Clubs and such

While we are here in Bangor our program through Central College requires us to be involved in a club of some sort on campus. Back at the beginning of the semester they had sort of organizational fair where all of the different clubs had booths. At that point in time I had no idea what kind of club they even had over here so it was very interesting. They have all of the clubs you would expect a uni to have like futboll, basketball, table tennis, a music society, an art society etc ... and then there are some rather different ones such as the society I joined, Trampoline Club. Now I know what you're probably thinking a club where all you do is bounce up and down on a trampoline. Well essentially that is correct however these aren't your regular backyard trampolines. They are the ones that divers and gymnasts train on or the trampolines you see in the olympics, and some of the people in the club are absolutely amazing! We had our first go on the trampoline back in September and trust me it is much more difficult that one would expect. However after a few weeks and some points from some of the older members of the club I successfully managed to master the 'swivel hips'. This is where you do a seat drop, bounce and then sit, and then while you are bouncing back you twist your body around and sit again. If you are going high enough and have enough momentum you can do quite a few in a row. I think at the current moment my top is 5 which is still pretty good! Well today two of my friends and I went for club practice and after our first go we decided to ask someone to show us how to do a new trick, the front drop. The front drop is when you're jumping and while you are in the air you kick your legs out behind you and your arms bent in front of you and you land on the trampoline in basically a plank position and then bounce back up. Sounds fairly easy ... not so much. I started with a mat on top of the trampoline and I laid down and Laura, one of the coaches/helpers, showed me the hand and arm position. From that I went onto my knees and began to bounce and then while I was in the air flattened out and landed on the mat. After getting that pretty well down I stood up and did basically the same thing. It is a pretty scary feeling the first time to just see the mat getting closer and closer to your face as you are coming down on it but it's also very exciting. After getting my form right we took the mat off and I began to actually jump and as I was coming down Laura would throw the mat out underneath me to protect me if I landed wrong. I was starting to really get the hang of it and Laura said that when ever I was ready I could have a go at it without the mat. So I did. And it was awesome!!! It was so exciting to learn a new trick! I can't wait to go back on Sunday and possibly learn something new!! This is definitely one of those experiences that I never thought I would have when I got over here but I'm so glad I took the chance to join a club I had no background in. So far I've met some really great people and I'm really, really enjoying trampolining!!!