Slacking: a balance between life and sport
Date 9/29/2005 12:00 AM | Topic: SportsLuther students stop to stare, their mouths slightly agape, transfixed as they watch a feat being performed a few feet above the ground by Valders.
They are watching slacklining, a form of rope-walking that utilizes tubular nylon webbing stretched tight between two anchor points. Slacklining came about in the 80s in the California rock-climbing community and has been spreading ever since.
The man who brought slacklining to Luther College is Al Onkka ('06). Seth Johnson ('06) had gotten into it himself and the two started setting up a line together. Through these two, slacklining has spread by word of mouth around the Luther campus. Now several students, like Mike Lang ('07), have their own equipment.
"Wherever there is climbing culture, it grows," Johnson said.
The most common place to view this phenomenon is between the trees in front of Valders and Olin. Onkka enjoys the challenge of setting up the slackline in new places, though.
"You are always looking for new places and try to make setting up work out of what you have," Onkka said.
When they lived in Towers, Onkka and Johnson would regularly take down the net at the volleyball court and set up the slackline over the sand. This would allow them to set the line up higher, with less risk involved if they fell. In the winter, Onkka and Johnson occasionally set up their webbing in Brunsdale lounge.
The craziest stunt that Onkka and Lang have pulled as of yet is stretching 100 ft. of nylon webbing across the river and walking across it. Neither one of them could get all the way across without falling.
"It was awesome," Onkka said with a big grin on his face.
Slacklining can be used for different reasons than pulling off tricks. Both Johnson and Onkka profess that slacklining can be used as a form of meditation.
"It's really relaxing. Not at first, but once you get muscle memory you can turn off your mind and just focus on relaxing your body," Johnson said.
Slacklining is fairly safe, but there are some risks involved. Onkka had a memorable fall where he landed with his legs on either side of the slackline after being distracted over a loud argument some cricket players were having nearby.
A lot of rock climbers have turned into slackliners. However, there is some dispute as to whether rock-climbing helps you slackline.
"The only benefit of being a climber is I have the balls to do it," Tressa Hoegh ('08) said.
Sasha Luse ('06) and Onkka take a slackline with them to community events and enjoy the company and outdoors. Both Johnson and Onkka insist that slacklining is something you have to experience to understand.
"If you say we walk across a tight piece of webbing, it sounds dumb," Johnson said.
"It doesn't look that impressive when you are good at it and then people try it and they can't even get a foot on it," Onkka said.
Equipment is fairly cheap. Many people who have been getting into it at Luther have been buying their own webbing. Slackliners use the same nylon webbing and carabiners that rock climbers use.
Onkka and Johnson are cool with people coming up to them and giving it a shot. There are usually people in front of Valders a few times a week when the weather is nice. Although there isn't usually a strict schedule, 3:30 p.m. is a common time for the slackliners to be out.
"It's fun to do something that's non-competitive and everyone can try," Johnson said.
It is not just friends of Johnson and Onkka who have been giving slacklining a try.
"This is the first year that I have seen freshmen coming out," Onkka said.
He credits Johnson for getting underclassmen involved. If you are one of the students who slows down and stares at slackliners, give it a try.
Whether you are interested in slacklining for exercise, meditation, socializing or just trying something new, it is an option for fun for adventurous Luther students.
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Genny Countryman
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