Blasting off into Skyzone excursion

Instant reversion back to the days of youth are indeed possible! Ordinary people can bound great heights, soar like hawks and flip through the air. How is this possible, you may ask? A night at Skyzone of course! The Student Activities Committee (SAC) closed out the second week of school with two hours of excitement at the Michiganfamous indoor trampoline park. On Jan. 18, students were invited to join for a 45-minute bus ride and then jump around from 8-10 p.m. The off-campus event felt slightly different from previous SAC in-house events, requiring a five dollar fee and a waiver to be filled out.

A single Hope bus arrived at the DeWitt flagpole, where it was loaded to capacity with participants. Several dozen more students were able to arrange their own transportation and arrived at Skyzone a few moments after the bus. After storing belongings in cubbies and donning the special rubberized socks, it was time for romping around the surprisingly expansive indoor park. Special equipment had been installed inside for several different exciting activities: a small zipline, an obstacle course, a horizontal ladder rope, “silks” for climbing and spinning in, a nerve-wracking triple-platform jump near the back, a small freeclimbing wall, a trapeze bar and swingset, a trampoline dodgeball court and tons of trampolines at any number of angles.

Dozens of young adults with limited supervision at a trampoline funhouse with enough equipment to make an insurance agent faint? It is safe to say that the waiver was a welladvised policy, yet no serious injuries took place. Even the seven-foot jump onto an extra-springy trampoline, which then catapults you over another padded platform, was without fatality. While the facility was wellmaintained and constructed for maximum safety, the largest preventer of injury was likely sheer exhaustion; the physical rigor of doing all that Skyzone had to offer was enough to wear anyone down. A concessions table was conveniently tucked near the desk for those looking for a pickme-up or a nice place to chat.

The remainder of participants were seen scrambling from event to event in a hurry to try every exciting attraction. Students were sad to go but loaded the bus without incident in a rare display of complete organization. Because Skyzone is a relatively short drive away, it makes for a nice weekend retreat; their reputation of being generous to students and customers has only been enhanced as of late. They have offered one free hour of fun to families impacted by the partial government shutdown. Their cooperation with SAC made the night of the 18th very pleasant indeed!