David-Pagnon.com
David Pagnon

Parkour

Parkour

Letter to the parkour athletes (and to the community)

Letter to the parkour athletes (and to the community)

We all have dreams. Dreams of glory or riches, as well as dreams of adventure, of accomplishment, of acknowledgement, and much more. Those dreams are an incredible strength—as well as a serious vulnerability. All it takes is someone playing cleverly enough on those strings, and even those who are most firmly rooted in their beliefs can be persuaded to abandon their principles and dance along.

For those who don’t know the context: parkour is developing quietly at the moment, taking on challenges along the way as any nascent discipline has to do. Parkour is creating its own experience, and its evolution is guided by the community.

But in the last year, a new actor has appeared: the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG)

Manifesto for an independent parkour [FIG petition archive]

Manifesto for an independent parkour [FIG petition archive]

I wrote this text a bit less than a year ago, when the news was dropped. I didn’t publish this petition by myslef: as the secretary of my federation, it was best to keep a neutral image at first. The situation being not much brighter now, I confirm my viewpoint by publishing it in a personnal capacity.