Jumped up: trampoline rides may be restricted in Russia
In Russia, restrictions may be imposed on the activities of commercial trampoline attractions. This decision was supported by the public council under Rospotrebnadzor, the minutes of which were reviewed by Izvestia. The concern of public figures is that about 55% of injuries in parks end in fractures or dislocations. According to the Ministry of Health, since 2020, the annual increase in the corresponding indicators in the age group of 0-14 years has amounted to 5.3% per year, in the group of 15-17 years — 2.1% per year. There is also a gap in legislation that does not regulate the activities of these attractions. What business and experts think about the new initiative is in the Izvestia article.
Why do they want to limit the activities of the trampoline business
In Russia, it is proposed to introduce legislative restrictions on the activities of commercial trampoline centers. This decision was supported by the public council under Rospotrebnadzor, the minutes of which were reviewed by Izvestia.
"In the last decade, the structure of child injuries has undergone significant changes due to the aggressive expansion of the commercial entertainment market. An analysis of publicly available medical data shows a direct correlation between the opening of trampoline parks and an increase in hospital admissions," the document says.
It emphasizes that the medical community unequivocally classifies trampolines as high-risk equipment, the use of which for recreational purposes should be discontinued. In particular, pediatricians claim that there is no "safe" way to jump on it for entertainment, and the available evidence suggests that even the presence of protective nets and mats does not reduce the overall injury rate. As noted in the protocol of the public council, about 55% of injuries in parks end in fractures or dislocations.
"In Russia, the state regulation of trampoline centers is carried out through a system of technical regulations and national standards (GOST). However, an analysis of these documents reveals a fundamental gap in the approach: the hardware is regulated, not the process. None of the available documents (GOST R 56437-2015, GOST R 53487-2009, EAEU TR 038/2016) is capable of eliminating the main risk factor — the biomechanical unpredictability of the actions of an unprepared user," the protocol says.
The public council also believes that self-regulation of the industry is impossible, since businesses, pursuing commercial goals, are not interested in the safety of visitors, but in their mass visits to trampoline centers. But this is exactly what eventually leads to an increase in severe injuries, including spinal fractures.
In this regard, the document instructs Oleg Pavlov, the head of the public association, to prepare and send proposals on limiting the activities of commercial centers to the authorized authorities.
— The statistics of the Ministry of Health, which we possess, confirm the increase in the number of injuries sustained by children and adolescents on these attractions. Since 2020, the annual increase in the corresponding indicators in the age group of 0-14 years has amounted to 5.3% per year, in the group of 15-17 years - 2.1% per year," Oleg Pavlov explained to Izvestia.
According to him, it is assumed that the restrictions will be introduced exclusively for commercial trampoline centers, where untrained citizens, including children, go for money, but they will not affect sports sections where trained professionals jump.
The press service of Rospotrebnadzor, in turn, noted the high level of consideration of issues on the part of the public council, as it includes not only prominent public figures and medical scientists, but also representatives of major business associations and industry associations.
"As a result, the initiatives put forward by the council and the decisions taken are as balanced as possible, take into account all points of view and deserve the closest attention," the press service of the department explained. — As we can see from the decision, a bona fide business is not ready to take on the uncontrollable risks of childhood injuries, hence the unanimous position of the council on this topic.
They also noted that a similar approach to restricting the activities of trampoline parks is already being applied abroad: in a number of European countries and some US states, bans or stricter regulatory requirements for the operation of such centers and inflatable attractions are being introduced.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Health with a request to comment on the initiative of the Public Council at Rospotrebnadzor.
Pros and cons of restrictions
Nikolay Makarov, vice-president of the Russian Trampoline Federation, told Izvestia that it was necessary to restore order in the activities of such centers.
— Many commercial centers cooperate with our federation and conduct training in accordance with the necessary standards. But there are also those who have nothing to do with sports and come up with their own new types of jumps, for example, trampoline freestyle with some kind of extreme, just to make money," the industry representative explained.
According to him, since these centers are commercial, the federation cannot influence their activities.
"That's why we support restoring order, but it's important, as they say, not to throw a child out with water, so that bona fide sports clubs don't suffer," Nikolai Makarov said.
At the same time, he noted that he does not have statistics on injuries, although he admitted that there are such injuries in non-professional organizations.
The Russian Association of Amusement Parks and Manufacturers told Izvestia that they were not familiar with the initiative.
— Apparently, we are talking about trampoline parks (arenas) using mesh trampolines. There is indeed a problem in this sector that the provision of such services can be interpreted in different ways. A lot depends on the manufacturer, who can present the trampoline arena as an "attraction or entertainment," or as a "sports equipment," business representatives explained.
They also noted that if the manufacturer classified the trampoline arena as an attraction, then this equipment falls under the EAEU Technical Regulation 038/2016 "On the safety of attractions." According to him, such arenas belong to the category of non-mechanized attractions. But another EAEU technical regulation 038 establishes requirements for the design, manufacture, installation, operation, and conformity assessment of attractions. Gostekhnadzor controls the operation of such equipment.
— If a trampoline arena is presented as a "sports equipment", then "fragments" of law from various documents at the intersection of sports and entertainment are used to organize this type of activity, but there are often no specifics. Hence the high injury rate. The production and operation of such arenas for entertainment purposes and for sports differ significantly," the association explained.
At the same time, the association sees a solution to the problem not in banning, but in developing the necessary standards that would more specifically specify the production of such equipment, as well as establish principles for the provision of services.
— When organizing the proper operation of trampoline arenas, injuries can be minimized, but unfortunately it cannot be completely eliminated. A striking example of this is children's playgrounds located in parks and courtyards, where children often also get injured, the association noted.
In 2024, a child on an inflatable trampoline broke his leg in Kemerovo. The Kemerovo district Court recovered more than 500 thousand rubles from the entrepreneur. In the same year, in Omsk, a boy suffered a fractured tibia, and there was no prior instruction on safe behavior. In 2025, in the Kemerovo region, a seven-year-old boy fell from an inflatable trampoline from a height of about three meters and suffered a compression fracture of four vertebrae.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the Russian Association of Amusement Parks and Manufacturers, as well as to the largest companies involved in commercial trampolining.
Georgy Ostapkovich, research director of the HSE Center for Market Research, believes that there will be losses for the trampoline business, but they are not critical on the scale of, for example, the country's budget. At the same time, in his opinion, it is necessary not to limit the work of such commercial centers, but to control them more seriously, because injuries are present in many types of activities.
— You can go to the ice rink or hockey once and break your leg there, but this does not mean that such entertainment should be prohibited. Therefore, it is better to introduce measures that would minimize the risks of injury, which exist even on carousels," the expert believes.
Anton Nedzvetsky, Chairman of the Moscow Society for Consumer Protection, in turn, noted that none of the regulatory documents is able to eliminate the main risk factor for commercial jumps — the biomechanical unpredictability of the actions of an unprepared user. According to him, unlike mechanical carousels, where the visitor is passively fixed by a restraint system, the trampoline requires the child to actively control his body in the air. The law or standard cannot prohibit a child from unsuccessfully grouping, the expert believes.
But the ex-director of the amusement park "Divo Island" Tatiana Vasyutskaya supports the introduction of restrictions.
— I think it's very right. For example, I don't let my grandson go on any trampolines, because spinal injuries are inevitable there," she noted.
According to her, as a rule, commercial organizations lack any control over such jumps and lack adequately trained personnel. In addition, participants often do not receive safety instructions before such entertainment, while a lot of people are immediately allowed to jump, which in itself is very traumatic, Tatiana Vasyutskaya believes.
According to Oleg Pavlov, the proposed restrictions suggest the possibility of adapting for business and repurposing for safer activity formats: safe types of attractions, indoor game sports (football, basketball), and the like. In other words, centers that are ready to work according to the standards of a professional sport, trampoline jumping, will have to go through a compliance confirmation procedure, hire professional coaching staff and work in sports schools, he concluded.
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