The Connecticut Rock Gym

The Connecticut Rock Gyms' (CRG) Advisory Committee provides expert guidance and plays a critical role in ensuring that CRG is poised to meet the growing demands of a dynamic and evolving marketplace. Our board consists of top-tier executive leaders with proven experience in the sports management, indoor rock climbing facility management, health and fitness club management and the outdoor industry.

Will Manzer, CEO, Eastern Mountain Sports, Peterborough, NH

Adventure is in Will Manzer’s blood. During his life, he has competed in marathons, triathlons of different lengths and the earliest versions of what today is known as adventure racing. In his business career, Will engineered a successful management-led buyout of Eastern Mountain Sports in 2004. He now oversees the 86-store specialty retail chain. Prior to joining Eastern Mountain Sports, Will served as President at Perry Ellis from 2000 to 2003.

Scott Hornick, RockWerx, Baltimore, MD.

Scott Hornick initially tapped into the climbing industry through his experience as a physical education teacher. Working with kids, he saw their enthusiasm for non-traditional activities and wanted to create new educational opportunities and adventures to challenge children. Scott first built a bouldering traverse wall at his own school and then began building them at friend's schools in the mid-Atlantic region. The business of building walls soon took off, and since the first project in 1999, Scott and his former company Adventure Systems (acquired by Rockwerx in 2007) built countless walls at schools, recreational centers, health clubs, resorts, and amusement parks. Scott directs the Sales and Marketing operations of Rockwerx from our Baltimore, Maryland office, and if you’re interested in a Rockwerx project, Scott will most likely be the first person you talk to. Scott holds a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Education.

Prof. Gil Fried, Esq, Chair, Sports Management, University of New Haven, West Haven, CT

Gil Fried is a Professor at the University of New Haven, School of Business, in the Management of Sports Industries Program. He also coordinates the facility management concentration, internships for graduate students, and Chairs the Sport/Hospitality and Tourism Management Department in the College of Business. Professor Gil Fried is a specialist in sport law, finance, and facility management. He received his masters in sport management and his law degree from The Ohio State University. He has written several books on sport risk management, sport facility management, and sport finance. One of the six books he wrote is the Academy for Venue Safety and Security (AVSS) textbook used by the International Association of Assembly Managers. His other textbooks are used in over 100 universities in the United States. He lectures nationally on financial risk management, facility risk management, crowd management/venue safety, and sports violence. His lecturing and book writing are supplemented with writing numerous industry articles. He has published over 100 articles focused on facility related concerns. He is regularly quoted in industry publications and periodicals. Besides, UNH, Prof. Fried also teaches as an adjunct at Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University and Columbia University.

Dan Fitzgerald, Esq, Sports and Entertainment Practice, Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C., New Haven, CT

Daniel B. Fitzgerald is an associate with Updike, Kelly and Spellace in tbe Litigation Department and practices in the areas of sports and entertainment law, litigation and insurance. Mr. Fitzgerald, Chair of the Connecticut Bar Association's Sports & Entertainment Law Section, provides counsel on sports and entertainment law issues including student-athlete issues, sports and business, NCAA eligibility matters, coaching contracts, management agreements and literary contracts.