Trampoline History

The Advancement of Trampolining

A year ago, I predicted that trampolining would advance within the ensuing year to a point where the competitors would be doing much more than the single flips, single twists, etc., and instead would be doing doubles, back-flips, double front-flips, double twisters and small fliffuses. Now, as we review the performance of the past season, we can readily see that the prediction was too conservative. Results show that the trampoline champions did stunts of a much higher degree of difficulty than the stunts mentioned above. Included were triple twisting back-flips, back full-fliffuses, front full-fliffuses and front flips with two and a half twists.

As a specific example of the tremendous advancement made in trampolining in the past year, let us review a routine performed by Edsel Buchanan, sophomore at the University of Michigan (1949 trampoline champion in the Western Conference Gymnastic Meet, Western Open Gymnastic Meet, National Collegiate Gymnastic Meet), executed the following routine to achieve his outstanding record of winning four major championships in one season:

A back flip with a triple twist several bounces into a front half fliffus, into a back flip into a front flip, with a one and half twist into a back flip with a double twist; three or four bounces into a back double flip into a Baroni into a back flip into a front flip with a one and a half twist into a back flip into a back flip with a double twist into a Baroni; three or four bounces into a back flip with a double twist into a front flip with a one and a half twist into a Baroni, into a back flip, into a back flip, into a back flip with a double twist into a Baroni into a back flip into a front flip with a one and a half twist, into a back flip into a back flip with a double twist, ending with a half back flip to a front drop into a full turn-table to a standing "parade rest" position.

Where to from here? That is the big question facing all of us today. It is generally accepted by trampoline coaches and performers that more difficult stunts, including the forward and backward triple somersaults, will be attempted next year. This we forecast with caution and consternation; consternation because it is felt that this activity has grown so rapidly in the last two years of college competition that it may be running away from us and that we should slow down slightly and take stock of the situation. It is feared that the trampoliners will continue to strive for more and more difficulty and the end-result may be an unfortunate accident.

We in the Big Ten Conference are hoping that more emphasis will be placed on continuity and rhythm next year. To further emphasize this objective, two rules were adopted at the May meeting of the Big Ten Gymnastic Coaches as follows: 1) There shall be only four spotters around the trampoline, during competition, and 2) if at any time the performer falls off the trampoline or is prevented from doing so by the spotters, his exercise terminates at that moment. The first rule will clean up the distracting sight of ten or more spotters kneeling around the trampoline. The second rule implies that the performer should attempt only those stunts which he is confident of completing, and it should therefore prevent his trying tricks beyond his definite capabilities. With this in mind, emphasis will be placed on three major factors: form, continuity and difficulty instead of the former heavy emphasis on difficulty alone. When trampolining reaches the stage where the contestant executes difficult stunts in a rhythm of continuous swingtime movements, the trampoline will probably be the most interesting event of the meet.

Just prior to the 1949 Western Conference Gymnastic Meet, a questionnaire was sent out to all of the Big Ten coaches requesting their opinion on how they wanted the contestants to work the trampoline - continuous or with intermediate rest periods. The majority favored the continuous routine. This was then established as the official method of working the trampoline. The judges were so informed and they judged the event accordingly.

Another very important and far-reaching rule established by the Big Ten gymnastic coaches was that concerning the bed of the trampoline. This new rule states that all of the Western Conference colleges are required to have a web bed with exerciser cable or shock-cord type attachments instead of the customary canvas and springs. this new bed will make tremendous difference in the height reached by the trampoliner. This was easily seen at the National AAU meet as the two types of trampolines were side by side and competitors on the web bed were attaining a much greater height and as a result were completing their most difficult stunts, such as a back and front full fliffus, with comparative ease.

(from the Athletic Journal, 1949)