London 2010: Trampoline Gymnastics

A guide to the trampoline gymnastics as released in the Telegraph today. Very helpful ahead of the Olympic games taking place in London next year.

Trampolines were originally designed as a training tool for Astronauts according to the article, yet are now more common in back gardens across the UK than NASA.

The trampoline has come to prominence in gymnastics over the years, and we will be keeping a close eye on the tournaments next year.

After the sport was founded by George Nissen in the 1930's, it was finally accepted as an Olympic sport in 2000, at the games in Sydney with competitions for both men and women.

Rules.
Competitors must be 18 years old at a minimum and compete in qualifying rounds that consist of compulsory routines as well as an 'opinion' based one that it the athletes own work. The final consists of an opinion routing too.

Each compulsory routine comprises of certain skills which must be performed in the correct order, whilst the opinion routine must contain 10 in any order you wish.

Nine judges oversee proceedings at Olympic level, five awards for execution, two score difficulty and two the overall contest. The highest and lowest scores are dropped at the end of the round and the three remaining scores are added to the single rating to gie a final score.

There are two gold medals available for both men and women, and the trampoline events take place on August 3rd and 4th at North Greenwich Arena.

What are our chances?
British trampolinists are getting better and better with strong results at the recent World Cup, we are a long way off Olympic gold but will be up there challenging.

Who are the favourites?The Chinese are very dominant in this sport and look likely to be the gold medal winners in 2012. They won both gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Biggest Challenge?
The sport is growing in the UK, with trampolines and trampoline clubs becoming more and more popular, yet the number of clubs in the UK is still not enough to cope with the current demand for the sport.

Who to watch?
Key people to look out for are James Higgins, Byrony PAge, Kat Driscoll, Amanda Parker and Emma Smith.

Moves and Twists
Barani - Forward somersault with a half-twist.
Randolph - Front somersault with 2.5 twists.
Optionals - Moves chosen by the athlete, which are often harder.

Author: Bob Bounce