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Staying on Top of Sports
A Guide to Your Grandchild's Interests By Charlene Torkelson
Trampoline was a new sport during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The trampoline was first introduced by George Nissen in 1935 at the University of Iowa. Used for training pilots and Naval Cadets during World War II, the trampoline became a popular activity at YMCAs during its early years.
The sport of trampoline is very different than backyard jumping. Now a member of USA Gymnastics, the sport of trampoline has become wildly popular in Europe and Asia and is growing steadily in the Americas.
During competition, each trampolinist performs a routine of 10 skills. Each skill is scored from one point and may not be repeated during the routine for a total of 10 possible points. A panel of judges scores the routine, along with a head judge who determines interruptions (a repeat of a skill, touch down of the hand, bouncing in between skills or touch off the bed of the trampoline).
The judges' scores are combined, and in higher levels of trampoline, added to a "difficulty" score. The difficulty is determined by the number of rotations in each skill. For example, a jump up and down would have no difficulty score because it doesn't rotate. A backward somersault would earn a difficulty point. When you see Olympic athletes doing routines with difficulty scores of 15 points or more, you can easily determine that each of those 10 skills has lots of somersaults or twists. It's no longer just the backyard trampoline!