What is Parkour, how can you get involved in free running and is it dangerous?
BRITAIN is the first country in the world to officially recognise Parkour as a sport.
Parkour, which is also known as freerunning, involves the climbing and jumping around buildings and outdoor terrain.
President of Parkour UK, Sebastien Foucan, said: “This is brilliant recognition for a discipline that started off as child’s play with my friends almost 30 years ago.
Sebastian, who featured in James Bond's Casino Royale, said that the sport is more than just jumping and is a health driven way of life.
But what does Parkour involve, is it dangerous and where did it come from?
What is Parkour?
According to Parkour UK, the exhilarating sport was born in France in the 1980s by a group of nine men.
It was then called Art du Deplacement but later changed its name to the French word parcours meaning route or course.
In order to translate the sport to an English audience, freerunning was also used as a name.
The sport is described as a non-competitive physical discipline, where participants ";move freely over and through any terrain using only the abilities of the body".
The sport aims to push ones physical and mental limits and claims to improve fitness, spatial awareness, balance, agility and creative vision.
How can you get involved in free running?
Parkour UK's chief executive Eugene Minogue says the sport is offered in a wide range of schools, universities and colleges.
There are also 50 Parkour Parks to try, many of which offer lessons to help you get to grips with the sport.
To further your knowledge you can do the Parkour UK .
Is free running dangerous?
Many experts have raised concerns over the safety of Parkour.
A recent tragedy saw British teenage freerunner lose his life on the Paris Metro during a Parkour ‘train surfing’ incident.
Nye Frankie Newman was killed on New Year’s Day in the French capital, his parkour group confirmed.
His friends deny he was freerunning, but French transport authorities say he was “between two carriages” before he was killed.
Freerunning has been criticised for encouraging trespass and recklessness, and several deaths have occurred in the past from stunts that have gone wrong.
Cambridge University once denounced the practice saying: “Not only is it trespassing, but endangering public health and their own health.”
However the Director of Sport at Sport England, Phil Smith, said: “The safety and enjoyment of those taking part is paramount, so congratulations to Parkour UK on achieving the standards and showing their ambition to grow even further.”
Parkour UK's chief executive Eugene Minogue said: “There are sporting risks of injury to participants as with any sport or physical activity.
"Parkour UK as the National Governing Body has taken appropriate steps to minimise the risk of injury.”
How does a sport become recognised?
In order for a sport to become officially recognised, the national governing body of the activity must apply to the home country sports councils.
The council of Europe say that the sport must fit specific criteria if it is to be recognised.
The sport must be a physical activity which is aimed at "expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels".
Even if a sport is recognised, has clarified that this is not a guarantee of funding or that they have approved the quality of its programmes.
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