The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of Olympic inclusion on sport through the case study of trampolining in England. This was considered in terms of changes to elite trampolining, recreational trampolining and school trampolining across the dimensions of organisational structure, funding and support, and underlying policy. This has been achieved through constructing a primarily qualitative piece of work underpinned by a critical realist ontology and epistemology. 45 individuals involved in the sport of trampolining or working in the more general sport delivery system were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Most of the direct implications of the inclusion of trampolining in the Olympics have only affected the elite level of the sport. Adding trampolining to the Olympic programme was viewed as a very positive thing by interviewees involved in the sport because it was seen to improve the status of the sport. The forced merger of the British Trampoline Federation with British Gymnastics received significant criticism from former British Trampoline Federation members due to a perceived loss of power and autonomy. However this amalgamation did raise standards of governance and management in elite trampolining, as did increased expectations from organisations such as UK Sport. As a consequence of the increased professionalisation of the governance of elite trampolining, there is now more tension between paid staff and volunteers. Since the sport has been in the Olympic programme elite trampolining has benefitted from significant funding from UK Sport and also support from the English Institute of Sport and the British Olympic Association. Assistance from all three organisations is extremely ring-fenced and channelled towards the elite. For example, English Institute of Sport support is totally focussed on a very limited number of named individuals who compete at an international level. Funding from UK Sport is dependent on British Gymnastics meeting ambitious performance targets in trampolining and so forms an incentive contract which has dictated the focus within the National Governing Body. Hence the balance between elite trampolining and sport for all has swung towards the higher echelon of the sport from both economic and structural perspectives. Few benefits from trampolining being in the Olympic programme filter down to the recreational and school levels of the sport and those that have tend to be indirect impacts. This is partly due to a lack of coherent governance both within the sport and also in terms of the wider sporting landscape. Support given to recreational trampolining by English Gymnastics, Sport England and County Sport Partnerships, and support given to school trampolining by the British Schools Gymnastics Association, the Youth Sport Trust and School Sport Partnerships appears to be relatively unaffected by trampolining being in the Olympics. Also there are more pressing issues and priorities in recreational and school trampolining which prevented the Olympic inclusion of trampolining having a greater impact. For example, at a recreational level there is often a shortage of trampoline clubs to cater for demand and similarly in schools there is often a lack of trampolines and trained teachers.

During the takeoff for a trampoline skill the trampolinist should produce sufficient vertical velocity and angular momentum to permit the required skill to be completed in the aerial phase without excessive horizontal travel. The aim of this study was to investigate the optimum technique to produce forward somersault rotation. A seven-segment, subject-specific torque-driven computer simulation model of the takeoff in trampolining was developed in conjunction with a model of the reaction forces exerted on the trampolinist by the trampoline suspension system. The ankle, knee, hip, and shoulder joints were torque-driven, with the metatarsal-phalangeal and elbow joints angle-driven. Kinematic data of trampolining performances were obtained using a Vicon motion capture system. Segmental inertia parameters were calculated from anthropometric measurements. Viscoelastic parameters governing the trampoline were determined by matching an angle-driven model to the performance data. The torque-driven model was matched to the performance data by scaling joint torque parameters from the literature, and varying the activation parameters of the torque generators using a simulated annealing algorithm technique. The torque-driven model with the scaled isometric strength was evaluated by matching the performance data. The evaluation produced close agreement between the simulations and the performance, with an average difference of 4.4% across three forward rotating skills. The model was considered able to accurately represent the motion of a trampolinist in contact with a trampoline and was subsequently used to investigate optimal performance. Optimisations for maximum jump height for different somersaulting skills and maximum rotation potential produced increases in jump height of up to 14% and increases of rotation potential up to 15%. The optimised technique for rotation potential showed greater shoulder flexion during the recoil of the trampoline and for jump height showed greater plantar flexion and later and quicker knee extension before takeoff. Future applications of the model can include investigations into the sensitivity of the model to changes in initial conditions, and activation, strength, and trampoline parameters.

The purpose of the study was to determine if subjects would improve in cardiovascular efficiency following a six-week program of trampolining and/or tumbling. Literature concerning cardiovascular efficiency, training, trampoline, testing instruments, test selection and maximal oxygen intake were thoroughly reviewed. The Astrand test of maximal oxygen intake and the Cooper twelve-minute run test of aerobic capacity were found to best fit the needs of the present study.

During every summer Olympic Games, the sport of gymnastics rises briefly to the world’s attention as the public admire the incredible skills and feats performed by fit muscular bodies on a range of apparatus. The gymnastics they watch consists of performances in which bodies assemble with apparatus. This thesis utilises an Actor Network Theory (ANT) perspective to follow this assembling of gymnastics in the five codes of competitive gymnastics competed in New Zealand: women’s artistic gymnastics, men’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampolining and competitive aerobics. This thesis is a descriptive ethnography of the world of high performance gymnastics. It begins by examining some of the controversies that have operated to both criticise and rework the sport. Next, the gymnasts are followed through the selection processes that lead them to become members of national squads and teams. It then moves to the training gymnasium and examines the variety of non-human actants that work in the gymnasium to assemble gymnastics. The next two chapters examine how gymnasts are found to enrol and assemble with video technologies and sports science professionals in their efforts to improve performance. Following this, gymnasts are observed to produce a routine at a competition which is translated into a score and ranking through the highly complicated and laborious process of judging. Finally, the thesis concludes with the story of Angela McMillan, New Zealand’s most successful athlete within the gymnastic codes. Throughout are a range of accounts from participants, together with observations, describing attempts to secure the stabilisation of gymnastics as an actor-network that produces internationally successful athletes. All the networks followed involve a continual process of enrolling, un-enrolling, translating and mediating, with power constantly shifting and being shared between various heterogeneous actants including coaches, parents, the national federation and the international federation. At times these networks stabilise with particular actants, such as sports scientists or technologies, being enrolled, while at other times the paths of the networks come to an end as particular assemblages or actants, such as physical ability tests, are no longer enrolled. In contrast to a perception that successful high performance sports include key actors and resources, this thesis shows how the networks that produce high performance gymnasts are highly unpredictable and messy, with humans and non-humans both equally influential in affecting every branch of the networks. Processes such as talent identification, training and judging are found to be complicated and unstable.