N N IAL CEL O - Youngstown State University

trust in your team
YSU Installs High Ropes Course at Rec Center
Imagine you are walking
across a swaying fourinch
wide balance beam,
attached to steel bars in the
ceiling by a black rope. All
that’s stopping you from
falling almost 20 feet to the
ground is a nylon full-body
harness strapped around
your legs, waist and chest.
Close to you are 10 to
15 of your friends, some
walking through swinging
tires and others climbing
through a cargo net.
You feel your heart racing
as you take another step,
knowing that if you falter,
Alissa Goist, a rec center student at least one of those friends
staff member, walks through tires would be there to help you
in YSU’s new high ropes course at
regain your balance.
the rec center.
Are you having a bad
dream? No.
You are on Sky Trail, a high ropes obstacle course at
YSU’s Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center, the
only retractable course of its kind in Northeast Ohio.
“For some students, there will be an element of fear,”
said Jack Rigney, director of campus recreation/intramural
sports. “The course is nearly 20 feet off the ground. I’d
recommend not looking down until you feel comfortable, if
heights make you queasy.”
But, there is much more to the high ropes course than
overcoming fear.
The Sky Trail, installed last winter in the ceiling high
above the basketball and volleyball courts in the rec center,
aims to further enhance adventure-based learning opportunities
for YSU students, which encourage teambuilding, trust
and shared leadership.
“We are not going to require students to participate in
the course,” said Mike Bowman, administrative assistant II in
campus recreation/intramural sports. “Our credo has become
‘challenge by choice, with encouragement.’”
The $82,000 Sky Trail, installed by Ropes Course Inc.,
consists of six steel retractable cages bolted to the trusses
of the ceiling of the rec center, with seven interchangeable
obstacle course activities installed between each platform.
A collaborative effort by six departments under the
Division of Student Affairs allowed for the course to be
funded and the installation and certification for instructors,
Rigney said.
In addition to balance beams, swinging tires and a cargo
net, the course features wooden planks, tightrope wires and a
section of wall grips on a flat platform. More elements can be
added at a later date, Rigney noted.
When the programming is complete this fall, the staff
will be prepared to offer high ropes courses to fraternities
and sororities, student government, athletics, emerging leader
groups, student peer assistants, the ROTC, students in residence
halls, and student employees in general. In addition,
faculty and staff from campus departments and offices will be
able to sign up for the course.
Joy Polkabla Byers, assistant director of programs
and special events at the rec center, said major goals of
the program include developing student leadership
and preparing students to be engaged in their communities
and for future
employment.
“The programs
will also be
designed to help
develop integrity
and learn conflict
resolution, stress
management and
critical thinking
skills,” added Matt
Morrone, rec center
assistant director.
Each program
will be a minimum
of at least two
hours.
Five members
of the professional
rec center staff
– Rigney, Morrone,
Polkabla Byers,
From left - Students Keith Hernstrom,
Michael McGiffin, Renee Gilson, Alissa
Goist, and Travus Dusz break in the
“taco” cargo net.
Bowman, and Brandy Fagnano, coordinator of fitness and
wellness programs – have received one-year certification
as ropes course facilitators. Jackie Clifton, a full-time staff
member in housing, also received certification.
Three rec center student staff members have also been
trained and certified, as well as a graduate assistant in YSU’s
Office of Student Activities. While many colleges and universities
across the nation have ropes courses, YSU’s is unique
in that participants only have to “hook in” once to
the tracking system that encompasses the entire challenge
course, rather than hooking in and out before moving to
another activity.
“This also makes the course safer – there is less of a
chance of hooking back in again incorrectly,” said Rigney.
For more information on the ropes course and other rec
center programs, visit http://www.ysu.edu/reccenter/ or call
330-941-3488.
Alissa Goist (left) and Marielena
DeFelice demonstrate two of the
many objectives – teambuilding
and trust – that can be achieved
by participating in the high
ropes course.
Youngstown State University Summer 2007