Introduced on the Olympic stage at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, trampolining dazzled crowds as gymnasts performed acrobatic skills three stories high in the air. The height of a gymnast's jump depends on the event and level in which he competes. Both men and women compete in all trampolining events.
Trampoline and Synchronized Trampoline
In trampoline and synchronized trampoline, gymnasts reach heights up to 30 feet in the air. In trampoline, a gymnast performs 10 skills each in two different routines. The 30-feet jumps allow a gymnast to perform triple twisting somersaults. Synchronized trampoline pairs two athletes together who perform one 10-skill routine, attempting to execute the exact same skills at the same time, so it appears the judges see double.
Trampoline Dimensions
Gymnasts who compete at levels 5 to 10 achieve the highest jumps. These gymnasts jump on a trampoline measuring 16 feet 6.81 inches in length by 9 feet 6.56 inches in width. The bed of the trampoline stands 3 feet 9.47 inches from the ground. Gymnasts at levels 1 to 4 do not jump as high as they must focus on controlling and executing their skills cleanly before advancing higher in the air. At this level, the trampoline measures 12 feet long by 6 feet wide.
Trampoline and Synchronized Trampoline Skills
At the Olympic level, gymnasts perform twists and somersaults at 30 feet in the air. Five judges score the routines on a 10.0 scale. Each skill has a preset difficultly rating. In an Adolph, a gymnast performs a somersault with a 3 1/2 twist. Called a "Rudolph" or a "Rudy" is a front somersault with 1 1/2 twists. When a gymnast performs a Barani, she does a forward somersault with a half-twist. Quadriffis is any quadruple somersault with a twist. If the gymnast fails to achieve the desired height, she will not be able to complete the full rotation of her skills and land properly.
Double Mini-Trampoline
Double mini-trampoline takes its origins from the vault. In double mini-trampoline, a gymnast uses a small, two-level, sloped trampoline that measures 9 feet 4.2 inches long by just over 3 feet wide. A gymnast runs down a short runway, jumps onto the sloped end of the trampoline, performing a rebounding trick in the air, and then hits the flat trampoline and performs a dismount trick, landing onto the mat opposite the side he mounted. Because the gymnast dismounts onto the mat from a smaller trampoline, he cannot fly as high as the gymnasts in the other trampoline events can.
References
- London 2010: Gymnastics - Trampoline
- USA Gymnastics: Trampoline & Tumbling Event Descriptions
- USA Gymnastics: T&T Scoring
- USA Gymnastics: USA Gymnastics Trampoline Event Specifications; Oct. 24, 2009 (PDF)
- USA Gymnastics: USA Gymnastics Double Mini-Trampoline Equipment Specifications; Oct. 24, 2009 (PDF)
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