The first trampoline dodgeball court was inaugurated in 2004, and the sport has been growing in popularity ever since. Now, the world’s first Ultimate Trampoline Dodgeball Championship might finally bring it into the spotlight.

There are a lot of popular sports played on giant trampolines these days, including basketball and volleyball, but trampoline dodgeball has to be the most exciting one yet. Created by Sky Zone Sports, this revolutionary game is played by the same rules as traditional dodgeball, with some slight differences. Instead of just trying to dodge and catch the balls by running around the court, in trampoline dodgeball the playing surface is made up of several trampolines, allowing the players to jump 10 feet in the air or bounce off the walls and “floor”, and making the experience even more fun. Two teams of five go against each other in 4-minute-long matches, with the one knocking out all opposition players being declared the winner. If at the end of four minutes, both teams have players on the court, the match goes into sudden death, until the first player is knocked out. In the upcoming championship, the team who wins two matches out of three will advance into the next stage of the competition.

Photo: Sky High Sports

Rick Platt is the creator of ultimate trampoline dodgeball, and he’s so convinced that his version will be the next big thing that he’s so far invested millions of dollars into building 26 courts in various American cities. This weekend, he organized the first ever trampoline dodgeball championship, in Los Angeles, where 21 teams from Canada and the US faced each other for the grand prize of $25,000.

“The trampoline is the equalizer,” Platt told The Huffington Post. “Athleticism is important. Throwing the ball is half the game, but if you don’t have agility, you’re going to be knocked out.” Some players say trampoline dodgeball is 75% mental, trying to figure out what your opponents’ next move will be, but looking at how this game is played, being in top physical shape is a must, if you want to have any chance of winning.

I personally love these variations of classic sports, and trampoline dodgeball really looks like a fun game. Who knows, maybe we’ll soon be seeing televised league games of the bouncy sport.