In this blog series, we’re asking the same set of questions to freerunners and parkour practitioners with different experiences, from different places, grappling with different things, and seeing where we end up. The questions are around the theme of “small things'' and were inspired by some reflections after an almost-bad bail, which you can read more about here: https://www.parkouroutreach.com/new-blog/sweating-the-small-stuff-pt1
Sweating the Small Stuff pt. 2: Emily and Scott
In this blog series, we interview two different athletes for each instalment, and offer their answers side by side. The focus is on the small. We’re not talking the farthest, highest jumps or coolest stories. We might stumble into big topics, but the starting point is the everyday. This week, our interviewees are both Scotland based. Emily trains in Edinburgh, and Scott is based in Glasgow.
Events and Jams during a Pandemic
The situation with COVID has affected parkour training in many ways over 2020, and will continue to do so into 2021. But most noticeably – there has been a lack of community events and jams.
We believe that community events and jams are an important part of parkour for a number of reasons:
It provides a sense of community.
It brings people together.
It is an opportunity to share ideas and challenges with each other.
It is a chance to support each other to overcome challenges.
How have communities adapted?
The main restriction of the pandemic has been the lack of travel and also the inability to meet in large groups in person.
But how can we still get the benefits of community events and jams?
We have seen different communities being creative in using technology to continue the benefits of events and jams. We have highlighted a few of the approaches that we have seen in this post.