Profile - James Short

Name: James Short
Origin: Geelong - VIC, Australia
Age: 22

After a long history of sporting interests including; Football, Basketball, Skating, Sailing, Golf Soccer, Downhill MTB, BMX and Rock Climbing I finally found my sporting place of choice after 20 years on Earth.

-Slackline/ Highline-

A travelling Frenchman I met by chance on a ridiculously hot day in Melbourne led to my passions for balance, rigging and nature. I had never heard of the sport of Slackline nor seen anyone attempt one, I was too obsessed with climbing rocks and perfecting strength movements on small holds.

I have come to be absolutely consumed by the feeling of walking on a slackline and the processes surrounding making it happen. I enjoy slackline for the trivial purpose, solitary yet social practise and the self-fulfilment of achieving the goals I set myself. New environments and discovering beauty within nature is also high up on the list of positive experiences.

You need only check out the basic physical and mental attributes to sporting practises to see it ticks all the right boxes.

Sporting movements are fundamentally broken down into;
1. Throwing (throwing your pilot line across a gap and throwing down tricks on the highline)
2. Catching (when all else fails and its time to fall, catching the line is ideal)
3. Jumping (made very difficult by the nature of a dynamic 1" Slackline)
4. Striking (moving when the time is right)
5. Running (running back to the car to grab a beer after a successful day)
6. Kicking (kicking your legs around as you hang many meters above the ground)
7. Agility, Balance and Coordination (Definitely the most profound skill involved in slackline)

Fundamental Sporting Mental Skills
1. Choose/ Maintain a positive attitude (Stoke is not a problem on a Slackline)
2. Self Motivation' (Slackline is extremely measurable and self progression is easily evident)
3. High/ Realistic Goals (Walking slacklines makes you hungry, there is always room to go longer, slacker and higher)
4. Deal Effectively with People (Communication when rigging highlines is imperative to a safe experience)
5. Positive Self-Talk (it is a challenge to alleviate the negative thoughts while undertaking intimidating slacklines and self talk is sometimes the difference between walking and falling)
6. Positive Mental Imagery (envisioning yourself doing what you've come to dream of)
7. Managing Anxiety Effectively (managing fear, stress, demons and other demonic experiences that run through your head)
8. Managing Emotions Effectively (I don't feel this to be that applicable, the highs and lows of the slackline experience
9. Concentration (absolutely key to remaining confident but concentration will also fade into a haze or zen state and that is even better)