Ambassador
Innovator
- USA Gymnastics National Team Coach
- Founder, Colorado Aerials Gymnastics
- USA Gymnastics High Performance Team Coordinator (2018–2021)
- Tumbl Trak Ambassador since 1990
Experience and a creative mind led Tom Forster to innovate several iconic products with Tumbl Trak, each helping athletes to progress in their skills safely. The Forster Bar debuted in 2011 and is recognized in the industry for being one of the most simple, yet versatile and useful tools on the market. Similarly, Fun Sticks add endless options for visual cuing in drills at all levels. Check out these game-changing products below!
Tom brought his first product idea to Tumbl Trak after years of using it in his gym, Colorado Aerials. The original Forster Bar was homemade, constructed from wood scraps and a dowel. Although this version occasionally left splinters in the carpet, Tom was confident in its effectiveness.
The Forster Bar by Tumbl Trak made its official debut in 2011. Before finalizing its shape, size, and material, Tom collaborated with the Tumbl Trak Research and Development Team to test several versions of the Forster Bar.
Some may recall that the early versions of the Forster Bar featured a wood base covered with a textured outer skin. However, after years on the market, the Tumbl Trak Team observed that the constant rotation and strain on the bar caused the hexagon bolt to experience extra stress, resulting in the bar spinning.
With new materials becoming available to our team, we went back to the drawing board. Tumbl Trak’s R&D Team enhanced the design to include a solid, sturdy, molded hexagon with a durable PPR rubber-coated bar. This version has been in circulation since 2015 and continues to be highly sought after by gyms worldwide.
Thanks to Tom Forster and the Forster Bar, athletes around the world can practice shifting their wrists and building strength and technique for bar handstands and basic tumbling shapes.
Once the Forster Bar project was underway, Tom Forster wasted no time introducing another, innovative concept to Tumbl Trak, known as the Fun Stick. Tom understood the importance of developing a technically correct handstand and how challenging a process it can be to achieve.
Fun Sticks improved handstand training, providing a station for athletes to self correct their handstands and find their perfect balance. Tom used carpet bonded foam on the wall, near the uneven bars. His idea to provide a foam “bumper” that could move to various positions on the wall led to the first prototype - a long rectangular semi-firm foam piece that could stick to the carpeted wall with Velcro.
The first version was quite big and bulky and somewhat awkward to use and maneuver.
Working with the Tumbl Trak R&D Team the optimal size was determined to be a 4-in x 4-in rectangle, but settling on the length of the Fun Stick was tricky. We saw the value of shorter versions - the width of an athlete’s shoulders or torso and knew we needed to make 1-ft and 2-ft versions. The longer 4-ft version was intended to be used along each side of the handstand, helping the athlete to feel when they were vertical.
Although we felt pretty confident in these later renditions, the Tumbl Trak R&D Team didn’t stop there. One of the questions we ask when we send prototypes for testing is “what more would you like this product to do?” Testers wondered if it would be possible to make the Fun Stick “stand up.”
Why, yes, it is possible!
Today, Tom Forster’s Fun Stick is used for handstand training, tumbling drills and progressions, obstacle courses and even games like PLINKO!
When Tom met Tumbl Trak...
Tom Forster began his relationship with Tumbl Trak long before the Forster Bar was invented and not long after the Original Tumbl Trak debuted in the early 1990s. Tom was among the short list of coaches who purchased the first Tumbl Traks as our Founder, Doug Davis recalls.
Doug visited Tom’s gym many times after that first visit, sharing equipment ideas and training techniques. Tom was a significant part of testing many Tumbl Trak products before they emerged on the market.
“When Tom’s order for a 9-ft Tumbl Trak came in, I was so intrigued I had to see what he was up to! I drove to his gym in Colorado to see it in action. Sure enough, the 9-ft Tumbl Trak led into his innovative truck bay pit where athletes were able to fly high and land safely. He was so creative in his setup - he was always thinking of inventive ways to help athletes learn skills.”
~ Doug Davis, Founder of Tumbl Trak
Tom has a keen eye for progressions and shaping.
Always glad to see our friends at National Congress.
Tom designed the FunSticks for handstand training!
The first designs of the Fun Sticks were really big!