This is “wall trampoline” a new activity that first developed in the circus world with organistations like Cirque du Soleil, who have used it in some of their shows.   It is now fast developing as a sport and integating with the fast growing sport of parkour.   You will see elements of how parkour and trampolining have been combined in the blog post below “Trampoline in the Snow”.

This video features Julien Roberge from Quebec Circus School, who is one of the leaders in the development of this new activity.  He describes it as parkour meets trampolining.  Here the top of the wall is about 16ft above the trampoline.  Although it may look like trick photography it is all very real.  Julien hopes this will develop into an extreme sport, “the ultimate goal is to have wall trampoline to be in the X Games,” said Julien, 23, a computer science student and professional trampolinist.  Part parkour, part gymnastics, the participants of wall trampoline call themselves bouncers.

Building an extreme sport from scratch is no easy task.  First, there are the rules.  The fewer the better, Roberge says. He and his fellow bouncers say that traditional trampoline, as practiced in the Summer Olympics, is constrained by specific moves and guidelines. They want to create a competition that is looser and open to innovation.

Predicting an increasing interest in wall trampoline, Quebec Circus School began teaching the discipline three years ago and recruited three coaches. The school’s director, Yves Neveu, said it was at the forefront of the sport in Canada, a country with a well-established circus culture.

“I believe wall trampoline is important and is something, more and more, you will find almost everywhere,” he said. “There’s a good future for it.”

Here’s an example of wall trampoline being used in a circus performance by Cirque du Soleil.

Author: Bob Bounce