Online exclusive: Flying ‘Sky High’

We all remember the moments in our youth when there was the one person who was the object of envy because his or her family chose to purchase a trampoline. Everyone gathered at that friend’s house for a day of fun, and a surprising amount of actual exercise.

Horror stories surfaced about children falling off of trampolines or landing wrong, and so we saw the slow demise of the once incredibly popular concept for kids.

Things changed when brothers Jerry and Ron Raymond felt the need for a fun and safe place to interact with their kids. The idea for Sky High Sports was born, and the first was built in their home state of California.

If not familiar with the name already, Sky High Sports is a warehouse-style building that was transformed into a giant indoor trampoline.

It might sound unsafe, but with two-inch thick pads separating the borders of each trampoline and those pads connecting a sea of gymnastic-quality trampolines, you can do whatever you please while remaining at least moderately safe. Any risk goes along with how daring one may feel on that day.

What about the risk of falling off of the sides? They have that taken care of, with almost all of the areas completely bordered with another set of slanted trampolines to add to the already mind-boggling amount of area to bounce freely on. The Raymond brothers took most of the problems that people encountered with trampolines in the past into consideration, and safety is something that has become a big part of the experience.

Additional padding and staff members keeping a watchful eye on the safety of their jumpers and a wall of trampolines actually make things more fun than one could imagine.

Every person’s inner child is welcome to run free in one of the four different zones that are part of the entry purchase. If you get tired of the purely trampoline jumping zone, feel free to get caught up in choosing between trampoline dodgeball or even a foam pit.

For those of you who grow tired of jumping in place because of the fear of becoming overly confident and landing wrong, the foam pit may be where you are meant to go. Two trampolines give you a running start to jump, flip, dive or do whatever you please into the six-plus feet-deep pool of foam blocks in this area of Sky High.

It seems difficult to grow tired of a trampoline and foam pit combination, but if one does, there remains the traditionally fun game of dodgeball as another option. This would not be a large feature at Sky High if not for—yes, you guessed it—trampolines. Sky High offers another zone to the already energy-ingesting areas for bouncing. Join teams in playing dodgeball in a style of court that is similar to the rest of the compound, but differs in that there are lines dividing the court and nets to catch any stray balls.

The game is an incredible take on the version popularized in high school gym class, now with the addition of jumping, flipping and whatever else you can figure out how to do with trampolines and a dodgeball.

The location in Oregon opened just five months ago, and has exploded in its Tigard community. It is conveniently situated near Washington Square mall, right off of Greenburg road.

It sounds like the idea for a fun activity on any given night of the week could be for a very age-specific crowd, but local owner and general manager Brian Deller could not say more to the contrary.

“We see so many different types of groups coming in during the week,” said Deller. “Actually, our first birthday party we rented out to was for a group of people that were turning 26.”

Some of the other crowds that have taken advantage of the option to rent out time include doctors’ offices, Microsoft and large church groups.

All of the different areas are guaranteed to overwhelm someone walking in for the first time, but since you purchase jumping time by the hour, feel free to add on time as you please. The location in Tigard has proved to be a hotspot for teens and older crowds alike, giving the opportunity for a good time no matter the age.

Too much time is spent on campus worrying about finishing papers and projects. Allowing yourself to get away for an hour or two (which proves to be more than enough) will bring any stickler back to feeling young again, if only for a night.

For those of us that are poor college students, there are “Wild Wednesdays,” which will give you two hours to do as you please for a mere $12. Sky High also runs deals through Facebook to help bring in the college crowd.

With a diverse bunch walking through the doors of Sky High, one can stare in wonder and think about why this idea was not around 10 years ago for the general public to use. Some go to Sky High to simply get away from things for a few hours, but most importantly it seems to be something that will help become a staple in a healthier and more laid-back atmosphere that is long overdue in the Portland metro area. ? ? 

Sky High Sports

11131 SW Greenburg Rd., Tigard, OR

Phone: 503-213-6222 

Hours:

Monday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Tue – Thur: 2 to 10 p.m.

Fri – Sun: 11 a.m. to midnight