Teen trampolinists qualify for national championships

Jun. 19—HIGH POINT — Trevor Harder acknowledges that as a kid, he wasn't exactly a prime candidate for the high-flying sport of trampolining.

"I was actually scared of heights," the 18-year-old trampolinist sheepishly admitted during an interview this week at Carolina Elite Trampoline Academy in High Point, where he trains for competitions and teaches his considerable skills to younger gymnasts. "So yeah, it was a little bit intimidating at first."

Now, though, Trevor enthusiastically springs skyward — sometimes as high as 20 feet into the air — and soars with the greatest of ease, seamlessly contorting his lean frame into flips and twists and tucks and moves we can't even describe, much less label. Gravity eventually pulls him back down to the Olympic-style trampoline he's training on, which then sends him skyward once again.

"I love it now," he says. "That feeling you get when you're up there flying is such a great feeling."

Trevor, who lives in Walkertown, is one of three Carolina Elite athletes to qualify for next week's 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and USA Gymnastics National Championships. The others are 16-year-old Grace Harder — Trevor's younger sister — and 16-year-old Aaron Remole of Thomasville. The three trampolinists qualified via points they acquired during their competition season.

"This is huge for them," says Nick Minney, the owner and head coach at Carolina Elite. "They've worked really hard to qualify for this event, and it's a great accomplishment."

The competition, which will also serve as a qualifier for Team USA to compete at the World Championships this fall in Azerbaijan, will be held in St. Louis.

Trevor has had the most success on the national stage, winning multiple championships and qualifying for Team USA three times. He finished fourth in his most recent national meet a few weeks ago, and Minney says he's ranked as one of the top 10 male trampolinists in the country.

According to Trevor, his overall goal is to make the Olympics, but he considers himself a long shot to qualify this year.

"That's the end goal, after I get a little more experience," he says. "My age (18) is usually when you start building your strength, and you start pushing on the big guys a little bit. Your mid-20s is when you're at your peak in this sport."

Trevor got involved in trampolining about seven years ago, after seeing his younger sister participate.

"I got a little jealous," he says. "She started doing all these flips, and I just wanted to try it. Next thing I know, I'm with her in a class doing flips with her."

Grace took up trampolining because her mother made her.

"I was 9 years old, and I kept doing cartwheels everywhere," she says, explaining she did cartwheels all over the house and even in the field when she was playing softball. "My mom was like, 'I don't want you to get hurt,' so she put me in a class, and I just loved it so much."

Like her brother, Grace loves the sensation of soaring high in the air.

"It feels like you're flying," she says. "You just get that rush, like an adrenaline rush."

Aaron says his road to trampolining began in a recreational gymnastics class.

"I was tumbling on floors and stuff like that, and Nick saw me tumbling one day and said, 'You're really good — I want you on my team.' That was about four years ago, and I've just really loved it ever since."

His most realistic goal at this point, he says, is to make Team USA and compete at the World Championships.

"The Olympics would be amazing," Aaron says, "but right now I want to try to get to the Worlds. I think I can make the Worlds soon — that's the immediate goal."

According to Minney, trampolining — which is considered one of the gymnastics disciplines — became an Olympic sport in 2000.

"China and Russia have been dominating the sport, but our trajectory is going up," says Minney, a former competitive trampolinist. "The USA is getting better and better."

In competition, athletes perform a routine that consists of 10 consecutive skills as a panel of judges grades their performance. They're judged for their technical execution — Are their toes pointed? Are their arms straight? — as well as the time of their flight (the higher they jump, the better) and the degree of difficulty of the skills they perform.

Trampolinists are also judged on how close they remain to the center of the trampoline during their routines.

"There's a box drawn in the middle of the trampoline," Minney explains. "If they're in that box when they come down, it's perfect. If they travel outside the box, there are deductions for that, depending on how far away from the box they are."

According to Minney, results from the upcoming competition should be posted on the USA Gymnastics website at usagym.org.

jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579