Parkour fever in Jamaica?
Published:Wednesday | November 23, 2022 | 12:10 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
IN 2018 the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) approved parkour as an official discipline of the sport, and with the arrival of the first-ever pieces of parkour equipment, courtesy of the Pan American Gymnastics Union (PAGU), Jamaica Amateur Gymnastics Association (JAGA) president Nicole Grant-Brown expects to be competing internationally by the end of 2023.
Parkour originated on the streets, with the focus on getting from one point to another with efficiency and fluidity.
It was developed as an army training method but over time inspired the sporting event. Its use in action movies has helped the following of the sport to balloon.
A sort of obstacle course, a parkour facility is strewn with various blocks, walls and bars found in urban areas and to overcome them, athletes must use a range of techniques, such as the cat leap (saut de chat), arm jump (saut de bras), drop jump (saut de fond) and wall run (passe-muraille).
Grant-Brown revealed that this version of the sport is already quite popular among local male gymnasts and she anticipates rapid growth in parkour, as soon as the equipment are cleared.
“The president of the Pan American Gymnastics Union (Naomi Valenzzo) will be coming on the 27th (November) during the (FIG) technical committee meeting (to be held in Jamaica from the 25th-29th).
“And we are looking into a new discipline, parkour, not just artistic gymnastics,” she said.
“We will be having a (parkour) coaching course here on December 1 and 2. They have shipped the equipment already, which is at the wharf to be cleared. So we are really looking forward to this because parkour is a big thing.”
She noted that local male gymnasts have long shown an interest in parkour and spend much of their free time at training performing parkour skills and she believes this addition will be an instant local phenomenon.
“We just got the equipment, so we are just looking to start now. We had nothing before to start from, so the Pan American Gymnastics Union sent the equipment for us to start the programme. By next year, we should start competing internationally because there are different levels.
“We are at the introductory level but the kids are advanced. We already have boys at the gym doing it but they just do not have the equipment. So now that we get the equipment they can get to really practise. They just need to add the obstacles and learn the routines.
“So I expect to see more boys coming into the sport because this really captures them. This is what they love, and we really expect to see more interest in the sport.”