Blog: “Trampolining is a freeing sensation”
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday through the year. In 2016 we’ll be taking a look at an A-Z of accessible sporting and fitness opportunities available to disabled people.
This week it’s T for trampolining, and Catherine Scales discusses how she thrives in a friendly atmosphere.
My weekly sessions happen on Tuesday evenings for an hour. It’s a group session with roughly a dozen people in it. It’s a special needs session at Recoil Trampoline & Activity Centre in Brentwood, Essex.
My supervision is with the coaches and tutors at Recoil, and my Dad waits for me in reception during my session. I always sit next to a coach at the side of the trampoline – they keep an eye on me.
Recoil have nine trampolines, all of which are set flush in the floor. That makes them really safe for me to walk on and walk off, instead of being lifted on.
I have a learning impairment that affects my speech and language. I have problems with speaking, but I can communicate when I’m happy that I have done something correctly. I’ll go: “Yaaay!”
Twelve years ago I was a complete beginner. Now I can bounce confidently – not everyone in my session can do that. I can also do linking moves – back-drop to standing to a front-drop. That’s progress, instead of just doing individual moves.
The support I am given is the same for any member of the club. If I have any problems I know I can speak to Louise Hammond and the other coaches. Recoil is a very welcoming place with support for people with special needs. It’s a family atmosphere, and my coaches know my parents personally. It’s a really nice thing.
Trampolining is a freeing sensation. There’s a weightlessness too. It’s also amazing exercise – it’s cardio as well as muscle toning, because you need muscles for stretching and cardio for bouncing.
I’m friends with everyone in my class. A lot of people who attend my session have been coming for years and years. There are even people who have been trampolining for 20 years!
I keep enjoying the sport, I keep on attending, and I want to do so for many more years.
