Cut these folks a little slack
CLAY TWP — Slacklining was introduced to Butler County Tuesday by one of the premier participants of the fledgling sport.
Mike Payton, 20, of Boulder, Colo., who has been involved in slacklining for 2Z\x years, appeared at the Playthings, Etc. toy store on Route 8 to demonstrate the activity.
A slackline is a nylon webbing 2 inches wide that varies in length. It can be attached to trees, poles or posts and tightened for varying amounts of elasticity.
It can be strung anywhere from 3 feet to 2,700 feet above the ground.
People can walk across it like a tightrope in the circus or they can perform stunts on it, such as yoga poses, flips and handstands.
Payton performed all of those maneuvers and more in front of the store entrance Tuesday.
"Slacklining has only been around since the early 1980s and has only recently developed into a sport," Payton said. "It served as a training technique for other sports for a long time."
Slacklining began in Yosemite, Calif., as a training tool for rock climbing. It also is used in training by skiers, snowboarders and gymnasts. It also can be used for pure entertainment.
Store manager Allen DiFrischia of Prospect first saw slacklining when he attended the New York Toy Fair in February.
Gibbon Slacklines, an international company based in Germany whose U.S. operation is based in Boulder, had a booth at the toy fair."The (slackline) activity was unique and attracted my attention," DiFrischia said. "Some outdoor and climbing stores may sell slacklines, but no one in our area would."We're into unique stuff like this and they offered that demo deal, so I went for it."Gibbon Slacklines generally offers a touring demo stop at any store that orders at least 40 slacklines. The demo special at the toy fair was an order of 10."I ordered 10, received them April 30 and have already sold three of them," DiFrischia said.While there are no official professionals in the sport, Payton said a friend of his, Andy Lewis of Boulder, is among the best in the world.A slackline competition consists of three divisions: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Participants compete in a bracket format. Defeat your opponent and move on to the next round."A round consists of five minutes," Payton said. "You get on the slackline and do whatever stunts and poses you want. Once you fall off or jump off, it's the other guy's turn. You go back and forth until the time runs out."Points are given on creativity and difficulty of stunts, he added. "Because the sport is only in its adolescent stage, judging criteria varies by competition."Emily Sukiennik of New Hampshire, also a member of the Gibbon demo team, said that just walking a slackline from one end to the other is a tough task."Gymnasts get on a slackline for the first time and struggle because it's not a solid base like a balance beam," she said. "It takes a lot of practice and effort to walk across one of these."Total focus is required. That's a great trait to instill in kids and athletes in general. Slacklining does that," she added.The world record for longest walk across a slackline is 711 feet. The world record for walking across a highline — a slackline set up 1,000 feet or more above ground — is 220 feet."Because the sport is new, complete safety measures are used in highlining," Sukiennik said. "We use harnesses and are totally secured."Focus and balance, mind-body awareness — slacklining brings out all of those things," she added.Touring for three months at a time for Gibbon, Payton performs on a slackline four hours a day during that time. When he's not touring, he practices two to three hours a day."The stunts and movements are precise," he said. "But the entire activity is fun."
