Ann Arbor Gymkhana: 30 Years Of Trampolines, Spaceball, & Fitness

In 1956, on empty land behind the Botsford Tile business on West Stadium Boulevard, 27-year-old Don Botsford constructed Ann Arbor's first commercial fitness center. From the outside it wasn't much to look at, just a simple 33 x 66-foot concrete block building with a Unistrut ceiling. Don built much of the structure himself, on property owned by his father Tom Botsford. The building still stands today, as part of Top of the Lamp at 415 S Maple Road. The Botsfords were an old Ann Arbor family, dating back to the pioneering days of the city. Don had graduated from Ann Arbor High School in 1946, and then attended Central Michigan University where he majored in physical education and minored in health education. Don felt that his hometown of Ann Arbor needed to improve its approach to the health and well-being of its citizens, and decided to take matters into his own hands. After years of working at his father's tile shop, and saving money for his dream, Don was finally ready to welcome the public into his new facility. He called it Ann Arbor Gymkhana.

gymkhana, noun: a meet featuring sports contests or athletic skills

Ann Arbor Gymkhana appeared in the city long before local businesses offered HIIT workouts, boot camps, pilates, CrossFit, barre classes, and all the other endless exercise options you can think of. Fitness machines weren't readily available. 1950s workouts typically involved calisthenics, and basic equipment like dumbbells and barbells. Extra frills might include hula hoops and jump ropes. Don Botsford's new business offered Ann Arbor a new twist to physical fitness: trampolines. In an Ann Arbor News article, Don boldly claimed "I bet I can get kids on a trampoline faster than on a dance floor". He declared his new business "the only one of its kind in the country, with its safe floor level type of trampolines, and its combination of weightlifting and gymnastics apparatus".

Weights & Trampolines

Opening the first commercial fitness center in town had its drawbacks. One obstacle was the reputation of weight lifting. According to Don Botsford, University of Michigan football coach Fritz Crisler gave his players detentions if he found out they were lifting weights. "They thought it would cause their players to lose all their coordination and become big, dumb weight lifters." Trampolines were also a relatively new method of exercise for Ann Arbor. Botsford himself had benefited from a combination of weight training and trampoline skills, and worked hard to convince townies of the health benefits. Safety was an important factor in using all of the equipment, and instructional classes were emphasized. Don Botsford also encouraged women to visit Gymkhana, an innovative view at the time. His enthusiasm for living a healthy lifestyle, along with his charisma, drew people of all ages to the new business.

Athletically, Ann Arbor Gymkhana was a great success. During the first eight years of business, Botsford coached weightlifters and trampolinists to win more than 125 awards in each sport, including some national and state titles. Many were in the Michigan Association of Gymnastics (MAG). One notable group to frequent the facility, and accumulate awards, was the Huntzicker family.

George Huntzicker, who frequented Ann Arbor Gymkhana as a child, would go on to lead Ann Arbor High School to a State Championship in 1965 by placing first in trampoline, floor exercise, and vault. He attended the University of Michigan, joined the gymnastics team, and was NCAA champion on the trampoline in 1968 and 1970. George also won the silver medal in the 1970 World Trampoline Championships. Newt Loken, who coached the University of Michigan's gymnastic teams from 1947 to 1983, says he believes George Huntzicker excelled and went on to win the world championship largely due to Don Botsford's coaching skills at Ann Arbor Gymkhana.

Tramp-O-Leap

In the summer of 1960, Ann Arbor Gymkhana experienced some competition in the nearby city of Ypsilanti. A franchise known as Tramp-O-Leap, which billed itself as an outdoor "trampoline playground", was spreading around the United States and Canada. Ypsilanti Tramp-O-Leap opened at 205 Ecorse Road in July. It offered 10 floor level trampolines available for 50 cents per half hour, from 10 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. Not to be outdone, Gymkhana installed four outdoor trampolines, also available for 50 cents per half hour, one month later. Don Botsford called Gymkhana's outdoor experience "Uppen-Gebouncen Floppenfielt". Ypsilanti Tramp-O-Leap didn't last long, but helped to fuel the growing trampoline craze.

Spaceball

Many local residents who remember Ann Arbor Gymkhana will tell you it was THE PLACE TO PLAY SPACEBALL. The game first surfaced at Huron Valley Swim Club in Ann Arbor. When the response was favorable, Don Botsford installed Spaceball trampolines in Ann Arbor Gymkhana.

To understand Spaceball, it's helpful to know a bit about the history of trampolines. A gymnast named George Nissen is credited with designing the first commercial trampoline in the 1940s. His "tumbling device" was granted a U.S. patent in 1945. In World War II, the military used trampolines as training devices for pilots who handled difficult air maneuvers in combat. Near the end of the war George Nissen met a pilot named Scott Carpenter who had gone through the trampoline training. Carpenter would later become one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and introduced the trampoline into space training at NASA. Together, George Nissen and Scott Carpenter would eventually create a game for astronauts using specially modified trampolines. Carpenter called it "the best conditioning exercise for space travel." Naming the game "Spaceball" was an obvious choice. Combining elements of volleyball and basketball, bouncing players try to put a ball through a hole in a net. If your opponent fails to catch the ball, you get a point. Behind each player a special Spaceball trampoline tilts vertically on each end so in addition to bouncing on your feet, you are able to fall backwards and rebound just as easily. The game combines aerobic exercise and manual dexterity with balance and body control, offering a great workout.

One group of female gymnasts who trained at Ann Arbor Gymkhana became well known in the niche world of Spaceball competition. (See advertisement below.) In 1965, four of these gymnasts traveled to New York City for a Sports Illustrated photo shoot covering the sport. "Like astronauts in orbit, the aerial gymnasts on these pages counteract the force of gravity as they volley the ball in a fast-moving new game called Spaceball." The photos displayed the gymnasts, clad in bright red leotards, on Spaceball trampolines.

The Fitness Business

Behind the athletic success and good vibes of Ann Arbor Gymkhana was the stark financial reality of running a business. Despite his hard work, and the enormous support he gave local athletes, Don Botsford rarely turned a profit. In a 2001 Ann Arbor Observer article, the grim details were shared. According to Botsford, he earned just $5,800 in his first year of business and "didn't make anything". His income in 1959 was $1,200. In 1960 it was only $268. In 1961 Ann Arbor Gymkhana finished in the red with a loss of $246. Don shared that the business had about 200 regulars in its heyday, during the 60s and 70s. Thousands came to take trampoline lessons, casually jump, or play Spaceball, but "the numbers never added up". Ann Arbor Gymkhana was often crowded in the winter, but summers were lean. As a married man with four children, he worked multiple jobs outside of the fitness center to make ends meet. Sign painter, bookstore clerk, and selling hot dogs at A&W were all on the list.

Despite the financial struggle, Don Botsford was committed to keeping Ann Arbor Gymkhana open. He wasn't in it for the money, he was simply passionate about fitness. In 1965, he added a sauna - the first public sauna in Ann Arbor - to the building. In 1967, Ann Arbor Gymkhana doubled in size and enlarged shower and locker rooms. In 1971 the interior balcony was extended to make room for selling health supplements.

Other fitness centers were starting to appear in the area, which took customers away from Ann Arbor Gymkhana. In 1974 a million dollar Vic Tanny health club was opened in Ann Arbor. It featured cardio equipment, a swimming pool, Finnish saunas, whirlpool mineral baths, handball and paddleball courts, sun & steam rooms, special diet plans, and lots of instructors. Vic Tanny advertisements featuring women in bikinis were a level of business competition that Ann Arbor Gymkhana had never seen before. Don Botsford's facility still appealed to children, but many local adults left him behind for the flashier new businesses in town. He decided that his business must grow with the times, and began to design a new dream facility.

Unfortunately, a new Ann Arbor Gymkhana never came to be. After numerous attempts to secure the funds needed to build a state of the art fitness center, Don Botsford finally closed his business in 1986. Ann Arbor Gymkhana was just shy of 30 years old. He went on to pursue other ventures, namely a nature preserve on the edge of the city, but nothing had the spark of the original Ann Arbor Gymkhana. Botsford never gave up on his commitment to bring the public a form of fitness that was fun. His obituary, published in 2011, mentioned "He was still actively instructing trampoline and spaceball at the time of his death".