An Okotoks trampolinist is bringing his number one rank in the province to a provincial meet in his hometown.
The guy at number two hoping to bounce him from the top shot happens to be his Airborne Trampoline and Tumbling teammate.
Nick Kilcommons, 17, is number one in the rankings in both double mini-trampoline and trampoline while teammate Layne Bell, 19, is just behind him in both disciplines.
Kilcommons has already earned a spot at nationals so he will be using the Airborne Invitational in Okotoks on Feb. 12-13 to maintain his high ranking.
“I qualified in both events, now I will just continue to go to qualifying meets to get my score higher and get a better ranking nationally,” Kilcommons said. “The better my score and the higher my ranking, the more funding I will receive to go to nationals.”
The Grade 11 student with the Centre for Learning @ Home competes provincially in the 15 years of age plus men’s open category.
Kilcommons said he tends to score better in the double mini-trampoline, which consists of the athlete bouncing once on the trampoline and then again on the back half of the trampoline before dismounting.
He’s twisting like a pretzel shot out of a cannon when bouncing off the small trampoline before coming to a stop with little wobble.
“I am able to stick my landing without wobbling too much,” Kilcommons said.
However, his first love is the trampoline. The first time he got on one, he was practically a bouncing baby boy at just three years of age.
“I prefer the trampoline because there is a lot more room for error,” Kilcommons said. “You can try harder, riskier skills because you have got a bigger landing surface.”
Kilcommons gets so high on the trampoline, a spectator practically starts to hum Hendrix’s “excuse me while I kiss the sky.” While trampoline is considered an extreme sport, he said the safety standards at Airborne and his experience reduce the risk.
“At the point that where I am, I don’t think it is more dangerous than any other sports,” Kilcommons.
Still, Kilcommons has missed part of the last two seasons with an ankle and then a back injury.
“It was tough coming back,” Kilcommons said. “Even if I miss just a week, it feels weird. It takes a while to get my spatial awareness. You feel awkward and uncoordinated for the first few hours.”
His ankle injury was a gymnastics injury of sorts. He rolled his ankle while playing tag with the children he helps coach at Airborne.
Kilcommons recovered well enough to finish in the top four in both disciplines at the Canada Cup at the Centennial Arena in Okotoks last summer. He also did well at an international meet in Portugal in the fall.
His goal is to reach WAGS — the World Age Groups championships — before he graduates from high school.
“I’m hoping to go nationals and have a high enough score of difficulty and a clean enough routine to get to WAGS,” Kilcommons said.
The last Airborne athlete to qualify for WAGS was Kyle Tugwell from High River in 2005.
It’s not just a question of balance for Kilcommons. It’s also about working at his passion. He practices 12 hours a week at Airborne and he also spends hours at home pushing weights.
While Kilcommons works to stay at No. 1, Bell will be trying to knock him off the top rung.
Bell has been with Airborne for two years after his old club in Calgary shut down.
“I always kind of hung out with the Okotoks guys and the coaches here are fantastic,” Bell said. “I have improved in all my events.”
He has also qualified for nationals in trampoline and the mini tramp and enjoys competing against his friend from Okotoks.
“Nick and I have a healthy rivalry, we are friendly with each other, but we push each other to improve,” Bell said.
Airborne head coach Matt Wheele said Kilcommons and Bell bring out the best in each other and it should be an exciting competition at the meet in Okotoks.
The Airborne Invitational will have athletes ranging from near beginners to the senior level athletes who have competed and medaled at world championships.
The Invitational is open to the public. Airborne is located at Edison School adjacent to Highway 2A just north of Okotoks.
