Topic: California Unite!

[Hopefulpilot]

So, I have to say I'm a little jealous of other state boards, because they seem to be more united and doing things together than California is.

This board seems pretty dead. I mean, there's always people on asking for someone to come train with them and whatnot, but we never do anything as a state, you know? Hawaii has a Goal of the Month going on, South Carolina has the roll call thing... It feels like we're dead here.

I know there are the separate groups: SFPK, SacPK, etc., but is there any way we California Traceurs/Traceuses can become closer knit or something on the boards? Is there a project we, as a community, can work to do, that will help us get to know each other better? I know Colorado, Hawaii and Chicago Traceurs better than anyone in my own state.

[Corndogg]

Personally I think it's because in CA the local communities are much more developed than in a lot of other places.  In some states there is only one entity, whereas in CA there are several which are thriving.  Jams are organized on a local level, not here on APK.  On SFPK there's 2 big monthly sessions along with 14 (!) standing weekly sessions around the Bay, and that's not including BApk sessions which adds even more.  Then you add PK Cali into the mix, which is largely SoCal, and there's a ton more. 

There was recently a big jam where SFPK, SacPK, BApk and more members went down to SoCal and jammed with the PK Cali people and it was a big success, there will definitely be more of those soon.

While I'm typically focused on growing our local scene, it is a balance between local, regional, statewide and nationwide interaction.  I think identifying the various local communities and setting up easy contacts is a good step to help facilitate visits, but I'm definitely open to suggestions on how to tie CA together more.  State jams are definitely a part of that, but if you're talking about more online stuff then I'm not sure - I think in CA a lot of the online stuff is really just a representation of the actual communities and since those are large local communities the online stuff tends to stay local, and not on APK.  I have been meaning to get on PK Cali more.

If you haven't joined any of the local CA sites, I highly recommend doing so!

[Hopefulpilot]

Thanks for your input.

 Yes, I thought of joining Sacramento's group (the closest group to Redding), but that's three hours away and $120 in gas for me. Right now there is NO WAY for me to even think about going to any jams or anything there. Any jams farther than that are completely out of the question. I guess I could go ahead and join SacPK and see what happens.

 I was thinking something like a statewide "Leave no Trace" day, or... well, that's all I can think of right now. I noticed when we had the national "Leave no Trace" on Parkour Day in June that Traceurs/Traceuses all over the country pulled together and did something at the same time, though not in the same place. That was the first time that I felt that even though I'm all by myself here for now, I DO belong to a group.

 Personally, I'm shy of attending any jams because I'm still getting conditioned and can't DO anything yet. If there were something like a "Leave no Trace" (or whatever else could be thought up) I would be more comfortable meeting the other Traceurs\euses that I know are around here to pick up garbage, without having to worry about feeling like a grounded blob that can't do anything. Maybe I'm wrong, but I assume there are others out there that feel this way?

 Of course, it doesn't have to be "Leave no Trace." That's just what I'm thinking about right now. If anyone has better ideas, we'd love to hear them. Or, if this whole idea is just plain dumb, I'll shut up. 

[Corndogg]

Not dumb at all!    It's definitely hard to get started alone, many of us have been there, or are still there.

Two options:
You can post here - http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3309 and also contact Zack Weldon whos up in Tuolumne.
You can also contact Victor or Messenger (Billy) from SacPK and they can help set up a session for you if you can ever visit, and get a nice full day of instruction in to get you started and make the trip worthwhile.  I'm happy to help connect you with any of these guys as well.

I think on the whole, the parkour community is really great about welcoming newcomers.  Many of us started from absolute zero!  So having been there and wanting the discipline to grow, and grow properly which includes helping people get started off on the right foot and training safely with best practices, please don't be shy! 


Back to topic, a Leave No Trace Day would be great.  SacPK is also doing a charity run on Thanksgiving Day.  There's also Training Logs and the Situp/Pushup/Pullup/Miles ran tracking threads on APK and SFPK that are fun to contribute to.  It does sound like something more regular, and local, would be beneficial though.  More thoughts from everyone?

[BearMills]

Hey one of the problems is that California is a huge state and there are tons of communities. Many people reside to using their local boards or using Pkcali because it's a nice developed site. And since California is a big state it's hard for people to travel to local jams. But I will talk with Cornn a bit later I have to go ill be back on in a few hours.

[Lonnie Tisdale]

I totally agree with whats been said here but I dont think creating more redundancy is the answer, which is mostly what I'm seeing now. How about some actual cooporation between communities? I think SFPK becoming an APK affiliate was probably a good step but I'm still not happy with how PKCali is left on the sidelines despite it's goal of being a statewide representative. Unification has been one of my biggest goals but I feel like people would rather stake claim to something as their own then find a common ground.

[Corndogg]

I totally agree with whats been said here but I dont think creating more redundancy is the answer, which is mostly what I'm seeing now. How about some actual cooporation between communities? I think SFPK becoming an APK affiliate was probably a good step but I'm still not happy with how PKCali is left on the sidelines despite it's goal of being a statewide representative. Unification has been one of my biggest goals but I feel like people would rather stake claim to something as their own then find a common ground.

   You know I'm down Lonnie!  Let's get some talks going this month, maybe we can each bring a few people to the table, then start some discussions on how to better integrate and share, and set up a model that we can really get rolling in 2010?

SFPK really is focused on the "Greater San Francisco Bay Area" and that should be it...

[Hopefulpilot]

My apologies for the whole wanting to get to know people in California thing. I can see how this board would be redundant, and I'm really sorry for the hassle it seems to have caused. 

I'll join a community, and stick with that.

Again, I'm so sorry!

[BearMills]

hopefulpilot no worries Im not against it I am for it considering this board is one of the quietest boards so don't apologize im going to try and work to make the board better!

[Brett Robert]

Yeah, Deborah, no need to apologize.  It's good to get everybody in California talking about the fact that there are people not being served by the local communities.  Most of us in California that are into the idea of using the internet as a means of organizing communities for parkour are members of several communities.  I'm a registered member of APK, SFPK, BAPK and PK Cali.  I mostly post on SFPK, that's my online home.  I come on APK to stay in touch with PK news, friends across the country and also because there are several excellent resources on APK (the Diet and General Fitness Forums) that surpass the information available on any other parkour website I've found.

Often I go on BAPK or PK Cali to say hi to friends or follow a conversation that can often roam across several boards (which is the redundancy that Lonnie and Corndogg are talking about).  Perhaps the whole setup isn't ideal, but it does work.  There are lots of experienced, friendly and active traceurs across California and leaders from several communities are working together to strengthen the ties between us all.

When someone speaks up, like you did Deborah, it let's the community know that there's something we can do better, so thank you for doing so.  Sometimes the change has to happen at a community level, sometimes it's at the individual level.  I hope you figure out a way to get training with some people soon, you're always welcome at SFPK events and I know PK Cali is the same way!  Register on one or both and start a thread for your area and who knows, you might find that someone's out there training in your neighborhood and you never even knew it!

[Alex L.]

Why do I have to be so lonely in Central Cali.

[Brett Robert]

Where in Central Cali are you?

[Alex L.]

Hanford, can't find anyone but I'm looking to start something soon when I try to creat a club at my highschool in a couple of years.