Melbourne Community Rope (MCR)

Melbourne Community Rope (MCR) is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit association built around community learning and what it calls ethical education. A committee of president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and general members is elected at an annual general meeting, and the existing committee can co-opt someone when a seat falls vacant. Annual membership costs AU$10 and gives early notice of workshops and special events, first access to most workshop tickets, and a vote at general meetings. The group does not publish the names of its teachers or committee members, and its website gives no founding year.

Classes

Weekly classes run in Brunswick on two evenings. On Wednesdays, two beginner classes share the night. Beginner 1 assumes no prior experience and works through negotiation, rope safety, several single column tie pathways (including the lark’s head approach), inline cuffs, double column ties, futomomo and agura leg ties; a cycle typically takes about four classes. Beginner 2 requires that knowledge and rotates through an eight-week cycle of harnesses and pathways, with chest harness sessions best attended with a partner. Students can come alone to both, tickets are per person, and rope and safety equipment are available to borrow.

The Thursday intermediate class at Studio Take Care runs for two and a half hours and is sold per pair. It covers larger shapes such as two- and three-part takate kote, monthly themes (for example gote and lower-body ties), and floor work safety. Separate suspension and non-suspension tickets exist; more experienced pairs may extend ties to a hardpoint at the teacher’s discretion, and a suspension-ready chest harness is the stated prerequisite. Students bring their own rope and a cutting tool.

Jams and workshops

MCR’s rope jams are explicitly not lessons: people tie freely, practise, watch or socialise, alone or with partners, at any level from beginner to advanced. They are 18+ and alcohol- and drug-free, with fixed entry times, and entry was listed at AU$25 per person in November 2026. A themed “Freaky Friday” jam was scheduled for 13 November 2026 at Studio Take Care.

Visiting instructors occasionally teach workshops, usually a three-hour weeknight session or a six-hour weekend day, and the group tries to offer hardship or community-contribution scholarships. It has also run rope joins and discussions on rope bottoming. Volunteers help at events by welcoming newcomers, checking people in at the door and monitoring for safety. MCR describes itself as body positive, consent focused and LGBTQIA+ safe and friendly, and open to anyone interested in rope regardless of skill level.