Parkour Taking Steps Toward Olympic Inclusion

(ATR) Fifteen influential members of the Olympic family met with president Thomas Bach at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, while just outside a youthful group of the growing parkour movement gathered to participate in one of the sport’s "jams."

As Bach and the Olympic leaders discussed Olympic Agenda 2020 during an Olympic Summit this past Saturday, the sizable group of youth performed a series of physical movements, including flips, utilizing the nearby Roman Ruins in Vidy Park.

"It’s part coincidence, part good fortune that we happen to be here at the same time as so many well-placed people within the Olympic Movement," parkour founder David Belle told Around the Rings.

"It’s not simply about influencing leaders though; we’re here with a group of young people who want to show with passion what they've found as a passion for themselves," said the 41-year-old Frenchman.

Parkour is a sport or physical discipline – its roots derived from military obstacle course training – where participants engage in a series of controlled movements, navigating natural obstacles to move from point A to B.

"It’s about giving these young people – who show an immense interest in our sport – the opportunity to express themselves and be recognized for the strength of what they’re doing," Belle said about the energetic group that gathered on a beautiful late morning along the shores of Lake Geneva.

Belle, a French actor and stunt coordinator, discussed his hopes and wishes for the burgeoning movement.

"Over the last 20 years, we were getting some recognition, but it was media recognition. It wasn't necessarily a sport that was being recognized by the rest of the world of sport, so it felt like something was missing." Belle said. "This is why we’re here in Lausanne – to talk with the world of sport about recognition."

"With recognition and the creation of a new international movement of parkour comes the opportunity to put in a place a whole range of short-term and medium-term programs that also includes humanitarian work and using it as a tool for social development," Belle said.

Parkour’s Roots

Developed in France in the late 80s and enhanced since through films, documentaries and advertisements, parkour appears to be moving in a direction toward more organized sport, possibly involving teams and judged competitions.

Belle based the modern version of parkour upon the teachings and training of his father Raymond, who began to develop and apply it as a tactic while serving in the French military.

"A lot of his life had been about parkour and a certain philosophy of moving through life using physical activity, so when we started to apply that to the games that we played as children, it started to take shape as something more serious," said Belle, referring to his father’s initial contribution to the sport.

"When we started to meet high-level athletes and discovered that we were jumping as high as them, and with the way that we trained, we suddenly realized how special this was," said the French founder about the sport’s early days.

"That’s when parkour really took shape."

Parkour at the Olympic Games?

As the Olympic Games appear on the verge of substantial change as part of Bach’s Agenda 2020 and the new leader’s unwavering commitment to youth, Parkour appears to be poised to expand globally and perhaps someday join the Olympic program.

"Of course, it is absolutely possible to one day imagine that parkour should be in the Olympic Games because sport clearly evolves," Belle said, while the young participants continued flipping and executing fluid movements at the ruins.

"Sport clearly needs to evolve, and we have managed to create an evolution that seems to resonate with a vast number of young people, and in fact people of all ages.

"For me, one day of course, this is something that should happen and something that I can see happening," Belle said passionately about his sport becoming part of the Olympic Games.

"Certainly, it’s possible."

Written by Brian Pinelli

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