Although the trampoline is a popular recreational apparatus found in many children's backyards, it's also used as exercise equipment and even for competitive sports. Trampoline competitors often perform multiple twists, somersaults and other complex movements while 25 to 30 feet in the air. The history of the trampoline dates back to medieval times, the apparatus developing and changing greatly over the years. The term "trampoline" has disputed origins, however, which also put in question the exact origins of the modern-day trampoline apparatus itself.
Origins
Early trampoline-like apparatus called "stage wreckers" were used by court jesters during medieval times in Europe, according to Gymnastics Canada. The stage wrecker got its name from the tension cables it utilized, which sometimes pulled up the stage floorboards. Eskimos also had their early version of trampolines, using walrus skins to fling each other into the air for fun, says the Olympic Trampoline Academy. Archaeologists have also found early drawings of trampolining throughout China, ancient Persia and Egypt. The true modern-day trampoline has its real origins in the early 1900s, when French circus performer Du Trampolin used a "bouncing bed" in his routine, first made using the trapeze safety net. Du Trampolin later invented suspension systems and devised the trampoline like we know it today, lending the trampoline its name. There is a dispute, however, that the term trampoline comes from the Spanish term "el trampoline," which means diving board.
Development
The first modern trampoline was made in 1934 by George Nissen and Larry Griswold at the University of Iowa, according to the Olympic Trampoline Academy. Griswold and Nissen devised the trampoline using canvas and coiled springs on an iron frame, with the original intent to use the apparatus for training gymnastics tumblers. John Henderson of British Columbia, Canada, also built a non-folding trampoline apparatus in 1931, notes Gymnastics Canada. Nissen and Griswold, however, went on to build a commercial trampoline in 1936, forming the Griswold-Nissen Trampoline & Tumbling Company in Iowa in 1942. During World War II, the U.S. military used trampolines as part of physical training programs for pilots and navigators to improve their balance and body control while in the air.
Significance
After World War II, Nissen developed the first portable or "folding" trampoline and began promoting trampolining as a competitive sport. In 1964, the first Trampoline World Championships were held in London and the International Trampoline Federation, or FIT, was formed, according to the Olympic Trampoline Academy. For the first 10 years, the U.S. dominated the sport of trampolining, but the Soviet Union began competing in the World Championships and continued to win most events through the late 1990s. Nissen invented mini trampolines, and then double-mini trampolines in 1974, with the hopes that the new version of the apparatus would earn trampolining the rank of a stand-alone Olympic sport, Gymnastics Canada says.
Modern Day
Today, the trampoline has finally made its premiere as an official Olympic event. The trampoline was an Olympic event in the 2000 Summer Olympiad, states the Olympic Trampoline Academy. Not only has the trampoline found its way into many backyards and into the hearts of fun-loving children, the trampoline has also spread throughout the world as a competitive sport. More than 50 countries on all continents conduct trampoline competitions, including several international championships. Trampolining is a legitimate international sport now, with its own World Games, World Cup Series, Continental Championships and Games, Youth Olympic Games, and World Championships. The trampoline is used in physical education and fitness, as well as for training astronauts, pilots and gymnasts.
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