WHICH TUMBLE TRACK SHOULD I BUY?

The sport of cheerleading doesn’t just happen in the gym. on the mat. If you’ve ever been around any combination of cheerleaders, you know that they’re always moving. They’re always doing motions, stunting and Tumbling. Like, everywhere.

Most coaches will tell you that practicing with the team isn’t enough, and that if your athlete wants to improve, they need to be doing things at home. Usually the first thing the athletes want to be doing is tumbling. In fact, one of the most common questions I hear cheer moms asking is, ‘which tumble track should I get?” There are a few things to consider when buying a tumble track, so here is my best advice on what to keep in mind when purchasing a tumble track for your athlete:

For your convenience, I have included links to the products I use in this post. I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. I only recommend products I would use myself! 

NAME BRAND VS “OFF BRAND”

Most people will use the term “Air Track” as a blanket term for all tumble tracks. They’re not wrong, but there is a “name brand” tumble track called “AirTrack.” I haven’t tried multiple brands so I can’t make a comparison. I will say that we bought our daughter this Fb Sport Tumble Track from Amazon, and it got her through her level 5, 6 and now her college level tumbling, so I am skeptical of name brands making a huge difference.

Here’s the one we got our daughter:

HOW LONG SHOULD THE TUMBLE TRACK BE?

The length of your tumble track depends on whether your athlete wants to work on standing or running tumbling. Let’s assume they want to work on both at home. For athletes with Level 1, Level 2 or even Level 3 running tumbling skills, you don’t necessarily need 20 feet of mat at home. They can always start running from off the mat and do their actual tumbling onto the mat.

You can always get a longer tumble mat and make it double as a slip ‘n slide, though.

HOW WIDE SHOULD THE TUMBLE TRACK BE?

This will also depend on your athlete’s skill level. Here’s a great rule of thumb: The lower the skill level, the wider the tumble mat should be. This gives them plenty of room for error on their basic skills.

HOW THICK SHOULD THE TUMBLE TRACK BE?

The thicker the tumble track (think depth), the more “give” it will have. Choosing your mat’s thickness and firmness when you blow it up at home will depend on whether your cheerleader is doing All Star or High School cheer. All Star has a bouncier floor called a spring floor, and High School and College cheer has a more firm mat called a dead mat. The thinner and firmer your tumble track is, the closer it’s going to feel like a dead mat for your athlete.

So to review, as a rule of thumb: The lower the level, the wider and softer you want the mat to be. The more running tumbling your athlete wants to do at home, the longer your tumble mat should be.

Of course, there are other things to consider, so definitely check in with your athlete’s coaches on what he or she will do best with at home before you make your purchase, but hopefully the information above gave you some direction.

I’ll give you fair warning, though: there isn’t a tumble track on earth that prevents your favorite lamp from getting broken, or your living Room from turning into your athlete’s personal gym!

Happy shopping!