Open Gym Leuven

A DIY sports park under the E314

Open Gym Leuven is a free, volunteer-built sports park under the E314 motorway bridge on the Brandenstraat in Wilsele, on the northern edge of Leuven. Its crew started building there in the autumn of 2016, making training structures from recycled beams, old pipes and other reused materials, and the park has grown ever since. It's outdoors, but the bridge keeps it mostly dry, and anyone can train there at any hour of the day or night.

Climbing

The climbing area has home-made spray walls and bouldering blocks, with problems set by the climbers themselves at route-setting sessions. Climbers meet there every Wednesday to climb, chat and share a potluck dinner: it's an open get-together rather than a class, and newcomers are welcome to drop in. During climbing sessions with the bar open, you can borrow climbing shoes and other kit, and someone is on hand to help beginners. The rest of the time there are no staff, so you climb on your own.

More than climbing

Around the walls are structures for strength training, and the park has hosted calisthenics, yoga, boxing and dance sessions, build days where anyone can help make new structures, and community events. It's run by volunteers with support from the City of Leuven, and everyone who trains there is invited to help shape it into a fair, climate-conscious place to do sport together.