Jones wins Garden Tramp Games; Freestyle trampolining competition

     Junior Nick Jones won first place at the annual Garden Tramp Games (GT Games) in Texas. The competition consists of 50 people around the United States. It is run by the Freestyle Trampoline Association. “It’s judged by people who used to do trampoline,” Jones explains. “You go on the trampoline and do your trick, and they’ll score it based on how difficult the trick was, how creative the trick was, and then how well you executed it.”

     Jones performed a triple backflip, then a double backflip, and then a triple backflip with a twist to win. He has performed more difficult tricks before. “I wasn’t going to [perform] something too hard in the competition,” he says. “I wanted to make sure I completed it and didn’t mess it up.”

     There are many possibilities for tricks to perform. “There are different takeoff positions. You can take off on your back, stomach, [or] feet,” Jones explains. “There are also different flips. There are twists, twists that are spread out between flips, and flips. You can combine twists with those flips.” 

     Jones started trampolining when he got his first trampoline at the age of 11. He has been doing it for six years. “I kind of just do it for fun,” Jones says. “It’s not like I have a schedule, I just go outside whenever I want to and practice then, I guess you can say practice. I don’t really take it that seriously, but I guess I take it seriously when I’m at the competition.”

     Jones says that “they do that competition every year, so [he] would go to the competition every year, but other than that, [he does] not [attend] many competitions.”

     The GT Games are organized by Greg Roe, who is attributed for being the developer of freestyle trampolining. This form of trampolining gained traction via social media with popular hashtags like #GTramp. Influencers helped boost the popularity of this movement. Instead of teams coaches and coaches, “GTramp has brand sponsorships and athlete meet-ups,” according to LA Magazine.

     “I had fun. Most of it wasn’t much about the competition, it was more about hanging out with the people there and meeting the people who you’ve talked to online,” Jones says. “You finally get to see them in person and just push each other to do the tricks.”