# did anyone ever actually have to climb a rope in gym class **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 5, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623 "2010-11-05T20:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/1 "2010-11-05T20:21:35Z")
I never did is it just a TV cliche ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/2 "2010-11-05T20:23:12Z")
We did it in elementary school. I remember people got a lot of respect if they got to the top and touched the rafter or whatever it was attached to. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/3 "2010-11-05T20:23:32Z")
We had ropes and poles (hung from the rafters by a bit of chain) in gym class at my middle school. I sucked at climbing. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/4 "2010-11-05T20:24:00Z")
Yes. I sucked at it. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/5 "2010-11-05T20:26:00Z")
I did in elementary school during the 80’s. Climb the rope, ring the bell at the top, and climb back down. It was pretty high up too, I wouldn’t be surprised if nobody has them anymore, seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/6 "2010-11-05T20:29:13Z")
Yes during the late 60’s and early 70’s. Most kids couldn’t do it, but they never thought the kids how to do it properly. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/7 "2010-11-05T20:29:50Z")
I never saw that exercise until junior high, but since so many students couldn’t do it, it was quickly dropped. We had better things to do, like winning basketball and football games. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/8 "2010-11-05T20:31:27Z")
Had-to? It was a rare treat that I was allowed to. It was dead easy if you could grip the rope between your feet. I got in trouble for grabbing the steel trusswork rafters and starting across the gym. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/9 "2010-11-05T20:36:09Z")
Yup. Got a D- in rope climbing…and an A+ in falling. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/10 "2010-11-05T20:37:59Z")
Yes, we had to. I don’t remember kids who couldn’t make it to the top, but there probably were some. Remember that scene in Wayne’s World where Garth says that Heather Lockleer makes him feel like he’s climbing the rope in gym class? I know exactly what he was talking about. I’d sometimes have an involuntary orgasm when climbing. Then the kids at the bottom would ask what was taking me so long. “uh… nothin’!” ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/11 "2010-11-05T20:38:48Z")
We were given the opportunity to try in late elementary and junior high. Almost no one could, and (for once) it wasn’t graded. Again… law suit waiting to happen. Probably the only really dangerous thing we did in gym. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/12 "2010-11-05T20:43:47Z")
First grade, early '70s. I was terrible at it, never got anywhere, and was relieved when my family moved and I started at a ropeless school. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/13 "2010-11-05T20:44:16Z")
We sure did. And I was the best at it! ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/14 "2010-11-05T20:45:58Z")
Oh, yes. This was in high school in the mid-sixties. The rope went to the rafters in the gym, which was pretty high up. You were taught to use your legs/feet to retain a grip on the rope (and help pull you up), but it was a matter of pride for those of us on the wrestling team to begin in a sitting position with your legs straight and horizontal and to climb as far as you could using just your arms while keeping your legs straight and horizontal. Realize, of course, that I wrestled in the 112-pound class my senior year, so it’s not like I had a whole lot of weight to lift… ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/15 "2010-11-05T20:47:26Z")
Yep, elementary school in the '70s. We also had cargo nets (ok, maybe climbing nets that looked like cargo nets) that we would climb. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/16 "2010-11-05T20:49:49Z")
Yup. Mid-80s elementary school. Probably not actually as high as I remember them being, but at the time seemed insanely high. Looking back on it I am shocked we were not only allowed to do it, but encouraged to. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/17 "2010-11-05T20:50:13Z")
I have not-so-fond memories of that scratchy rope, a high ceiling and a 2" thick red mat on the floor. Just thick enough to protect the floor. Not so good for protecting Fred’s arm after he lost his grip. ETA: This was 1980 or so. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/18 "2010-11-05T20:50:30Z")
We had ropes in elementary school in the 80’s but I was never able to climb them. (I probably could have done it if they had only taught us how. Nobody seemed interested in making us do it.) Vastly more fun, though, was a giant rope cargo net that was hung from the ceiling that they would occasionally let down and anchor to the floor. You could climb that easily, and it would be at maybe a 70-degree angle with respect to the floor. For some reason, the metal pipe it was attached to always had a static charge, so you knew someone had reached the top as soon as you heard _zap “Ow!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/19 "2010-11-05T20:50:32Z")
Yup. Elementary school in the late 80s. Although I guess we didn’t “have to” as only a handful of kids could do it per class. It was purely optional as far as I remember. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623/20 "2010-11-05T20:50:36Z")
Yeah, in Jr. High (late '70s - early '80s). I sucked at it. We had the cargo nets, too, but I never got to try those. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-ever-actually-have-to-climb-a-rope-in-gym-class/559623.md?page=2)