West Atlanta Parkour and Freerunning, in partnership with Team Avian, Raggedy Skate Shack, and the Douglas County Parks and Rec. Department, is hosting a community kickoff event and jam to officially introduce parkour and freerunning to the Douglas County community. The event is Saturday, August 29th, from 4 to 9 pm.
We are based out of Deer Lick Park at the Family Fun Center, which has a free skateboard park and a pro shop, a putt-putt course, kiddie playyground, disc golf, and dog park, so it is a well used family area. We are having to build our own obstacles for this event, until plans are completed for a Fitness and Agility area at the park. We are working with the JROTC and Boy Scouts, along with the SkillsUSA club and the Chamber of Commerce, in trying to build an area with vaulting obstacles, post mazes and balance beam mazes, a scaling wall, a beginners pit with a cushioned floor, overhead ladders, chin-up bars, monkey bars, and a full military style obstacle course. Our goal with the park is to give adolescents, teens, and adults their very own "playground" where they can have so much fun goofing off with their friends that they will forget they are "exercising" and doing something healthy.
We would like to invite any interested traceurs and traceuses to come help us show the community what parkour is all about. We will be giving demos and mini-lessons, teaching safety, explaining the philosophy and health benefits, and garnering support for the park. I have personally invited every P.E. teacher in the county school system to the event. We are hoping to expand the number of school-based teams with the goal of having a parkour team in every middle and high school within two years. West Atlanta Parkour is dedicated to reaching kids who are not involved in "mainstream" sports and teaching them about exercise as a fun and healthy lifestyle activity.
Planned follow-up activities include regularly scheduled open practice sessions at the park three afternoons a week, and presentations at PTA meetings at every school in our county. We are still awaiting word on entering a float in the town Labor Day parade, and having demonstrations at the September Community Days activities at Douglas County Courthouse. So far we have received 100% positive responses from the community, so we are very excited about the success of this project and our hopes of reaching out to the youth in our area.
www.westatlantaparkour.webs.comparkourmom@gmail.com
