George Nissen

George Peter Nissen was an American gymnast and inventor. He was born on February 3, 1914, and passed away on April 7, 2010. He is famous for creating the modern trampoline.

Nissen got the idea for the trampoline after seeing circus performers bounce on spring beds. He worked with a manufacturer to make a safe and practical design. This led to the first real trampolines.

Because of Nissen, trampolining became a popular sport. It is now used in competitions, gym classes, and for fun. His invention has brought joy and exercise to people of all ages. Trampolines are now common in homes, schools, and gyms.

Background

George Nissen was born on February 3, 1914, in Blairstown, Iowa. He loved gymnastics and won three NCAA championships while studying at the University of Iowa.

During high school, he went to Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

George saw circus artists using safety nets to bounce and do tricks. He thought this would be a good way to train. In 1934, he and his coach, Larry Griswold, made the first trampoline using angle iron, a canvas bed, and rubber springs. George used it to train and to entertain kids at summer camp.

After finishing school in 1937, he traveled with friends and performed at fairs and carnivals. In Mexico, he learned the word trampolín, meaning springboard in Spanish. Later, he used this word for his invention. In 1941, he and Griswold started the Griswold-Nissen Trampoline & Tumbling Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Career

During World War II, the trampoline helped train pilots by getting them used to moving in the air. After the war, George Nissen kept showing people his trampolines. He traveled to Europe and the Soviet Union to share his trampolines and a sport called "rebound tumbling".

In 1956, Nissen opened a factory in England to make trampolines. The factory moved a few times but closed in the 1980s when other companies started making similar equipment. Nissen kept helping the sport grow. In 1971, he helped start the United States Tumbling & Trampoline Association. There are awards named after him, like the Griswold-Nissen Cup and the Nissen-Emery Award. He also helped start the first World Trampoline Championship in London in 1964.

Later years

George Nissen kept making trampolines for exercise and a fun game called space ball. This game is like volleyball but played on trampolines.

He always wanted to see trampolining in the Olympic Games. His dream came true at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. When he was 86 years old, he went to watch with his daughter Dian Nissen. She was a champion trampoline athlete. He also went to the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he got to try the Olympic trampoline before the competition.