Do you let your gymnast tumble outside the gym?

[AGM78910]

Competition trampoline

I don't like the physics of backyard trampolines.

Floor, tumble trak, competition trampolines...you'll go where you're going. A round backyard jump king atrocity? It's going to throw you to the middle no matter what. A kid comes in saying they did a backhandspring on one, and what this means 99 times out of 100 is that they are jumping forward instead of back, not using their toes at all, because that's the motion a trampoline encourages.

And, like, falling off. That isn't ok. They give a false sense of security & you can go higher, sure, but the directionality is screwy and your air sense isn't any better so you aren't any better *at gymnastics* on one. It's so much easier to get catestrophically, devestatingly hurt. That's exponentially worse than the bad habits we have to fix.

We were able to buy a competition trampoline from a gym that went out of business. The trampoline itself is made by a major manufacturer and they stand by their product. It is the standard rectangular competition size with a steel frame. We got new pads and springs suitable for outdoor use. My daughter is training level 8 and knows how to properly use it and she is always supervised.