INGENUITY AND PERSIVERANCE AT IT'S BEST

Have you ever wondered how the trampoline ever came to be? Such a simple piece of equipment that doesn't have a lot of moving parts. There are several theories as to how the trampoline was invented. The purpose of this article is to provide you with some insite as to how the trampoline came about and some of the accomplishments made because of it.

Walrus Skins

The idea of having fun by being bounced into the air was created by the Inuit People of Alaska. They used a piece of walrus skin to be held by several people in much the same qay as firemen would hold blankets or a sheet to catch people jumping from buildings. This was thought to be the first form of trampolining.

Bouncing Bed

There has been some evidence of people from England in the beginning of the 20th century that used blankets to toss people into the air. This could have been trampolining in it's infancy. It has also been said that some circus acts used a "bouncing bed". It was said to be a small trampoline covered with bedclothes to which was used to amuse audiences during their acrobatic comedy routines.

Circus

A circus artist by the name of Du Trampolin was said to have developed the first trampoline as we know it. He used what most trapeze artists use, which is the safety net. He used the safety net as a way to propell a person as well as provide a safe landing area too. Through a testing process he reduced the size of the net to make it more practical for his use. This could be all a myth about Du Trampolin for there is no evidence that can be documented.

Diving Board

In 1934 the first trampoline as we know it was built by George Nissen who was a gymnastic's and diving competitor and Larry Griswold who was a tumbler on the gymnastic team, both at the University of Iowa, USA. While observing trapeze artists using a net stretched tight to add to the value of their performance, they came up with the idea of a piece of canvas stretched around an angle iron frame to which they attached coiled springs that were inserted into grommets on the canvas and to the angle iron. The word trampline in Spanish means diving board. Griswold and Nissen created the Griswold - Nissen Trampoline and Tumbling Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1942.

World War II

During the second World War the United States Navy Flight School used the trampoline to train their pilots and navigators. The use of the trampoline was again used in training American and Soviet astronauts during the first years of the space program.

Olympics

In 2000 trampolining was recognized as an official Olympic Event. A couple of the more popular games involving the trampoline is Slamball, which is similar to Basketball and Bossaball which is a variant of Volleyball.

Summary

Like the first Eskimos who used walrus skins for their trampolining I think we all have had our fun being tossed into the air by our parents on a blanket or just jumping up and down on our bed at home dreaming of the circus acts we were doing. Because of a couple of guys who had the imagination and drive to try something new, they have contributed to many hours of fun and have had a hand in training some of the worlds best pilots and astronauts. Along with this great accomplishment their invention known as the modern day trampoline is now an Olympic Sport.