By Luke East
A new parkour course, aimed to provide 12- to 17-year-olds with something exciting and physical to do, is be built near the Te Awamutu skate park.
Parkour involves traversing obstacles in a man-made or natural environment by running, climbing and jumping.
The course expected to open later this year is one aspect of Waipā District Council’s Centennial Park upgrade, which also includes a bike skills pump track, an extension to the skate park and new restrooms.
It is hoped that the facility will bring enthusiasts from across the Waikato to Te Awamutu and also to revitalise the south side of Te Awamutu.
Parkour NZ chief executive Damien Puddle says the new course is exciting and comes after the success of the country’s first purpose-built parkour park, a project involving Hamilton City Council at Innes Common.
The new course is being developed by Waipā District Council with support from Parkour NZ.
Damien Puddle said it would be a great place for young parkour enthusiasts to explore, develop their skills, and learn how to assess risk safely.
Waikato-based parkour coach Rhett Flight people interested in parkour should “start small”.
“The big sensational stuff on social media is done by people training for most of their lives”.
