Kids on the Line

One sunny morning, Sonya Iverson and a team of helpers unloaded unusual-looking equipment from a truck parked in a dusty lot. A group of teens and younger kids watched curiously as the strangers unrolled a long line of narrow fabric. Iverson’s team strung the material between two anchor points a few feet off the ground. Then Iverson hopped up onto the line and balanced there. As she stood on one foot, she beckoned the children over to try what she was doing. One by one, they joined in.

Iverson was in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, a country in the Middle East. The youths who perched on the flexible line had fled neighboring Syria along with their families to escape an ongoing civil war (see The Conflict in Syria). Many had been living in makeshift tents for years with little to entertain them. Hanging out with Iverson was the best time the kids had had in quite a while.

One sunny morning, Sonya Iverson and her helpers parked their truck in a dusty lot. They unloaded some odd-looking gear. A group of teens and younger kids watched the strangers. Iverson’s team unrolled a long line of narrow cloth. They hung it between two anchor points a few feet off the ground. Then Iverson hopped up onto the line and balanced. She stood on one foot and called the children over to try the trick. One by one, they joined in.

Iverson was in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, a country in the Middle East. The youths who balanced on the stretchy line were from Syria, a country next to Lebanon. They and their families had fled to escape a long civil war (see The Conflict in Syria). Many had been living in homemade tents for years. They had little to do for fun. Hanging out with Iverson was the best time they’d had in a long while.

Volunteers from Crossing Lines, an organization Iverson co-founded, travel to refugee settlements like this one to teach kids slacklining. The sport involves balancing, walking, and doing tricks on a stretchy piece of flat webbing. Because the line sways and bounces under a person’s weight, the feat is incredibly tricky. It takes a lot of skill, but it’s also a lot of fun. The activity gives refugee youths the chance to play and feel like kids, despite the hardships they’ve suffered. But before they get started, Iverson’s team has to teach students how to stay on the line—an accomplishment that involves mastering the laws of physics.

Iverson helped start an organization called Crossing Lines. Its volunteers travel to refugee settlements like this one to teach kids slacklining. The sport involves balancing, walking, and doing tricks on a stretchy piece of flat webbing. The line moves and bounces under a person’s weight. That makes the feat very tricky. It takes a lot of skill, but it’s also a lot of fun. Refugee youths have suffered many hardships. The sport allows them to play and feel like kids. Before they start, Iverson’s team has to teach them how to stay on the line. And that involves mastering the laws of physics.

For the 750,000 Syrian refugee youths living in Lebanon, life is uncertain. They don’t have permanent homes, just tents that their families build with any available materials on land rented from local farmers. “There’s not a lot of stability in terms of if they’re going to be in the same place in a month, or if they’re going to have enough money to pay for food and rent in two or three months,” says Iverson. Most children living in refugee settlements don’t have access to recreation that kids elsewhere may take for granted. And only half of them are enrolled in some type of school.

The first time Iverson headed to a refugee settlement with her slacklining gear, in 2017, she braced herself for a heartbreaking situation. To her surprise, she was greeted by smiling young people eager to try a new sport.

About 750,000 Syrian refugee youths live in Lebanon. For them, life is uncertain. They don’t have permanent homes. Their families rent land from local farmers, and they build tents with any materials they can find. “There’s not a lot of stability in terms of if they’re going to be in the same place in a month, or if they’re going to have enough money to pay for food and rent in two or three months,” says Iverson. Kids in other places may take entertainment for granted. But most children in refugee settlements don’t have fun activities nearby. And only half of them go to some type of school.

In 2017, Iverson took her slacklining gear to a refugee settlement for the first time. She thought it would be a heartbreaking place. To her surprise, smiling young people greeted her. They couldn’t wait to try a new sport.

The volunteers set up the slackline in a barren lot next to an open-air building. Slackliners often anchor their line to trees. They’re big enough to support the force of tension that’s created when a person steps onto the line, causing it to stretch along its length (see Slackline Science). But in this drought-stricken area, finding suitable trees for anchors was a challenge. Iverson’s team ended up attaching one end of their slackline to the building’s frame and the other to a truck.

The volunteers set up the slackline in an empty lot by an open-air building. When a person steps onto the line, it stretches along its length. That creates a force of tension (see Slackline Science). Slackliners often anchor their line to trees that are big enough to support this force. But this area suffers from drought. It was hard to find good trees for anchors. So Iverson’s team attached one end of their slackline to the building’s frame. They attached the other to a truck.

When kids first stepped onto the slackline, they held on to a volunteer’s hand. They let go once they figured out how to keep their center of mass—the point around which an object’s mass is distributed—over the line. That allowed the force of gravity to pull them straight down and the line to hold them up, says Robin Selinger, a physicist at Kent State University in Ohio.

The kids stepped onto the slackline. At first, they held on to a volunteer’s hand. They let go after they learned how to keep their center of mass over the line. That’s the point around which an object’s mass is arranged. This allowed the force of gravity to pull them straight down and the line to hold them up, says Robin Selinger. She’s a physicist at Kent State University in Ohio.

But it’s not easy to maintain this balance. That’s because “the center of mass is not a fixed point in your body,” explains Selinger. “You’re constantly moving your center of mass as you move your arms and legs or lean forward, back, or sideways.” With every step, slackliners must lean to one side or the other or straighten or bend their knees to compensate for shifting mass. Otherwise, they’ll fall off the line.

Balancing on a slackline is even trickier than on a tightrope. “It can bounce and stretch and swing and do all of those things at once,” says Iverson. If a slackliner’s movement shakes the line, it can generate a mechanical wave that travels to the anchor and bounces back. “Then you have to deal with it again,” she says. During Iverson’s classes, the wiggling line generated plenty of laughs. And so did miscommunications, since Iverson isn’t fluent in Arabic (the language spoken by the refugees). But before long, some of the kids managed to send the line—slackliner lingo for walking across without falling off.

But it’s not easy to stay balanced. That’s because “the center of mass is not a fixed point in your body,” explains Selinger. “You’re constantly moving your center of mass as you move your arms and legs or lean forward, back, or sideways.” With every step, slackliners must make up for the shift in mass. They lean to one side or the other. They bend or unbend their knees. If they don’t, they’ll fall off the line.

Balance on a slackline is even harder than on a tightrope. “It can bounce and stretch and swing and do all of those things at once,” says Iverson. If a slackliner shakes the line, this creates a mechanical wave. The wave travels to the anchor and bounces back. “Then you have to deal with it again,” she says. During Iverson’s classes, the wiggling line created plenty of laughs. And so did misunderstandings. That’s because Iverson doesn’t know much Arabic, the language of the refugees. But before long, some of the kids managed to send the line. That’s slackliner lingo for walking across without falling off.

Some kids learned more complicated feats, such as yoga poses or jumping tricks. It’s easy to bounce high on a slackline because the material is elastic. It returns to its original shape after a force acting on it is removed. When someone jumps on a slackline, energy is stored in the line as it stretches downward. When the line snaps back up, the energy is released, propelling the person into the air. “It’s the same as the physics of jumping on a trampoline,” says Selinger. “It’s just a really, really skinny trampoline.”

Some kids learned harder feats, like yoga poses or jumping tricks. It’s easy to bounce high on a slackline because the material is elastic. It returns to its original shape after a force acting on it is removed. When someone jumps on a slackline, the line stretches downward. Energy is stored in it. When the line snaps back up, the energy is released. It throws the person into the air. “It’s the same as the physics of jumping on a trampoline,” says Selinger. “It’s just a really, really skinny trampoline.”

So far, Iverson and fellow volunteers have taught slacklining to more than 850 young refugees. They’re also setting up permanent slacklines and training locals to teach the sport themselves. Someday, these kids could go on to practice more difficult forms of the sport, such as highlining. People walk across these slacklines strung high over a canyon while wearing a safety harness.

Iverson and other volunteers have taught slacklining to more than 850 young refugees so far. They’re setting up permanent slacklines. And they’re training locals to teach the sport themselves. Someday, these kids could learn more difficult forms of the sport, such as highlining. These slacklines are hung high over a canyon. People wear a safety harness and walk across.

Iverson says that learning slacklining can help young refugees manage anxiety because it requires them to relax their minds and bodies. “You have to be calm in order to walk,” says Iverson. “If you’re tense, if you’re upset, any muscle tension in your body transfers to the line and then causes the line to shake.”

Slacklining builds patience and confidence. And since slackliners often form supportive communities that practice together, it could provide refugees with a way to deal with their stressful situation and develop healthy social behaviors, says Iverson. “That’s powerful, even if it is just a fun sport.”

Iverson says that slacklining can help young refugees manage anxiety. That’s because it makes them relax their minds and bodies. “You have to be calm in order to walk,” says Iverson. “If you’re tense, if you’re upset, any muscle tension in your body transfers to the line and then causes the line to shake.”

Slacklining builds patience and confidence. And slackliners often form groups that support each other and practice together. So it could give refugees a way to handle their stressful lives and form healthy social behaviors, says Iverson. “That’s powerful, even if it is just a fun sport.”