A chance encounter led senior Rasul Abdullayev to get involved with the sport of slinging. Bored during his winter break and motivated by memories of playing with slingshots in his childhood, he searched the internet for more information about slinging. Instead of the Y-shaped contraption, however, images of people swinging ropes populated Abdullayev’s screen — he had mistyped “slingshot” for “slinging.” Nevertheless, the search results intrigued him.
Originally used as a weapon in hunting and combat, the sling is one of the oldest projectile weapons in human history, with some historians claiming that the device was invented at around the same time as the bow-and-arrow. Its structure is simple: a cradle attached to two retention cords.
“The sling has appeared in almost every culture on Earth,” longtime slinger John Roeling said. “It’s one commonality between humankind, which makes it pretty cool.”
To use a sling, a roughly spherical projectile item, like a stone or tennis ball, is first placed in the cradle. Held by a handle and a tab on the free ends of the cords, the sling is then swung in an arc. At the end of the arc, the slinger releases the tab, which allows the projectile to fly outward — ideally forward, though it could go in any direction.
There is a large slinging community online, found throughout YouTube and forums such as slinging.org. Despite the bustling virtual community, no one Abdullayev knew personally had any idea what a sling was. Thus, he was excited to share with his friends the slings he made while following Youtube instructional videos. By learning from experienced slingers over the internet, Abdullayev and his friends quickly learned more about the sport.
“It’s such a close-knit group where everyone helps each other out,” Abdullayev said. “Everyone shares their knowledge, from which others are free to take or add on to.”
Through the practice sessions near his house, Abdullayev and his friends put their knowledge into action. They decided to start a club to spread their joy in slinging with others. With the establishment of Bay Area Slinging Club, practice sessions occurred more regularly, and more people started joining — attracted by flyers, posts online and the sessions themselves. Sean Huang, a current Stanford University sophomore, was the first person to sign up for the club through a post he saw on slinging.org.
“Though I didn’t know the members before practicing with them, we quickly connected because we were all really interested in slinging,” Huang said.
For safety reasons, Bay Area Slinging Club holds practices in open grassy areas or contained areas, like tennis courts. The projectiles travel at high speeds, resulting in high force which could easily shatter a window. While staying away from populated places, the club likes to practice in locations visible to passers-by.
Even if not through wandering by a Bay Area Slinging Club practice, get involved in slinging by visiting the club’s website, bayslinging.org, or their practices at the park — they’re open to all levels.
“We want others to come and ask us questions,” founding member Sivaan Sharma said. “Slinging is hard to describe, but it is fun. You can only really experience that feeling by actually slinging yourself, which we encourage the people that approach us to try out.”
