Slacklining is the act of balancing on a narrow, flexible webbing. Its dynamic response makes every movement immediately visible and gives the sport its distinctive character.
From the climbing scene of Yosemite Valley
The roots of modern slacklining lie in Yosemite National Park in California. As early as the 1960s and 1970s, climbers passed rest days and rainy days by balancing on chains, ropes and other narrow structures.
In the early 1980s, Adam Grosowsky and Jeff Ellington transferred this idea to flexible climbing webbing. A campsite pastime became a movement practice in its own right. From the climbing camps of Yosemite Valley it spread first to other climbing areas and later far beyond the climbing scene.
An old idea becomes a new sport
People have balanced on ropes, cables and beams for centuries, and similar experiments appeared independently in Europe. What made slacklining new was not balancing itself, but the elastic webbing, its roots in climbing culture and the community that formed around it.
The route to Europe
Slacklining remained a niche pursuit among climbers for a long time. Around the turn of the millennium the scene became more visible internationally. From about 2006, readily available slackline kits introduced the sport to a broader public in European parks, schools and clubs.
Tyrolean photographer, mountaineer and climber Heinz Zak also played an important role in the German-speaking region. His experience from Yosemite Valley, his photographs and his events helped make highlining and slacklining known in Europe. The first European highline festival took place in 2006.
From a pastime to a diverse sporting culture
The first lines in climbing camps led to different disciplines, competitions, festivals, clubs and international safety work. Today slacklining is practised as a sport, a form of training, a creative movement practice and a shared community activity. Our page Disciplines at a glance provides an overview.
Further reading: The international history and current definition are also documented by the International Slackline Association.