It gives the Olympic sport of trampoline a bad reputation, said Steve Anderson, Ohio State director of tumbling and trampoline.
“Backyard trampolines are unpredictable and dangerous; they were never meant to be anything but exercise trampolines,” says Anderson …Trampoline is performed and judged similarly to gymnastics, with athletes required to perform certain skill sets, for which they are judged on a scale of 1 to 10. And for athletes, it requires much less time in the gym than gymnastics.
“Our belief is that it’s up and coming,” Anderson said of the sport. “I believe it will be the wave of the future, because parents are busy and it requires much less time. Tumbling and trampoline gives athletes the high-end competition without that huge time commitment.”
Now if only the sport could get rid of its dangerous backyard nemesis, more parents would see it as a viable athletic option for their kids.
“I hate backyard trampolines and want them pulled off the market,” said Huff. “Trampoline is a very safe sport when it’s trained in a controlled environment with a coach. The majority of trampoline injuries are from the backyard, and it just gives the entire sport a bad name.”
Not sure of the statistics, but I do agree with his assertion that kids should not be doing trampoline unsupervised.
photo – Rob Alder – flickr
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