Trampoline

In 2008, the Olympic Trampoline competition will be held from August 17 to 20.

Trampolining is a competitive sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In the Olympic sport of trampolining, athletes are required to perform several skills including simple jumps, tucks, somersaults and twists during compulsory and optional routines. They will be judged by the difficulty of the skills and the gracefulness of their body gestures.

The sports event first appeared in the early 1930s in the United States.

Other than the USA, trampolines were most strongly adopted in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Since trampolining became an Olympic sport in 2000, many more countries have started developing programs. Japan and China are already producing very competitive athletes.