Walking into Plant Park on a nice, sunny day, you might see a variety of things: students studying, lounging in their bathing suits, playing Frisbee and…walking on a tightrope?
But take a closer look and it’s not a tightrope at all. What you’re seeing is a person walking on a slackline: a two-inch thick, 15-meters long, piece of webbing. So it’s a stretchy material, unlike a tight cable.
A few University of Tampa students got into slacklining a few months ago, when they encountered it at Vertical Ventures, a rock climbing gym here in Tampa. Senior and junior biology/pre-med majors Angel Chinea and Alfonso Heredia, who started the Spartan Climbing Club, didn’t think much of it at first, but eventually became hooked. They now bring it out to Plant Park regularly.
“It’s relaxing to some extent,” Chinea said. “And you can walk by the park and set it up and it takes like five minutes to get ready. It’s just easy and accessible to get to.”
RJ Forsythe, a junior elementary education major, joined the club last semester.
“[Slacklining] was annoying, frustrating and painful at first,” Forsythe said.
“It’s all about balance,” Chinea added. “At the beginning, it’s terrible, but once you get the balance it’s about how much you can hold it for.”
Slacklining received national attention when it was featured in the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show. Andy Lewis, a professional slackliner, demonstrated a few tricks that included bouncing on the line and then doing a backflip off of it.
The Spartan Climbing Club has regular climbing sessions at Vertical Ventures, a short distance off North Dale Mabry Highway. Chinea and Heredia have accumulated about 20 members in the time that the club has been around.
“New, different people are joining us, contacting us, and they’re showing up [at the gym] without us, which means they’re really interested and not just following what we say,” Chinea said.
This past spring break, a few members traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn., for some outdoor climbing, along with Chris Brown, the owner of Vertical Ventures, who had prior experience in the area, and Tim Jarvis, a Vertical Ventures employee. They were able to help out the climbers using their expertise.
“They really motivated me to not give up on a route. They made you want to keep climbing and keep pushing yourself. We fed off their energy,” Forsythe said.
“It was amazing, we climbed sweet rocks, big and small,” Brown said. “I think the amount of effort [the Spartan climbers] put in shows, from all the hours at the gym.”
The Spartans climbed from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The temperature was in the high 50s and they got lucky with blue skies and no rain. They were truly away from society, as they had practically no cellphone service.
“We climbed until the skin on our fingers was no longer there,” Chinea said.
“It was a very nice place to be out in nature, and not think of anything else, except climbing,” Heredia said.
They did traditional climbing, bouldering and top-rope climbing to name a few types. The area was a short distance from the house they stayed at, making their climbing spots very accessible.
“Tennessee was a fun experience,” Forsythe said. “It was a new way that I spent spring break. There were good times with great people.”
They are planning on going outdoor climbing again, perhaps next time in Alabama. Rock climbing and slacklining are different from regular sports, because participants see it as more of an individual mental activity.
“It’s more of a self-fulfillment and I think you feel greater progress and more self-achievement when you’re working to wards something for yourself, and you’re not comparing yourself to others,” Heredia said. “You’re helping others out to accomplish that, so I think that’s one of the main things that keeps climbers happy.”
Chinea added, “There’s a lot of thinking and technique, and a big part of it is just mental and so trying to challenge yourself, going past that limit that you think you have, and you learn a lot about yourself, you find out what you can do.”
Caroline Metell can be reached at cmetell@spartans.ut.edu.