Soaring fifteen to sixteen feet in the air, Edina High School sophomore Cassia Egan-Lawless is an athlete with a not-so recognized sport. Starting when she was just eight years old, becoming a captain, and currently a level ten, her sport is trampoline.

Zephyrus: Why did you start trampoline, and why have you continued?

Cassia Egan-Lawless: I got into trampoline because my favorite part at TAGS was trampoline, and I wanted to focus more on that instead of bars, beam, and vault. All the “regular” gymnastics stuff I didn’t want to do. My mom signed me up with Minnesota Twisters. I continued because I like it, and I progressed pretty fast.

Zephyrus: Can you give a short description or summary of what trampoline is?

C.E.: A competition routine consists of ten skills, you have to do one after the other with no extra bounces. Once you get to level eight through senior elite, you have two routines to compete in: compulsory and optional. The optional is made up by the athlete and coach, and must meet a minimum degree of difficulty.

Zephyrus: What is the hardest part of trampoline?

C.E.: Learning new skills, and trying to figure out a way that works best with how you can execute the skill well enough.

Zephyrus: What is the easiest part?

C.E.: The easiest part is just being able to jump with control.

Zephyrus: What is your favorite part?

C.E.: My favorite part is jumping so high it feels like flying.

Zephyrus: Do you consider trampoline a sport?

C.E.: Definitely. Plus, it’s in the Olympics.

Zephyrus: How big is the trampoline community?

C.E.: In this state I’d say it’s medium to small sized.

Zephyrus: What are your goals for this year, and the future for trampoline?

C.E.: My goals this year are to make it into the finals in trampoline at this years nationals, and my future goals are to just get as good as I can get. I guess I want to make it to the elite level before college.

Zephyrus: What is your favorite memory from trampoline?

C.E.: My favorite memory was making a music video with my teammates the practice after my first state competition. The song was “What is Love” by Haddaway, and we spent the entire practice just coming up with random funny things to do in the video.