THE BRITISH PARKOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS!

credit: BPC on instagram

Comp Ready: A Judges’ Perspective on the British Parkour Championships

This year saw the inaugural national competition for parkour- The British Parkour Championships. Athletes from all across the UK descended on Street Monkeys in Preston to compete in Style, Speed and Skill. Fluidity Freerun Academy had two of its own on the judging panel. But how does judging work for a sport like Parkour and what does this first taste of competition mean for the sport here at Fluidity?

Judging fairly in a close community

Our Director, Otis Larkin had the exciting opportunity to take on the kongsize task as Head Judge. This was no easy feat and getting used to the role took time, but ultimately Otis got into the swing of it by the second day. As Head Judge, Otis was required to take a diplomatic overview of scoring and enable all the judges to make consistent and fair decisions. 

As a tight-knit community, it would be impossible not to recognise Parkour Athletes we all admire: Ed Scott, Rachel Gough, Megan Powell, Tim Champion and George Prior to name only a few, as well as newcomers and youngsters like Mia Albel and Joel Rudkin. This sets the important precedent of creating a welcoming environment and a level playing field of ensuring admiration and prior knowledge of skill level does not cloud the judgement of what each athlete presents in their runs on the day. Transparency and consistency are paramount to ensure fairness, with every member of the judging panel weighing in equally to the decision-making process. 

Judging is a skill

The greatest challenge was understanding what the judges were looking for and we have an exclusive insight into this from Cole Kulina, Skill Comp Judge for the champs:

“I was given specific skills that I was in charge of judging, such as a vault or tic-tac to  precision, and I had to make sure it was stuck perfectly”

The challenges were timed, with about only a minute per skill - putting pressure on athletes to tick off skills in a single attempt - known as a ‘One Bang’. A perfect stick first time earns you double points - so training your sticks when preparing for competition is a key component and keeps alive the traditional garner of respect in the parkour community.

Without a fair system, this could be catastrophic for the future of the BPC, but when done well, all athletes and spectators can have an incredible experience seeing the best of the best in the sport perform and set the stage for the next generation of athletes.

A sense of community 

Cole, alongside Coach Deni also had the chance to run workshops; leading beginner and intermediate sessions, with stations on wall moves such as tic-tacs, the classic break roll and vaults. With the surrounding positive atmosphere from all the attendees, many left inspired about the possibility of their future selves training to become an athlete just like they had witnessed - an incredible feeling for anyone coaching their passion!

As much as a smooth run programme and excellent judges ensure a competition doesn’t have a false start, the parkour community itself is what truly makes it come alive. 

Otis highlighted that it was fantastic to work alongside Parkour UK, Ben Lynch the Operations Director, all the judges and everyone else involved with a huge shoutout to Sean Newsham from Street Monkeys for “his hard and dedicated work on the champs… Street Monkeys did a fantastic job”. Competitions are a unique way to meet and connect with other athletes, as well as coaches, gyms and sponsors. This creates opportunities for growing the sport through partnerships to support other venues that are committed to nurturing the next athletes. As a keen spectator, seeing yourself represented in competitors who all had a range of abilities can spark the motivation to go back to your local gym and train to competition level ready for next year.

Parkour Wales?

Now both Otis and Cole have returned after an inspiring weekend, what’s next for Fluidity Freerun Academy? 

The understanding and insight gained from the experience of judging a competition at national level has put us in a unique and ‘great position to coach and manage a Welsh Squad we are going to put together’ Otis explains. The British Parkour Championships has provided the springboard to place Wales on the map, with Fluidity Freerun Academy set to launch a brand new invite only Athlete Development Programme.

‘The aim of the [Athlete Development Programme] is going to be to train up some young people to be competition ready within a year or two, help them benefit from my insight and understanding of the scoring system and what judges are looking for”

With all this to come, could you be the next competitor and take home the gold for Wales in speed, skill or style? Watch this space, champs!

All images taken from British Parkour Championships instagram page