Trampoline safety is a big issue these days. Many families have purchased back yard trampolines (similar trampolines to those found at trampoline parks such as Sky Zone) for their house, and are trying to figure out what’s safe and unsafe to do on the trampolines. Just like with any other sports, there are many ways one could potentially injure themselves, but there are statistically three major reasons for trampoline injury.
The most common way to get hurt on a back yard trampoline is by jumping with other people. It is very easy to lose control and smash into each other in very painful ways, or land on each other by accident. The worst thing that can happen is something called “double-bouncing.” That’s when someone lands beside you, right after you land, and you end up standing still while they steal your bounce, which gives them double the bounce, and they go flying off in some random direction, either off of the trampoline, or upside down, or landing on top of somebody else. This gets even more dangerous when the two people are different weights. Imagine a 200lb adult and a 50lb child. She will fly over your house. Please people, take turns.
Another common way to hurt yourself on a back yard trampoline is by either jumping OFF the trampoline onto something else, or jumping ON to the trampoline from something else. There are many video’s out there of people crashing onto piles of boxes, picnic tables, fences, trees, other people, concrete edges of swimming pools, or just trying to flip off and do a “cool” dismount. I’ve even seen videos of people jumping off of their roofs or ladders onto trampolines with disastrous results. These videos mostly end up in spectacular crashes and epic fails that usually result in a trip to the hospital. Moral of the story? Climb down safely, and being “cool” is not worth the pain.
The last major “accident waiting to happen” I want to talk about is when people try difficult moves like flips without proper technique or instruction. You can just imagine trying a back flip and only making it half way around, or trying a front flip and over-rotating into a diving dismount off the trampoline. It is better to take lessons and learn how to do the skills safely and properly with proper instruction by a certified trampoline coach.
At Airborne Trampoline KW, we put the utmost emphasis on safety and proper technique. All our coaches are certified by Gymnastics Ontario and the NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program), and we use large & safe Olympic style trampolines of the highest quality. Our recreational level system teaches all the skills and progressions in a proper and safe order; all of our trampolines have mats and are at ground level with no drop on the sides, and we enforce the rules to make sure people don’t get hurt i.e. One person at a time, no jumping off of the trampolines, and no flipping without the coaches instruction and permission. Backyard trampolines are great fun but think about this: would you buy a swimming pool without bringing your kids to swimming lessons first? Hope to see you all at our amazing and fun recreational trampoline classes.
By Chris Martin – Head Coach at Airborne Trampoline KW
