Trampolining

You can jump high in the air.

People bounce on a big, stretchy bed. They do flips and twists while they fly.

Athletes can make different shapes in the air. They might tuck their knees to their chest. They can also stay straight like a board. A routine has ten big jumps. You must start and end on your feet. It is a very cool sport to watch!

Trampolining is a sport where athletes jump on a stretchy bed.

They perform flips and twists while they fly high. This sport became part of the Olympic Games in 2000. George Nissen made the first modern trampoline in his garage. He saw performers use safety nets to do tricks. He wanted to make those tricks possible on a smaller scale.

In a competition, athletes do ten jumps in a row. They must start and end on their feet. They can use different body shapes in the air. A tuck shape means pulling knees to the chest. A pike shape means keeping legs straight with hands on feet. A straight shape means keeping the body like a board.

Judges give points for how hard the moves are. They also look at how long the athlete stays in the air. They take points away for bad form. In synchronized trampoline, two people jump at the same time. They must stay in sync on two side-by-side beds.

There is also a double mini trampoline. This is a smaller bed with a sloped end. Athletes run up the slope to jump and perform skills.

Trampolining is a fast and exciting Olympic sport. Athletes use a stretchy bed to perform acrobatics. They bounce high to do somersaults and twists. This sport is part of gymnastics. It includes many different events like synchronized trampoline and tumbling.

In a competition, judges look at many things. They score how hard the moves are. They also count the total seconds spent in the air. Points are taken away for poor form. They also check if the athlete stays in the center of the bed.

An athlete follows a specific way to perform a routine. They must complete ten contacts with the trampoline bed. Every routine must start and end on the feet.

Athletes can use three basic shapes in the air. A tuck shape has knees clasped to the chest. A pike shape has straight legs and hands touching the feet. A straight shape keeps the body straight with toes pointed. Sometimes they use a "puck" shape which is a mix of pike and tuck.

The history of the sport began in the 1930s. George Nissen saw circus artists bounce off safety nets. He wanted to make those tricks smaller. He built the first modern trampoline in his garage. He used it to help with his own diving. He even used the word "trampolín" for his brand. This word is a Spanish term for a diving board.

The sport grew quickly in the United States and Europe.

Many people have made the sport famous over the years. The first World Championships were in London in 1964. Dan Millman and Judy Wills Cline were the first champions. In 1965, the International Trampoline Federation was officially recognized. Later, the sport joined the FIG in 1999. This helped it join the Summer Olympic Games in 2000.

Since then, countries like China have won many Olympic medals. China saw great success at the 2008 Beijing Games.

There are other ways to enjoy these skills. In synchronized trampoline, two people jump on side-by-side beds. They must perform the same routine at the same time. Another event is the double mini trampoline. This bed is smaller and has a sloped end.

Athletes run up the slope to gain height. Tumbling is also a popular gymnastics discipline. Instead of a trampoline, athletes use a long, sprung runway. They perform a series of flips and somersaults to a landing mat.

Trampolining, also known as trampoline gymnastics, is a competitive Olympic sport. Athletes perform complex acrobatics while bouncing on a specialized trampoline. This sport requires immense skill, strength, and precision. It is a major part of the gymnastics world.

Gymnasts use the spring of the bed to launch themselves into the air. They perform various rotations and twists while airborne. The goal is to combine high difficulty with perfect form.

In a formal competition, athletes follow a strict sequence of movements. A routine consists of exactly ten contacts with the trampoline bed. Every routine must start and end on the feet. Athletes must also begin their routine within 60 seconds of presenting to the judges. At the very end, they may use one "out bounce." This is a straight jump used to control their height before the final landing. To finish correctly, the trampolinist must stop completely. This means the bed must also stop moving. The athlete must hold a still position for three seconds.

During these ten contacts, gymnasts use specific body shapes. The tuck shape involves clasping the knees to the chest with the hands. In a pike position, the legs remain straight while the hands touch the feet. The straight position requires the body to be straight with legs together and toes pointed. There is also a "puck" shape, which is a hybrid of pike and tuck. This shape is often used during multiple twisting somersaults.

Another variation is the straddle, where the arms and legs are spread wide. This is recognized as a shaped jump rather than a somersault move.

Rotation in the air happens around different axes. Gymnasts rotate around the longitudinal axis to create twists. They rotate around the lateral axis to perform somersaults. Rotation around the dorso-ventral axis produces side-somersaults or "turntables." However, these side-somersaults are not considered valid moves in competition. They do not carry a "tariff," which is a score for difficulty. Athletes can use FIG shorthand to describe these skills. This notation uses numbers for rotations and symbols for body positions. For example, an "800ο" represents a double back somersault in a tuck position.

The history of the sport began in the early 1930s. George Nissen observed trapeze artists using safety nets to bounce. He built the first modern trampoline in his garage to mimic this effect. He used the device to improve his own diving and tumbling. He named his brand using a variant of the Spanish word "trampolín," meaning diving board. The sport grew in the United States and Europe. The first World Championships were held in London in 1964. Dan Millman and Judy Wills Cline became the first World Champions. In 1965, the International Trampoline Federation was formally recognized. By 1999, the sport merged with the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG).

Scoring is a precise process involving multiple factors. Judges mark routines out of 10 based on form. They also calculate the "degree of difficulty," or DD. This is found by adding points for every half twist and quarter somersault.

Judges also track the total seconds spent in the air. Points are deducted for poor form or horizontal displacement. Displacement occurs when an athlete moves away from the center of the bed. In synchronized trampoline, two athletes jump on adjacent beds. They must perform the same routine at the same time.

Judges then score the pair for their level of synchronization.

Several different disciplines exist within this field. Double mini trampoline uses a smaller bed with a sloped end. Athletes run up the slope and jump onto the flat part. They perform skills during the jump or as they dismount.

Tumbling is another discipline performed on a long, sprung runway. It emphasizes continuity and directional accuracy through a series of somersaults. While tumbling is not in the Olympics, it is held at many championships. Since joining the Olympics in 2000, many nations have excelled. China, for example, won gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.