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The British Parkour Coaching Association is a not-for-profit association of members. It was set up on 6th January 2007 in response to the problems facing people looking to take up parkour and those facing existing practitioners trying to pass on their knowledge.
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Currently there is little support for anyone wishing to take up parkour. There are a few classes around the country but the demand for these sessions far exceeds the number available. Even if someone can be found who is willing to teach them, there is no guarantee that they are experienced or knowledgable enough to teach, because there is no standard for coaches to live up to. Due to the rapid growth in popularity the discipline has experienced and the demand for people to teach it, many people have ended up teaching before they are capable of doing so accurately, safely and effectively.
For people wishing to teach parkour to others there are a number of barriers. The lack of information about the discipline means that many organisations and venues are wary about getting involved in the activity, due to the unknown nature of the risk and the threat of legal action. This lack of information and the media bias towards the spectacular and dangerous has also made insurance companies reluctant to provide cover to coaches.
The other problem facing coaches is that there is little or no information available about teaching methods for parkour. Although some online support networks for practitioners have sprung up in recent years there has been no support network for coaches. They have had to experiment and learn the most appropriate methods for themselves, which increases the danger for their students.
Practitioners have therefore effectively been left to their own devices if they want to learn, and for a demanding and potentially dangerous activity like parkour this is not safe. Many newcomers to parkour have been put off by the harsh learning curve created by having to fend for themselves, and those that have persevered often experienced frequent injuries due to a simple lack of understanding about safe training practices.
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The British Parkour Coaching Association aims to solve all of these problems, by running training courses for coaches and giving its members access to the Association's insurance cover, enabling them to teach classes without the threat of legal action, and allowing other organisations and practitioners to find coaches who can teach to a high standard. Members of the Association also have access to a support network where they can receive advice and share ideas with other coaches around the country, to continue to improve their coaching ability.
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