When looking for a Parkour facility it’s important to ask yourself these questions. Am I looking for a great Parkour Facility? Or am I looking for a great Parkour Program?
Some facilities in America are one or the other and the best ones are both. However, the ones that are both are very far and few. Tempest Freerunning Academy out in California has a beautiful facility and some of the worlds best coaches to teach the art of Freerunning. Hub Parkour Training facility has been growing for years and has a beautiful nearly 6,000 square foot Facility located 20 minutes outside of Boston. Apex School of Movement in Denver Colorado has been known for their facility and their ability to produce some of the greatest youth athletes.
And then there are the programs that have a beautiful facility but aren’t known for their ability to produce the best athletes. Brooklyn Zoo for example has an amazing build and is a very popular gym within the community, but is a highly mixed use facility that teaches much more than just the Discipline of Parkour. However, while they are not renowned for their parkour program, their coaching staff are of some of the best in the world. It is the Parkour NYC Community that runs a majority of their program. And together between Parkour NYC and Brooklyn Zoo they have an amazing parkour program and facility.
Things to watch out for in this are the programs that have a beautiful facility but no actual parkour coaching staff. A lot of business owners saw the opportunity that parkour had when it went mainstream and took advantage of it. The important question to always ask when choosing a facility is their involvement in the Parkour Community. If they don’t even know what you’re talking about, look elsewhere.
The final section of this is people with great parkour programs that lack a facility. The most interesting one in my opinion is The Movement Creative. They run their program almost completely outdoors, in schools, recreational facilities, etc. they don’t actually have a single permanent location that they use. Most of them are pop up set ups if they do build something. Their program has great leadership and all the important aspects required to run their program effectively. Likewise they also have some of the best coaches who also stem from the Parkour-NYC Community.
The common aspect of all of these great facilities and programs is their connection with the Parkour Community. Hub Parkour Training Center works with The Boston Commons Parkour Community. The Movement Creative and Brooklyn Zoo with Parkour NYC. Tempest Freerunning started off as one of the biggest Parkour communities in the United States and then built their facility around that.