The Development History of Trampoline Parks Since the 1930s

When you are enjoying great fun in trampoline parks, have you ever wondered about the history of trampoline parks? Where do they originate from and how they are developing over the years? In this article, we will guide you to explore the development history of trampoline parks from the 1930s till this day.



Who and when invented the first modern trampoline?
The first modern trampoline was built by George Nissen and Larry Griswold in 1936. Nissen was a gymnastics and diving competitor and Griswold was a tumbler on the gymnastics team, both at the University of Iowa, United States. They had observed trapeze artists using a tight net to add entertainment value to their performance and experimented by stretching a piece of canvas, in which they had inserted grommets along each side, to an angle iron frame by means of coiled springs. Nissen explained that the name came from the Spanish trampolín, meaning a diving board.



trampoline park history



Early in their development Nissen anticipated trampolines being used in a number of recreational areas, including those involving more than one participant on the same trampoline. One such game was Spaceball—a game of two teams of two on a single trampoline with specially constructed end "walls" and a middle "wall" through which a ball could be propelled to hit a target on the other side's end wall.



trampoline park history spaceball



The rise and decline of trampoline parks in 1960s
Trampolines became important sports and recreation equipment after 1960. Ted Blake made the first trampoline for competitions in 1964 for the World Championship in London. During the same time period, people built trampoline parks similar to those we know today. However, the popularity did not last for long.



In 1959 and 1960, numerous commercial trampoline parks popped up in North America. Trampolining became very popular despite visitors having to pay an entrance fee. But soon, the rate of accidents and injuries increased so much that trampoline parks acquired the reputation of being dangerous, and consequently, the interest of the public also decreased for a while.



trampoline park history prosperous 1960s



A new turning point for trampoline parks in the year of 2000
In 2000, trampoline made its first appearance in the Olympics in Sydney and remains an Olympic sport to this day. On a modern competitive trampoline, a skilled athlete can bounce to a height of up to 10 meters (33 ft), performing multiple somersaults and twists. Trampolines also feature in the competitive sport of Slamball, a variant of basketball, and Bossaball, a variant of volleyball.



trampoline park history 2000 Olympics trampoline



In 2002, Rick Platt was the first to build a trampoline park in Las Vegas where all the trampolines made up one large jumping area and were divided only with mats. Originally, he intended for his trampoline park to be used as part of a new sport. This sparked the creation of the entire trampoline park industry as we know it today. Sky Zone, known officially as the first trampoline park, opened in 2004.



Dramatic growth in trampoline parks after 2004
In the early 21st century, indoor commercial trampoline parks made a comeback, with a number of franchises operating across the United States and Canada. ABC News has reported that in 2014 at least 345 trampoline parks were operating in the United States.[11] Similar parks have more recently been opened in other countries.[12] The International Association of Trampoline Parks (IATP) estimated that park numbers had grown from 35-40 parks in 2011 to around 280 in 2014. The following year, IATP estimated that 345 parks were open by the end of 2014 and that another 115 would open by the end of 2015 in North America.
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