Parkour UK

We are delighted to advise that Chris Wright of Northern Focus Parkour is to be a baton bearer in Shetland on the Queen’s Baton Relay (QBR) for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Chris will will have the unique honour of carrying the Queen’s Baton as it travels the length and breadth of Scotland on the way to its final destination at the Opening Ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. By the time it arrives in Scotland, the baton will have been on an epic 248 day journey around all the nations and territories of the Commonwealth. Take a look at the Queen’s Baton Relay route, to get an indication of where it will visit on its journey through your local area.

Chris Wright said:

“I was surprised but absolutely delighted to be selected, didn’t quite believe the email until I read it a few times. I consider this to be an absolute honour, to be selected to be a part of the Commonwealth Games is fantastic and I don’t think I will forgot it anytime soon.I was nominated for the voluntary work I have done with setting up Northern Focus Parkour, Notion Circus Acts and Mind Your Head. On the day I will be just focusing on not falling over or dropping the baton! Being a Baton Bearer doesn’t just mean that I have done something to deserve it, it means that all of the guys and girls that are in both of the youth groups have worked hard to get the groups noticed and growing. So I suppose I will be thinking about how far the groups have come and where they will be heading in the future.”

 

Our facility development partners Freemove are installing a yet more #ParkourParks this year!

Coatbridge Parkour Park set to be UK’s LARGEST!

Freemove will be installing an extension to the existing Coatbridge Parkour Park, which will see the site overtake LEAP in London, as the UK’s largest Parkour Park.

The funders for the Coatbridge Parkour Park are North Lanarkshire Council: Coatbridge Local Area Partnership, North Lanarkshire Council Community Information and Learning, Waste Recycling and Environment Ltd (WREN) and Sport Scotland Active Places Legacy Fund.

CultureNL Ltd project manage and deliver the projects on behalf of North Lanarkshire Council. Our members Coatbridge Parkour are partners in this project and have had full involvement form the outset, in particular Peter Mc Kee.

 

Two new Parkour Parks in Rickmansworth, London, England! 

Two New Parkour Parks will be installed in Rickmansworth at Croxley Green & Mill End

Freemove and Parkour Generations carried out consultation with the local user groups to find out what they wanted from each of the projects.  Traceurs highlighted the Freemove Kings Lynn install, liking the variety of movements which could be carried out and that it could be used by a variety of ages and abilities. The facilities is being funded by Three Rivers Council.  

#MoreParkourParks

Today, 26th March 2014 we received confirmation that our pre-application for recognition has been approved.

The letter from Sport England, on behalf of the UK Recognition Panel (which is made up of representatives from Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport Scotland, Sport NI & UK Sport), confirmed our pre-application for recognition has been successful. The decision follows our re-submission of the pre-application for recognition with the UK Sports Councils on the 4th November 2013.

We implemented a number of changes at our 2013 Annual General Meeting, to ensure that the re-submission fully addressed the points raised by UK Recognition Panel in their decision letter dated 12th July 2013, following our original submission of a pre-application on 1st March 2013.

While our pre-application has been successful this does not yet grant recognition,  however the approval of the pre-application now means that we are being invited to submit a full-application for recognition (which is essentially the final phase to the application process for recognition).

Parkour UK will now be invited to a meeting with the UK Recognition Panel in May/June to discuss the full-application submission process in further detail, the time-scales for the submission and time-scales for when we are likely to receive the decision on recognition. Following the meeting in May/June, Parkour UK will then proceed with submitting the full-application for recognition, which is likely to be this summer following our 2014 AGM, which will be held in July.

This is a very significant and positive milestone in the on-going development and recognition of Parkour/Freerunning in the UK, but also worldwide.

We will keep the community, members and partners updated on the progress towards the full-application for recognition. We will also be providing a full briefing at our 2014 AGM in July.

#HistoryInTheMaking

Our facility development partners Freemove are installing a new #ParkourPark in Crynant, South Wales & Endcliffe Parkour Park, Sheffield this Summer!

Crynant Parkour Park, South Wales

Crynant Parkour Park is a joint effort by Play Works, Groundwork Bridgend & Neath Port Talbot and Crynant Community Council.

Local young people, Traceurs/Freerunners highlighted a need for a Parkour Park in their area and the Community Council allocated a space next to a Skate Park and MUGA that is ideal for a Parkour training facility.

To assess the popularity of Parkour in the area the group asked local Parkour group & Parkour UK members Fluidity Freerun to host taster sessions. The sessions were a huge hit and the Parkour Park is due to be installed this summer.

Endcliffe Parkour Park, Sheffield

In 2011 the need for a Parkour Park in Sheffield was highlighted by local groups & practitioners. Sheffield City Council have secured £38,000 to provide a new #ParkourPark in Endcliffe park.

Endcliffe Park is a large park in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The park was opened in 1887 to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

Endcliffe Park comprises parkland as well as woodland. The portion along Rustlings Road is grassy and used as a recreation whilst the Northern border, separated from the recreation grounds by the Porter Brook, is woodland, and is traversed by many paths.

As well as several monuments a new playground was added in 2008 with many attractions for children. The park often hosts circuses and other events in the summer. There is also a cafe.

The new Parkour Park will mean this park is one of the most comprehensively equipment parks in Northern England and will become a leading facility for Parkour in the North. The new Parkour Park installed this summer.

If you would like more information on how to begin the process of getting a Parkour Park locally please contact us on info@parkouruk.org or 020 3544 5834 or our partners Freemove.

#MoreParkourParks 

Today we pilot the Parkour UK CYQ Level 2 Certificate in Instructing Parkour/Freerunning Fitness Training (QCF) qualification.

Following delivery of the pilot course we will be rolling out the course across the UK from Spring 2014.

For more information on our on our #Fitness qualification or any of our other Awards, CPD & Qualifications covering Leading, Coaching, Teaching or Instructing please contact us on info@parkouruk.org