Learning the Ropes

Holding a handstand is hard. How much harder would it be to balance upside down on a rope? It may sound impossible, but people around the world are bouncing and balancing on slacklines. Slacklining is a sport much like tightrope walking. But instead of a wire, it uses a flat, stretchy rope that sags and swings.

Sonya Iverson fell in love with slacklining in 2008. She practiced and eventually worked up to highlining, a version of the sport where people (wearing safety ropes) cross canyons at terrifying heights. Iverson has slacklined in more than 20 countries, including Turkey, Germany, and China. Now, she is bringing the sport to unlikely places: refugee settlements in Lebanon.  

Doing a handstand is hard. How much harder would it be to balance upside down on a rope? It may sound impossible. But people around the world are doing it. They're bouncing and balancing on ropes called slacklines. Slacklining is a sport much like tightrope walking. But a flat, stretchy rope is used instead of a wire. Unlike a stiff tightrope, the slackline sags and swings.

Sonya Iverson fell in love with slacklining in 2008. She started practicing a lot. Iverson eventually worked up to a version of the sport called highlining. In highlining, people cross canyons at terrifying heights. (They wear safety ropes.) Iverson has slacklined in more than 20 countries. She's visited Turkey, Germany, and China. Now she is bringing the sport to unlikely places. She's teaching slacklining to people in refugee settlements in Lebanon.  

In 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria. Since then, over 4.5 million refugees have fled the country. About 1 million of them now live in Lebanon, which borders Syria to the west.

Iverson had visited Syria in 2008 and wanted to find a way to help refugees. By now, most Syrians in Lebanon have their basic needs—such as food, shelter, and water—says Iverson. But half the children aren’t in school. Instead, many work or help out at home. It’s hard to feel—and play—like a kid. Iverson started a nonprofit called Crossing Lines in 2013 to teach slacklining. While slacklining, kids can play and learn skills such as balance, concentration, and confidence.

Through Crossing Lines, Iverson has visited the Bekaa Valley region of Lebanon four times to show kids how to balance and bounce on a slackline. Each morning, Iverson and her team drove to the settlements and set up the slacklines. They would anchor the cords to anything they could find. “Normally you just need a couple of trees to set up a line. But there aren’t a lot of trees here,” says Iverson. “Sometimes, we use two cars as the attachment.”

In 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria. Since then, more than 4.5 million refugees have fled the country. About 1 million of them now live in Lebanon. It borders Syria to the west. 

Iverson had visited Syria in 2008. She wanted to find a way to help refugees. By now, most Syrians in Lebanon have their basic needs met. They have food, shelter, and water, says Iverson. But half the children aren't in school. Instead, many work or help out at home. They might not have time to play. That makes it hard to feel like a kid.

Iverson decided to teach the kids slacklining. She started a nonprofit called Crossing Lines in 2013. Kids can have fun slacklining. They also learn skills such as balance, concentration, and confidence.    

Iverson has visited the Bekaa Valley region of Lebanon four times now. She's shown kids how to balance and bounce on a slackline. Each morning, Iverson and her team would drive to the settlements and set up the slacklines. They anchored the cords to anything they could find. "Normally you just need a couple of trees to set up a line. But there aren't a lot of trees here," says Iverson. "Sometimes, we use two cars as the attachment."