High-flying freerunners are hoping to raise enough money to build specialised facilities where they can practise their urban art-form.
Tom Whitehead, 12 (left) and Jack Wakefield, 15, demonstrate freerunning. (130212MW4-31)
Urban Dash is a freerunning group based in Bingham. It has around 20 members, aged 11 to 17.
Freerunning is a form of urban acrobatics in which participants use the city and rural landscape.
However, with nowhere but the town’s streets to practise, the group often find they are asked to move on or are branded as youths causing trouble.
Jack Wakefield, 15, who leads the group, said they were hoping to secure enough funding to create Parkour facilities — concrete structures and metal railings that freerunners can jump, climb, balance and swing on — in Bingham.
Some businesses have already donated money or agreed to sponsor the group to help them realise their dream. The idea is also being backed by Bingham Youth Club.
“It is frustrating because there is nowhere we can go,” said Jack, who first started freerunning after watching demonstrations on the internet.
“We don’t litter and we don’t swear. We are just doing what we love and if someone asks us to move on then we do, but we also try to explain what we are about.
“Freerunning is a self-taught discipline and the group feeds off each other, learning different moves and aspiring to be better.
“We love the adrenaline rush and the fact that there are no limits. At the moment the only limitation is not having any facilities.”
Urban Dash have their own patented logo and are selling their branded merchandise to help raise money.
Many of the members progressed into freerunning from gymnastics, attracted by the fact it is devoid of rules and a constant need for perfection.
George Jarvis, 15, said: “With this, you can learn in your own time and develop your own style with no one telling you what you are doing is wrong.
“People see us as a bunch of youths jumping around and automatically assume that we are up to no good.
“But we are not just hanging around, we are doing something creative.”
The group has approached the town council, asking it to allocate land on which to create Parkour facilities where they would be free to train.
The council’s recreation and cemetery committee chairman, Mr John Stockwood, said they understood most of the play areas in the town were for children under 12 and suggested the teen play area at Wynhill would be well suited for Parkour facilities.
Mr Malcolm Barham said although the council could not make any promises to deliver the facilities the group desired in the time scale they wanted, he offered to work with them to help achieve their goal and raise funds for the project.
“You guys are amazing. I would never have done anything like this at your age,” he said.
“Don’t expect it to happen in six months but what you are doing is leaving a legacy for more young people to follow.”
