double mini-trampoline

Burlington T&T Athlete – Kieran Lupish lands gold in Double Mini-Trampoline (DMT) at World Championships in Tokyo

When Kieran Lupish landed his final pass in double mini-trampoline at the 2019 World Age Group Championships in Tokyo, he knew he had just earned himself a medal.

Everything leading up to his final pass, however, was far from perfect.

“I was having a really bad warmup on the pass. I was falling, and I couldn’t land it,” said the 16-year-old from Vineland, who added that athletes warm up in a separate gym before performing on the main stage.

When he entered the main gymnasium, he was told to wait a couple of minutes because the organizers were figuring something out. He eventually got the go-ahead to perform his final pass.

“When I landed and stuck it, I instantly thought I medalled,” said Lupish. “It was the craziest feeling.”

From there it was a waiting game. He came into the championships ranked fourth in the age group of 15 and 16, and performances are done in reverse order based on the rankings from the qualifying tournament.

After his pass, the three athletes ranked ahead of him still had a chance to outscore him.

“I saw the first kid land and thought, ‘That wasn’t the score that was going to beat me.'” he said.

He then watched the final two athletes perform.

“The last kid who went is really good and, when I saw him land, I was just waiting for the score to pop up,” said Lupish.

With his family watching from the stands, he looked up at the scoreboard and saw “second” next to the name of the No. 1 athlete.

“I was like, there’s no way this happened,” Lupish recalled. “I just remember my coach grabbing my shoulder and going, ‘World champ, buddy!'”

It was Lupish’s third time participating at the world championships for Canada. He fell short of the podium at the first two.

Five years ago, Lupish never thought he would be performing at the world championships in trampoline. He initially got into gymnastics and eventually became a high-level gymnast until he hurt his shoulder, which caused problems in a lot of events.

“I ended up getting bored with the sport since I couldn’t do much, so I ended up quitting,” he said.

Introduced to trampolining through his mother’s friend’s daughter, he decided to give it a chance. In just two years of the sport he was performing at the world stage, finishing fourth in double mini-trampoline at his first world championships.

What was the coolest thing about finishing first?

“Normally, when you come third or second, they don’t play your national anthem,” said Lupish. “They played the national anthem, and I just wanted to get up on the podium so badly I actually stepped up a little earlier than I was supposed to.”

He was one of four Canadians who participated in more than one event at the World Age Group Championships. He also performed in synchronized trampoline, but he and his partner from British Columbia had never practised together before executing their routine in front of the judges.

The next goal for Lupish is moving up from Canada’s junior double mini-trampoline team to the senior level when he turns 17. He said this year will be about gaining experience, and then he’ll aim for it all.

“If you win at the senior world championships, you’re the best in the world. Period,” he said.

Double mini-trampoline isn’t an Olympic sport, but it is something people in the field are pushing for since trampolining is part of the world’s biggest sporting event. If it becomes possible, Lupish hopes to represent Canada in 2024 or 2028.

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You Don’t Have to Love Sports to be Active

The cultural expectation for children, especially boys, to participate in physical activity through sports can be challenging for some. From school activities to time spent with family, organized sports are the chief contributors to physical activity. These expectations can be tough to overcome, as a physical activity seems to be linked more and more to sports. While there are a great many sports out there that can meet a wide variety of tastes and interests, sports simply aren’t for everyone. Competition, sports cultures, and strict rules can be off-putting and be discouraging from progressing in a sport. However, that doesn’t mean that you, your children and your family can’t stay active.

Every child should have the opportunity to develop their own physical fitness, but there isn’t one single path that works best for everyone. Similarly, your family can stay active without having to do an activity that not everyone will be enthused about. So how can you keep a love of activity alive without going in on traditional sports?

HIKING
It’s a way to take in nature, de-stress and spend quality time with friends and family, or alone. There’s no set pace, no set time or distance limits, and the level of activity can be exactly what you make it. Hiking is one of the easiest activities to participate in that builds fitness without the constraint of sports. Next weekend, try scoping out parks and hiking trails near to your house and getting your family involved in a hike. You and your children might discover a new passion, and you’ll certainly work up a sweat.

BIKING
Biking does carry an initial investment cost, but since it serves as an alternate mode of transportation as well as a great way to get and stay in shape, bikes could well be worth it if you don’t already own them. When observing the proper safety practices, biking gives your children a safe way to get around while burning calories and having fun. If their friends nearby also have bikes, then it’s all the more easy to get your child out and about while building muscle and burning calories.

CLIMBING
Climbing may not be for everyone, but if there’s a climbing gym nearby it’s worth it to try it out and see if it’s right for you. Climbing walls come with a complete array of safety equipment, padded floors, a variety of climbing walls varying by difficulty and staff to ensure that everyone has a safe, fun experience. Climbing can be one of the most physically demanding activities you can do, giving a full body workout, but is also only as intensive as you want it to be. If your children take to it, you might find they have so much fun they don’t notice how much exercise they’re actually doing!

PLAY ON PLAY EQUIPMENT
For some, the structure of sports can be off-putting if they’re more comfortable with an open environment where they can run, climb and jump how they please. If you’re nearby a local playground, visiting the play equipment there and setting your children lose can be a great way to get exercise. Children can meet friends, play games and exercise for hours in a more open environment, providing a great way to keep exercise fun. Bonus points if you walk to the playground.

PARTICIPATE IN NINJA CLASSES
For parents looking for a structured environment to allow their children to be physically active without participating in the traditional structure of organized sports, Ninja Classes could be the perfect answer. The NinjaZone program combines elements of coordination from gymnastics, strength, and agility from obstacle training and the creativity from freestyle movement, all in a program where progression is determined at the pace of progress that the child makes.

We’ve designed the program to be fun, with Ninjas grouped by age and supervised to ensure that they have fun and stay safe. Ninja Classes aren’t a sport in a traditional sense, but they provide a great opportunity for kids to have fun and develop confidence in addition to fitness. If you’re interested in signing your child up for the NinjaZone program and getting in shape without sports, contract a certified gym near you today.

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