Skill and Strength: Are They Synonymous in Setting? Iza Nowak

Today’s episode brings routesetter Iza Nowak to the podcast. Nowak is a team climber turned routesetting powerhouse. She started climbing as a kid and has almost two decades of time on rocks and plastic. Her setting career has spanned multiple states. Now, Nowak is a lead setter at Sport Rock in Washington, D.C. She is a USAC Level 3 routesetter with competition experience at all levels, from climbing leagues to Qualifying Events to high-level citizens’ comps, like Method Underground and national-level bouldering and sport competitions. Nowak has also traveled internationally to set, having recently returned from the Norwegian Youth Championships. Nowak brings all that knowledge to the show, diving into fundamentals for both competition and commercial routesetting, skills for leading a setting crew, and much more.

General Topics Covered

• Iza's First Impressions of Routesetting as a Team Kid
• True or False Game of Routesetting
• What it Takes to Be a Commercial Routesetter
• The Qualities of a Good Headsetter
• Movement Understanding vs. Raw Strength
• What it Takes to be a Competition Routesetter
• USA Climbing Standards and Pathways
• Career Growth and Development

Show Notes

• Find Iza Nowak on Instagram
• Sportrock Climbing Centers
• USA Climbing Routesetter Pathway Chart
• The book where the 60/100 statistic between genders on job applications can be found is Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.
  • This statistic was widely attributed to an internal report at Hewlett-Packard, although this claim has been shown to lack solid evidence and is likely based on a subjective observation rather than a rigorous study.
  • Other, more robust studies like this one in the European Journal of Social Psychology, have disputed this statistic.

Closing Notes

If you’d like to nominate someone as a guest next guest, have a topic you want to see us tackle, or have questions–we’d love for you to reach out here.

The Impact Driver podcast is a production of the Climbing Business Journal. Today’s episode is sponsored by by Strati and Kilter. It was edited and produced by Holly Yu Tung Chen, Scott Rennak, and the team at CBJ. Our theme music is by Devin Dabney.