Appeal for support for ‘Free Running’ in Thame

TWO young Thame men are trying to gain support for a sport that involves jumping, leaping and acrobatic moves to travel around the town.

Free Running, as its know, or Parkour, the original name for this discipline with French origins, has had a bad press but Robert Fairweather and his friends, believe that it can build self-confidence, respect, fitness and creativity in young people.

They have approached the town council and the local police about providing a Parkour park in Thame, where they and other young people can train and learn the skills to do Free Running safely and effectively.

Rob told ThameNews.Net: “We have approached the local police about Free Running in Thame but they say that it would encourage anti-social behaviour with groups of young people hanging around, that someone not participating could get hurt and that there could be damage to property.

“We understand these concerns but the idea is that people are properly taught to chose benches etc that are sturdy and to do the moves in a safe as well as an aesthetic way. Why would we want to damage our urban playground and ruin our own fun?

“Proper Free Running is nothing to do with people jumping across roof spaces and getting injured as seen on TV. Its all about knowing your limits, moving in an aesthetically pleasing manner by flipping over obstacles etc, and importantly, what we do is spend a large amount of time training to prepare out bodies for the physical rigours of the activity before venturing onto the streets.”

Free Running already takes place all over the world, including London, Mexico and Austria as will as other places in the UK including in Leicester, Salisbury and Bristol, where the local community police officer helped to set up training facilities.

Rob explained that he has been told by Thame Town Council that if he can show that there is sufficient support and they come up with a business plan, the town council would look into supporting the setting up a Parkour Park.

Find out more about Free Running, by visiting LINK