Summer Olympics News » Trampoline

I finally got to watch trampoline!

Jill Manty — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:38:19 +0000

Every Olympics I get somewhat obssessed with some less popular Olympic event. This year I’ve been really interested in trampoline. I wasn’t sure I would even get to see it, as the only place that I saw it listed for viewing was on Telemundo. However, this afternoon trampoline was on NBC. The Americans didn’t do very well— neither one qualified for the finals. But it almost doesn’t matter. The fact is that I got to see Olympic trampoline! Yea! I mean, it’s no Michael Phelps winning eight medals (or even a 7th), but it was an Olympic moment for me.

Wii Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games

Jill Manty — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:49:02 +0000

If you just can’t wait for the Beijing Olympics, and you have a Wii, I highly recommend Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. We just picked up the game today. It was a “business expense” I played for a little while, and it was quite fun. It has Aquatics, Athletics, Gymnastics and more. I’m still fairly new to the Wii, so I found some of the controls a bit challenging, but I did get a silver medal in trampoline!

We only have one remote right now, but it would be even more fun if we had multiple remotes, since we could play against each other that way, as in this video:

So, if you’re looking for a fun prep for the Summer Olympics, go out and pick up Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. If you don’t mind waiting a couple of days for it to come in, consider ordering it from Overstock. It’s $7 cheaper than what I paid at Best Buy, and shipping is only $3.

Summer Olympic Events– Trampoline

Jill Manty — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:05:37 +0000

Yes, that’s right. I said trampoline. Now, you may be thinking, “trampoline’s not a sport!” (I know that’s what I thought). But trampoline has been a part of the Olympics since the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. This year 32 Olympic athletes from around the world will compete in trampoline at the Beijing Olympics.

Olympic trampoline athletes are scored on difficulty and execution by eight judges. A 16 is considered very difficult for the men, a 14 for the women. Points are deducted from a maximum score of 10 for execution, which is judged by five judges (separate from the judges who determine the difficulty score). The highest and lowest scores are dropped, leaving a maximum execution score of thirty. The overall score is the sum of the difficulty score and the execution score.

Women from Russia, China, Canada, Germany, Belarus, Great Britain, Japan, Uzbekistan, Portugal, Ukraine, Georgia, United States, and the Czech Republic will be competing at the Beijing Olympics. They will be joined by men from China, Japan, Russia, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Canada, Denmark, Belarus, France, Portugal, Australia, and the United States.

In the United States, trampoline athletes fall under the umbrella of USA Gymnastics. You can visit their site to learn more about the state of trampoline in the United States. It’s actually quite an interesting site.

The finals for trampoline for the Beijing Olympics will be held August 18 and 19. I’m not sure yet whether you’ll be able to watch on television. In the meantime, here’s some video from the USA Gymnastics Winter Classic 2008. (Like snowboarding, it may not sound like a sport, but it looks pretty impressive.)