Slacklining over water draws heat from lifeguards

There is a section of Carlsbad Boulevard which crosses over the Batiquitos Lagoon, north of Ponte State Beach. Here, people “waterline”, walking suspended lengths of flat webbing above water. “We’ve had incidences when lifeguards come up on jet skis or from the beach and say, ‘Hey, you aren’t allowed to be here, this is not a public part of the beach,’’’ comments Nick Fitzpatrick. “Then a couple of months ago we’ve had other lifeguards come back to us and say, ‘Ignore those lifeguards. There isn’t a rule with what you guys are doing.’”

Because there are no clear rules as to where Fitzpatrick and his buddies can waterline , slackline (above ground) and highline (between cliffs), sometimes they have to find remote areas so they are harder to spot. “We are avoiding [the Carlsbad Boulevard bridge] until we can go back there with confidence and we are not upsetting anyone,” Fitzpatrick continues, “After that experience we found ways of slacklining over water in less public venues throughout San Diego.”

“It’s such a new sport that the laws have not been created. And what we are looking to do, through city council meetings, is to introduce the sport to the public the right way and create a way for legislation to exist— but in a way to allow slacklining to exist.”

For more information about the sport, visit San Diego Slacklining or Slack Chat Facebook pages.