing wall might be modified to accommodate your campus board. Anywhere will
work as long as you have a solid structure to support the board.
Consult an engineer if you have structural questions. Plan your board around your
space; don’t build a board and then try to make it fit. We recommend that the board
angle be 15 degrees from vertical, just steep enough to keep your lower body from
dragging, although we have used boards anywhere from 12 degrees to more than 20 degrees.
Lower angle boards concentrate more on contact strength and pulling strength while steeper
boards put more emphasis on body tension and swing control.
The bottom of the board should be about 4’ off the ground. It is possible to start
with less than 4’ if you are really cramped for space, but it can get awkward. More
than 4’ is nice for the starting moves, but on a long board it can put you way off
the deck on the final rung. There should be at least 2’ of open space behind the
board.
Board size is totally up to the individual needs and space constraints. Keeping the
width of the board in 4-foot increments works well with 16" rungs (three rungs end to
end per 4’ of board width) although there is no reason why you couldn’t go with
32" or 64". A 4’x4’ board will offer excellent training potential in a
very limited space, although a 6’ tall board can make a big difference when laddering
or doing big dynos or locks. If space is unlimited an 8’ tall board with as much
width as desired will offer endless possibilities.
Your board should be built with "standard framing techniques" (top and bottom
plates with studs every 16"). Small boards can get by with 2"x4" lumber for
the frame work; large boards will require 2"x6" framing. We highly recommend 2
layers of 3/4" plywood on the face. With Any smaller and fingertip bruising becomes
more of an issue than only one sheet you might pull the rung attachment screws right
through - ouch!
Run the sheeting to the outside edges of the framework. It’s a good idea to lay
out a grid with vertical lines at 16" and horizontal lines at 1" or 2"
intervals, to help you with rung placement. The grid will serve as a starting point, but
remember, you’re working with wood and there will be some variation, so be sure to
use a level when hanging the rungs.
