It was highlighted by the Sports Council that women, and in particular housewives, the disabled and other minority groups were under-represented in sporting activities. It was also pointed out that providers of sport should address the needs of these groups of people. Trampolining is able to address this need, and ensure that sport is indeed made available for all.

Recoil Trampoline Club is already catering for many of these groups, in particular the disabled and women but we realise there is a lot still to be done. Sadly, we are hampered in our efforts by a lack of available court space in the local authority sports centres. Lack of space is an issue we are currently addressing.

Race
The Sports Council has identified the need to target ethnic minority groups in projects for growth in sports. While we will continue to ensure that nobody is excluded form our sport because of their race or colour; we are aware that only a small percentage of our members come from ethnic minorities. This seems to be true of all of the trampolining clubs in the country. However, as we expand our membership base, especially if we have a new centre, we will be looking very carefully at this area, to try to identify any reasons for this. We recognise that there is wide scope for introducing people from ethnic minorities to the sport.

Sex
Some sports such as boxing, rugby, or American Football, are clearly targeted at males rather than females (indeed American Football with its cheerleaders is perhaps a clear example of sexism in sport). However, other sports, which at first sight are open to both sexes, do tend to favour one. Tennis is a prime example of this, where the prize money is much higher for the men that for the women. Another example is athletics, where television coverage of men's events is much higher than for the women. Trampolining has neither direct nor indirect discrimination. Indeed, it was pleasing to note that when the World Championships were shown on television, equal time was allocated for the men's and ladies' finals.

In trampolining, points are awarded for both style and for skill. Neither of these attributes is the sole preserve of either sex.

Age
This is perhaps the greatest discriminating factor in most sports. Few sports clubs will allow children to join before they reach school age, and often the minimum age is much higher. There is also often an upper age, if not because of the rules, then because of the physical nature of the sports concerned. Trampolining can be enjoyed across the whole age spectrum. Recoil have in our club very active mini jumpers sessions, where children under 5, and sometimes as young as 2, can join in. We find that even the under 5's not only enjoy bouncing, but also master many of the basic skills.

At the other end of the spectrum, many adults enjoy trampolining even if it is a sport taken up later in life. There really is no upper age limit!

Extracts taken with the kind permission of Martin Laws