Monday, July 16, 2012

Urban Slackline Meeting - Arena Wien


The Urban Slackline Meeting promoting and supporting girls in the sport of slackline commenced as expected, in a casual way with an assortment of slackers, both men and women. The 2 day event kicked off with rain, however in between the storms (and sometimes during!) the slackliners found plenty of time to get on the lines.

There were several urban lines rigged, including two moderate longlines, a short slackline for beginners, a trickline on the stage, a midline on the stage, and a highline across the whole arena. At least 75 slackliners attended throughout the weekend, from countries all over the world, including Czech Republic, Austria, America, France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland and more. Many slackliners were able to train their highlining skills on the 12m long stage midline, and for the more advanced highliners they raged the 35m long "Stadteinsamkeit Highline."

During the evening the slackliners enjoyed hanging out, playing guitars, and finally resting in the bunkbeds at the arena.

The girls trickline competition was a relaxed one, hosted by the Vienna Slackers, with great competitors from all over Europe. The first place was taken by Justyna Wallis, second place by Dany Smith, and third place by G4G member Faith Dickey; though it was a close match between her and Kinga Stus.

On Sunday, the private day just for slackliners and not the public, G4G members Jelena Schradi and Faith Dickey hosted the highline workshop, where they demonstrated the steps necessary for rigging a highline at ground level, answering questions and laying the foundation for those who plan to learn rigging in the future. With at least 8 attendee's, it seemed like a success!

There was of course a bit of time for fun as well, including chicken walking.

A big thanks to Martina Kornek, the staff at the arena, Slackline.at, Vienna Slackers and all the girls for  the hard work!