with the
First World Trampoline Championships held in
First World Trampoline Championships held in
London on March 21, 1964.
Twelve countries sent their
finest trampoline athletes to
the gala event; each hoping to capture the
title of
Best in the World!
 |
| L-R: Frank LaDue, Kurt Baechler, Annie and George Nissen, and Duane F. Bruce at the Basel Turnfest, Switzerland, 1959 |
By 1958, following the wide acceptance of his trampoline throughout the United States, George Nissen and his experts at the Nissen Trampoline Company focused their efforts east, across the Atlantic Ocean.
Here is a wonderful historical film from 1955, “Whatever Goes Up,”
featuring George Nissen, the inventor of the trampoline, his wife Annie and
their performing partner Frank LaDue.
View here or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0xuiKfUAeMc
 |
| Ted Blake |
Meanwhile, George
employed Ted Blake who in 1949, had introduced trampoline into the British school
curriculum, and ultimately became Managing Director of Nissen
Trampoline Ltd. in Romford, Essex.
Ted Blake, Kurt Baechler
and Frank LaDue, organized
the trampoline clinics, courses and competitions that spread beyond the
United Kingdom, throughout Continental Europe and even into South Africa.
Video: Frank LaDue and Kurt Baechler, in Switzerland during the late 1950s - - demonstrating the trampoline:
.
View here or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/M_L55Y0KdLM
 |
| George Nissen and Annie Nissen Nissen-Eterna Cup. Wasen, Switzerland. 1958 |
country staged their own contests and demonstrations and in August of 1958, Kurt Baechler organized the Nissen-Eterna Cup, in Wassen, Switzerland. Although it was not a formal “national” competition, the Nissen-Eterna Cup provided nearly fifty athletes who participated with the opportunity to compare their skills against those from other clubs. The Nissen-Eterna Cup continues on today and holds the distinction of being the longest-running trampoline competition in the world.
The British National Trampoline Championships
(Middlesex, UK) in 1959 opened the door for other countries to follow suit and
host their own now-official national competitions. Soon, borders were crossed
as neighboring countries staged multi-nation contests and challenges.
The circle of international
competition expanded even further when in 1960, a team of six Americans
returning from a 42-day tour of South Africa accepted an invitation to bounce
against their European counterparts in Freiberg, Germany, and Zurich,
Switzerland. This was the first official competition between trampolinists representing America andEurope. |
| Chuck Clarkson, Ron Munn, Charles Bates, Ed Cole, Ann Coleman and Barbara Gallegher |
By the end of 1963, George Nissen, Ted Blake, and Kurt Baechler knew that there was enough interest in the sport of trampoline to justify a world championship. The trio elected Ted Blake to organize and run the event, which was slated for March 21,1964 in London.
Friday, March 20th,
1964 – Spirits were high as athletes, judges, and officials (all guests of the
British Amateur Gymnastic Association and Nissen Trampoline Company) assembled
at competition headquarters; the prestigious Prince of Wales Hotel. It was the the largest group ever assembled for what would be the First World’s Open
Trampoline Championships.
Part2: The First World Trampoline Competition (with exclusive video).
Part 3: The F.I.T. is Established.
Part 3: The F.I.T. is Established.
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