Mystery Solved

As many of you have probably figured out by now, ASI does in fact stand for AcroSports International. Congrats to everyone who guessed correctly. Now, the even bigger question is… why?

Stayed tuned for that answer some time next month… JUST KIDDING!

When ASI was founded in the early 90s, we observed some of the best practices for teaching gymnastics from around the world, and we noticed something very intriguing. The countries with the most successful gymnastics programs at the time tended to place a heavy focus on trampolines, especially for their younger gymnasts.

When athletes spend time bouncing and flipping on trampolines at an early age, they are building air awareness. Scientifically speaking, they do this by activating the vestibular system in their inner ear, which affects our balance, and tells us when we’re upside down and when we’re right side up. As you train your inner ear by spending time upside down and changing directions, like young gymnasts often do on trampolines, you are developing an air sense almost like a cat. That’s why cats (and the best gymnasts) always land on their feet!

As you can probably imagine, this increased air awareness not only makes it easier to learn advanced gymnastics skills, but it is also a very effective means of injury reduction. If an athlete is attempting a skill she has never tried before, especially one that involves multiple twists and flips, she could get lost in the air, fall, and risk injury. However, if she has spent years doing basic tumbling progressions with proper supervision, she has built up her air sense in a way that she can determine exactly where she is in the air, how much rotation she has left to complete before she lands, and the best way to move her body to ensure a safe landing. This kind of air awareness is a coach’s dream, so it’s probably easy to tell why ASI gyms have so many trampolines!