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Tracie Neufeldt (foreground) and Emily Wenger take their turn jumping on the two trampolines on Sunday afternoon. The one used by Neufeldt broke with a little more than one hour to go. |
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As an audience of students, faculty and friends gather, Tabor College President Jules Glanzer contributes his part to the new world record by bouncing a few minutes near the end of the marathon. |
According to event organizers, no other feat like this has ever been recorded by Guinness.
The attempt, sponsored by the Residence Life Department and the Mind, Body and Soul House, was the brainchild of resident directors Melanie Johnson and Sara Sigley.
Johnson first presented the idea during a brainstorming session seeking events for the Mind, Body and Soul House, for whom she serves as faculty adviser.
?From the response of the women in the Mind, Body and Soul House, I right away sensed that it was something that would generate excitement on campus and that seems to be the case,? Johnson said.
As evidenced by the large number of students participating in the jumping, there was a buzz on campus surrounding the possibility of setting a world record as the event approached.
?My hope for this particular event is that the participants will take pride in being part of a world record-setting attempt, and that their participation in the trampoline-a-thon will be a memorable part of their time at Tabor,? Johnson said.
To officially set a Guinness world record, the event must be witnessed from start to finish by two community members, video recorded and covered by news media.
?Our committee would like to express their appreciation for the support we received from the community of Hillsboro, particularly those who served as witnesses so that we could attempt to set a new world record,? Johnson said.
Johnson reported Sunday that several students jumped multiple shifts because some did not show up for their assigned time. Ryan Palmer, a freshman from Medford, Ore., logged the most jumping time: 21⁄4 hours.
Having two trampolines going simultaneously proved to be a wise decision. One of the trampolines broke with a mere 1 hour, 9 minutes to go.
?Fortunately, nobody got hurt, but the trampolines took a beating,? Johnson said.
She said she?s glad the event is over, but felt the effort was worthwhile.
?It was a lot of work to pull it off, but the students who participated really seemed to enjoy it,? she said. ?For many of them I think it was a good stress reliever right before finals week.
?A few of the graphic design majors commented on the fact that they had been in the graphic design lab all day on Saturday finishing up some projects, and that their half-hour jump on Saturday night was exactly what they needed.?
This article was written by Andrew Wiens of Tabor Com?muni?cations, with the addition of Free Press staff reports.
