In 1995, JumpSport's Co-Founders, Mark and Valerie Publicover, heard their children cry for help from the backyard. Mark ran outside to the trampoline where the kids were playing and found their friend's youngest daughter on the ground where she appeared to be seriously hurt. Prior to this accident, the Publicover children had also fallen off the trampoline several times prompting Mark to sketch out several ideas for a safety enclosure. "After our friend rushed off with her daughter, I walked back to my home office and broke down. I was so upset with myself for not having done something sooner. In times of trouble I knew where to turn so I prayed to know this child was in God's care and that I could find a way to prevent these accidents. Happily, our friend's daughter recovered quickly and I immediately began working to create an inexpensive trampoline enclosure so that all families could afford this vital protection." Today this landmark invention now protects millions of kids around the world and has prevented 100,000's of needless trampoline injuries.
In 1997 the Publicovers began marketing their Trampoline Court™ safety enclosure and game court, becoming the first to sell these important products to retailers like Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, and BJ's. While many retailers since then have switched to low quality imitations, JumpSport has continued to focus on ways to improve the quality & safety of trampolines.
In 1998, another small accident at the Publicover household once again led to the development of new and vitally important trampoline safety innovations. During the testing of another manufacturer's trampoline, Mark sustained a minor break to his leg while bouncing with his children. "I landed a bit awkwardly on my right leg just as the trampoline bed was kicking back. I knew I shouldn't have been jumping at the same time as my kids, but I was still surprised by the magnitude of the kick-back force generated when the kids bounced up and down together in unison. This was my second wake up call! I immediately began working to design trampolines with safer jumping surfaces or beds. Most people don't know that nearly 50% of all trampoline injuries occur when a jumper impacts the bed. I designed our patent-pending trampoline beds to be more forgiving so that they put less stress on the jumper's body. Because our trampoline beds put less stress on the jumper's knees and back, the jumper's body absorbs less of the fall energy so the springs absorb more energy and results in a better return bounce."
Over the next 3 years JumpSport introduced 4 new safety enhanced trampolines specifically designed to reduce jumping surface injuries:
In 2008, JumpSport expanded into fitness products with the revolutionary bounce and iconic look of the Fitness Trampoline™. This product quickly increased in popularity being available on Costco.com, Amazon.com and through many other retailers. Hot on the heels of this release was the Folding Fitness Trampoline with technology for safe and easy folding, allowing consumers to easily transport and store the product.
JumpSport's latest innovation combines safety, fun and education - the iBounce Kids Trampoline Bundle. This bundle includes the iBounce (a safe, easy to assemble, colorful kids trampoline), the educational RompyRoo eBook Exercise Adventure (iPad, Kindle, and DVD), and the Universal Tablet Mount. This combination lets kids be active and learn all while having fun on a trampoline!
JumpSport has been widely recognized for its successful efforts to improve the safety of backyard trampolines. In 2000, the company was invited to become one of just 35 founding members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's "Product Safety Circle," along with companies like McDonald's, Fisher-Price, Inc., Whirlpool Corporation, Nordstrom, Inc., Mattel, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and others.
JumpSport's trampoline products have won several awards, been featured on Good Morning America, 20/20, ESPN, and other broadcasts, and have appeared in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Most recently JumpSport has appeared on the TV program, Reality Remodel, on TLC. JumpSport continues to create safe, fun and educational toys and fitness products to be enjoyed by all ages - kids to adults!
