Ok, I have a challenge for y’all... the trash sling challenge!  This isn’t a slinging skill challenge, it’s a sling making competition. I want to see what happens when people get creative with new sling materials and building styles.
Here’s the idea: make a sling from anything, but you aren’t allowed to spend any money on it at all. The sling should be capable of launching a tennis ball at least 5 times in a row (video proof) before it falls apart. You should have at least two different materials in the sling. Bonus points for creativity, complexity, and video production quality. Emphasis is on making the sling from TRASH... i.e.  I don’t want you to wander into the woods and make a sling entirely out of scavenged natural fibers, but you could, for example scavenge natural cordage and then make a pouch out of newspaper or a broken plastic cup.

I’ll send the winner a custom  asymmetric tennis ball sling made with [non-trash] braided cordage and leather  recycled from an old couch

Since we are just about to start the 2019 SITH, I’ll make the deadline for this  challenge March 31 2020.

Good luck!

Cool idea!  I've already got a couple things in mind.

vetryan15 wrote on Nov 10^th, 2019 at 4:32pm:


Hmmm... I can’t see a reason to limit the number of submissions. Only one trash sling will win, but submit as many as you want. I’d love to see other people one-up other submissions and build off of each others’ ideas. I think that’ll make this more fun.

Hmm, made ducktap slings in the past and there's a great video of one of our members making slings from plastic bags.

I will have a think

I am in this for sure.

I'm going to be working on mine today. I came up with the idea just last night before falling asleep. Good old hypnogogia I think it might just work but I think I would want to make a "making of" video so it might be a while until you get to see my efforts.

well if you used a used bag - definitely counts

Curious Aardvark wrote on Jan 4^th, 2020 at 9:42am:


A very used bag in fact. It had been used to transport some cut pieces of pine which had been left in the bag a bit long and started getting moldy. Pine resin, mold, moisture and dirt. Very fun to work with I can tell you...

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Jan 4^th, 2020 at 10:18am:


I'll have to devote some time to it this year. For now, the default one is good enough, but I would like to make some nicer videos.