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Slinging as a sport (Read 17796 times)
Steven
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #30 - Jan 13th, 2012 at 10:21am
 
I've had early drop-out (2 strand skinny pouch) zingers  Shocked go as far as 50-70 feet.
oooo! that's gonna leave a mark.  Embarrassed
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Dilyan Ganev
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #31 - Jan 13th, 2012 at 12:07pm
 
In moment of great laughter while my friends tried to sling one of them slung a ping-pong ball sized rock at 15 m with very high trajectory...
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Greenman
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #32 - Jan 14th, 2012 at 1:09pm
 
Hey Buddy!

Welcome to the weird and wonderfully addictive world of slinging.

I tried to start a sling club and could not find anyone who is interested. I honestly hope you have better luck. Try schools and explain to the students the value of slingers in the "old" days.

You may also try golf driving ranges and pitch the idea that they could gain extra money by opening their range to slingers... Best of luck...
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Caldou
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #33 - Jan 17th, 2012 at 3:34pm
 
Thanks Smiley

As a reward ( Roll Eyes ), you can gouge your eyes out while looking for the first temporary version of the club website...

Beware, I'm absolutly NOT a graphic designer Tongue
Nor am I a great advertiser... but, hell, it says the most important : date and place of practice ^^
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Curious Aardvark
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #34 - Jan 17th, 2012 at 3:40pm
 
way to go caldou !
I hope you get lots of people turn up at the little red cross.

If I were you I'd make a real red cross on a stick as people will no doubt complain they couldn't find it because the cross wasn't there if you don't  Grin

Good luck with the meetings.  Smiley
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #35 - Jan 17th, 2012 at 4:00pm
 
Bonne chance Caldou!

In a rough attempt to practice french i'm going to try and translate the page.

The Association for Slinging as a Sport (AFS) is a sporting association created for the rebirth of slinging in France as a recreational activity. We have organized regular training sessions with the purpose of becoming proficient at target shooting. For the purpose of safety and security, we will being using tennis balls and hacky sacks.

We will hold these meetings on Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30.
The dates for January and February are as follows:


All the words in italics are the ones I didn't know and had to translate via google. the end of the second line was particularly confusing (I didn't know what 'tirer' meant).
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Caldou
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #36 - Jan 17th, 2012 at 5:09pm
 
XXKid :
Yeah, if you don't know that tirer is to shoot, the second sentence may be very puzzling  Grin
One more literal translation may be :
We have organized regular training sessions, with introduction to different styles, target shooting and games of sling shooting. (Sling baseball anyone ? *)
So Juggling balls are Hacky sacks ? Ok ^^

C_A :
I promise, the day we start shooting rocks and and lead, the Red Cross will be there...
And maybe the military... as a side effect  Grin


* how far from the batter the launcher is in a baseball game ? and how the batter (and the guy behind) would like to have the ball slung at him ?
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #37 - Jan 17th, 2012 at 10:46pm
 
juggling balls to me are pretty similar to hacky sacks. at least that's what i've seen every juggler use Grin

the batter is trained to hit whatever comes towards you, and if it does come too close then they'll just move out of the way (a 'ball'- a badly thrown ball that doesn't count). the catcher had plenty of armor that will stop it, and once again his only purpose is too catch the ball, so he's quite safe as well. If you hit the umpire (much like an overseer or judge- he tells whether the ball was in a hittable position or a ball/foul (ball being when the ball was thrown into an area where the batter couldn't possibly hit it, and a foul is when the ball is hit but it flies the wrong way, etc), or if the runner is safe (made it to the base before being struck out) or not. If you hit the umpire...than i  wish you the luck of the gods.
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Caldou
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #38 - Mar 20th, 2012 at 6:06pm
 
Paperwork is finished ! I'm officialy The President ! Muahahahhahaaaaaa...

We did a little experiment last sunday :
2 slingers with 3 tennis ball each, 1 Celtic warrior with a shield, 20m and a charge... 1 hit, without a sling (ball send by hand Tongue ) and only in the shield...

On the other hand, I approached the 100m mark... with a golf ball, but that's still an improvement ^^

If you want to win a "histo-compatible" sling, you're welcome to the "ELFIC"*, where the association (with a Celtic reenactment group) will be on the 12th and 13th of may !
I will prepare special small plushie as the requirement to win the sling Wink ! Who want to come and try his/her luck and skills ?
Thanks to some curious aardvark, there will be a nice bright yellow pennant with a slinger in it, you can't miss us !



* Sorry, the link is only in french... It can be translated as (approximately) "the playful evenments of Fantastic and Imaginary in Centrale" (one of the most famous "grandes écoles" in France).
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Caldou
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #39 - May 14th, 2012 at 1:18pm
 
As I told you all just above, I just spent this week-end slinging and teaching... I even get an interview ^^

I did'nt take a lot of pictures (in fact, 3) but I get 6 people who put the ball in the target ! Ok, they were between 10 and 20 meters, but most of them were absolut beginners. So they won a seatbelt sling, that I must now make ^^ Should they have managed to put one in the target at 30 meters, it would have been a sling requiring more work... but once they shot once or twice at this distance, they lost hope Tongue

And more importantly, we (me and my slinging girlfriend, who is the second person in the club) told a lot of people about the Association, and at least 3 of them asked for more info  Smiley
Sorry, I didn't talk a lot about slinging.org...

There was a lot of wind, so the shots where sometimes... strange, the pennant C_A gave me flyed nicely and my target spend almost more time fallen on the ground than ready to be shot but those were two great days Cheesy
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Pans
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #40 - Aug 21st, 2012 at 11:09am
 
I know I'm resurrecting a bit of an old thread, but I'm working my way through the older contributions.

Caldou, how is your club coming along? Did you ever manage to write up a list of rules and specifications? While reading this thread I saw what I considered to be a lot of good, but also some "not-so-good" advice on how best to give slinging legitimacy as a sport.

If it's not too late, may I make some suggestions? I am only a raw novice slinger but I have based these on my knowledge of GNAS rules for competitive target archery in the UK and other target sports.

Only control the aspects that won't interfere with people's ability to participate. In archery nobody tells you what length, weight or stiffness arrows to use, nor what type, draw weight or sighting method your bow should be. These are all a personal choice based on the physical size, ability and personal tastes of the individual. Likewise people should be able to use the sling that suits them and that they can demonstrate an ability to use safely, be it natural or artifical, short or long.
Some of these these are things that can be separated into different competition classes, but should not dictate absolute participation. Bear in mind that you will not always be competing. Most of the time spent in any sport is in practice and training!

I would advise:
- Fixed ranges
- A standard target design and size
- Standardised ammunition for fairness between competitors (considering safety, practicality and reusability)
- The number of  throws each competitor is allowed at any given time
- "Shooting line" etiquette - how many people can sling at a time, how turns are ordered etc.

- Let people choose their own sling length and construction. At most, dictate a minimum and maximum length based on common sense and safety considerations to prevent someone turning up with a 6' sling!

I saw suggestions about uniforms. These add a lot to the respectability of any sport, particularly to those who don't understand it, however I'm sure a dress code would suffice, and even then it would only be needed if you were going to be in the public eye.
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #41 - Aug 28th, 2012 at 12:09pm
 
Quote:
I saw suggestions about uniforms. These add a lot to the respectability of any sport, particularly to those who don't understand it, however I'm sure a dress code would suffice, and even then it would only be needed if you were going to be in the public eye.


Just for demos probably. And if david morningstar was involved it would have to involve the wearing of large boots, hats and long coats Smiley
Where as I prefer shorts, sandals and t-shirts.

If we ever get that far, then yep worth looking at. Probably just club t-shirts would suffice.

The only thing you said that is not only tricky but also self contradictory is the standardisation of sling ammunition.

It's a good idea - however for target shooting some people prefer heavy weights and some lighter.
Plus you said that nobody tells an archer what kind of arrows they can use - why should a slinger get told what kind of ammo they can use ?

At the moment I know of no commercial product that fits the criteria for target sling ammo. There are numerous things you can make yourself. But if you want proper standardisation then you'd need a factory made item.

Tennis balls are not dense enough. Golf balls richochet back bloody fast. Squash balls filled with sand work extremely well - but aren't exactly easy to make by the hundreds.

The ideal ammunition would probably be some kind of clay or concrete sphere somewhere in size between a golf ball and a tennis ball. weighing between 4-8 oz.

I did build a 'machine' that makes such ammo. But it's not exactly production line tech (lol)

So for the time being you ca pretty much just standardise target and distance.
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Pans
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #42 - Aug 29th, 2012 at 2:57pm
 
Quote:
The only thing you said that is not only tricky but also self contradictory is the standardisation of sling ammunition.

Sorry, that's what I get for typing something out as a stream of thought rather than planning it  Embarrassed

Quote:
Tennis balls are not dense enough. Golf balls richochet back bloody fast. Squash balls filled with sand work extremely well - but aren't exactly easy to make by the hundreds.

The real question is, does a personal preference for ammunition mass outweight (no pun intended Roll Eyes ) considerations of safety and consistency?

I was looking at your pill roller and crocodile jaws thread last night... did you ever get them working in a satisfactory manner?
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Caldou
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #43 - Sep 4th, 2012 at 1:39pm
 
Pans wrote on Aug 21st, 2012 at 11:09am:
Caldou, how is your club coming along? Did you ever manage to write up a list of rules and specifications?

Well, since I moved quite far away (300km++, roughtly many miles) for a new job and I have a lot of work, I decided to have it on stand-by for the time being.

Quote:
If it's not too late, may I make some suggestions? I am only a raw novice slinger but I have based these on my knowledge of GNAS rules for competitive target archery in the UK and other target sports.

It's never too late, some others slingers will want to create clubs too Wink

Quote:
Only control the aspects that won't interfere with people's ability to participate. In archery nobody tells you what length, weight or stiffness arrows to use, nor what type, draw weight or sighting method your bow should be. These are all a personal choice based on the physical size, ability and personal tastes of the individual.

For Archery clubs, I don't know how it is both in the UK and in France, but I heard that some clubs were'nt that open to "strange" bows (longbow, or the one with the little wheels). And they may have the right to forbid you to bring your broadheads or explosive heads to shoot their targets Wink

Quote:
Likewise people should be able to use the sling that suits them and that they can demonstrate an ability to use safely, be it natural or artifical, short or long.
Some of these these are things that can be separated into different competition classes, but should not dictate absolute participation. Bear in mind that you will not always be competing. Most of the time spent in any sport is in practice and training!

That's what I had in mind when I created this thread, but a lot of people jumped on the competition aspect, don't know why ?

Quote:
I would advise:
- Fixed ranges
- A standard target design and size
- Standardised ammunition for fairness between competitors (considering safety, practicality and reusability)
- The number of  throws each competitor is allowed at any given time
- "Shooting line" etiquette - how many people can sling at a time, how turns are ordered etc.

For now, I only have one target, so it's design an size is pretty standard with itself. ^^ It's a circle of 50cm with a bag mounted on a fairly weak PVC tripod, so it's a bit harder to hit than the balearic one (it's diana size), so putting the ball inside the bag is 2 pts, hitting the bag is 1. Making the target fall... is Opts and the right to go set it back.
Concerning ammunition, I have a big bag of tennis balls and some adapted rusty balls so the etiquette is this :
the bag is in front of the target, everybody take one or two and make a line. The first shoot both balls and move out, etc. When everybody have shot, back to the bag for a refill of two balls. When the bag is empty, everybody spread out to find them.

Quote:
- Let people choose their own sling length and construction. At most, dictate a minimum and maximum length based on common sense and safety considerations to prevent someone turning up with a 6' sling!

I have enough slings to share with the firstcomers, but for a starting club, it can be a good idea to lower the 1st year fee and ask the joiners to make 2 slings : one for them and the other for the club. It can be done on a club session, or as an extra, together or alone, as you want

Quote:
I saw suggestions about uniforms. These add a lot to the respectability of any sport, particularly to those who don't understand it, however I'm sure a dress code would suffice, and even then it would only be needed if you were going to be in the public eye.

I'm not sure I want uniforms at all. there is the risk that some people miss the fun because they don't like the uniform. Plus, since I have bad taste in colors, it would be awful for normal people Cheesy
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Pans
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Re: Slinging as a sport
Reply #44 - Sep 4th, 2012 at 5:07pm
 
I'm glad to hear you've not given up on the idea despite moving away, and it would be amazing to see slinging clubs starting up around the world (outside the Balearic islands)... the world definitely needs more unusual sports to become recognised.

Quote:
For Archery clubs, I don't know how it is both in the UK and in France, but I heard that some clubs were'nt that open to "strange" bows (longbow, or the one with the little wheels). And they may have the right to forbid you to bring your broadheads or explosive heads to shoot their targets Wink


I can safely say that most types of bow can usually be used under GNAS rules in the UK. FITA rounds are more restrictive on equipment, as is olympic archery. I shoot a compound bow (the ones with the cams and wheels), using a scoped sight, a release aid and aluminium/carbon arrows. I once shot alongside a guy shooting instinctive style (no sights, anchored near the eye) with a homemade longbow and wooden arrows. Although we shot together, we were not directly competing because, by our equipment, we were in different classes.
Regarding "funny" points like broadheads, whistlers, flaming or explosive arrows, well, common sense applies. I'd excluded mention of them because my point was more directed more at spine, length and diameter of arrows as a comparison for sling bullet preference, i.e. to allow some room for preference but also to make concessions for fairness and safety.

Quote:
I'm not sure I want uniforms at all

That's fair enough, I only mentioned it because often a dress code can affect how people who don't understand an activity may perceive it. When it comes to slinging, that will be nearly everybody you encounter and it can go along way towards determinging if people find your activity acceptable. Imagine the local busybody who knows nothing of slingers... would they likely judge a group of people dressed similarly and acting in an orderly manner much more generously than they would "a bunch of scruffy hoodlums throwing rocks"?  Wink
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