And now for another story on what keeps Ron busily happy in his ministry at Rain Forest International School (RFIS) as the Director of Technical Services. Fourth story: making a zipline for the RFIS Carnival.
Riding the zipline!
Every year RFIS students put on a big carnival for the younger kids. They get pretty creative with the games and activities. One of the annual favorites is a zipline. Since last year was our first on the new campus, this activity was on hold. But this year Ron has had time to work on it.
First he removed the climbing wall from the old campus. Support posts were over a meter deep and cemented in ground. This wall was the “bottom” of the previous zipline, and Ron installed it on the new campus to be the bottom of the new zipline. The starting point for the new zipline is the P.E. container (where equipment for physical ed classes is kept) at the top of a hill about 85 meters away. He was able to purchase cable locally, and a trolley had been ordered and was hand carried from the US just in time for Carnival.
Post of the climbing wall with scaffolding at the base of the zipline
The first to test the zipline was “Sam” the sac of cement. Once Sam survived, a 2nd sack, “Sid” was added to double up the weight. Later, live guinea pigs were used. They started with the Middle Schoolers, and when they survived, High Schoolers decided it was safe enough to try. Ok, no, we do not treat Middle Schoolers as guinea pigs (honest). But many of the students volunteered to try it out until the tension was just right, and all adjustments had been made.
Getting suited up with the saftey harness
...and away we go!
So as not to smash into the pole at the end, there is a bit of a dip in the middle of the cable. So the rider soars down over the grass at the edge of the basketball court, continues to the scaffolding (some tried to touch or stand on it) then back to the middle to get off at the sidewalk. It’s a nice long ride!
The rider will go up toward the scaffolding and back to the sidewalk to dismount.
I didn’t attend the Carnival this year, (see next post) but you can read the Stokers’ blog about it. I understand a new game introduced this year is the Dunk Tank! I’m sure these and other games will be “must have’s” for years to come.
