Students participate in sport of slacklining

Freshman Cheyenne Clark walks along a slackline on Sept. 22 outside the University Center. Photo by Kamren Thompson.

The sport of slacklining calls for balance, physical agility and precision as participants sway up and down and side to side.

Slacklining, or walking on a rope of nylon line, is a new craze on campus, Tyler Wacker, civil engineering major, said.

Junior Joel Zandstra attracted students when he began setting up slacklines between the trees surrounding the dorms and University Center.

Zandstra teaches newcomers how to stand on the line and find their balance before they begin walking and provides them with equipment. He has been slacklining for about six years and has overcome numerous injuries from the sport, including a shoulder separation and more than one concussion.

"It's a great way to work on balance and your core strength," he said. "It's a great sport whether you're three or 100."

Zandstra discovered slacklining at an event in Bergfeld Park when he saw a man practicing the sport. He was immediately intrigued and asked the man what he was doing. The man then showed him what it was and how to do it.

"It's like a community," Zandstra said.

The challenge of getting across attracted nursing major Drew Dunton, a regular slackliner.

Dunton started two weeks ago and can almost make it across the 6-foot-long line.

"I tried it because my friends were doing it, and I wanted to do something new," he said.

Sophomore Austin Regan said he likes slacklining for the "thrills and bruised feet" along with the addiction of walking the line.

Two ropes swing between the trees with the highest about five-feet above the ground.

Regan said he enjoys testing himself by braving the higher rope, making it about three- feet across the 10-foot stretch each time.

Students gather daily, captivated by the difficulty and uniqueness of the sport, to meet new friends and test their stability while walking the suspended rope near the University Center.

Kyle Espinoza, with only one month of experience in slacklining, enjoys hanging out with his friends while participating. "Walking the line is difficult, just trying to step is a challenge," Espinoza said.

Espinoza said the best thing about slacklining is observing the learning pace of other slackliners. He said he is already better after a few weeks of practice than others who have been doing it for about a year and a half.

"It's more of a lifestyle than a sport," Zandstra said.