International Parkour Federation Continues to Spread the Sport Around the World

The International Parkour Federation’s global impact continues to spread.

From an upcoming sanctioned event in the UK, to newly certified instructors from countries like Iran, Iraq and India, to a growing family of training academies, the popularity of parkour continues to grow.

Here’s a roundup of the latest news:

IPF sanctions 3Run FAMILY JAM & WFPF "Jump Off" Championship

This IPF-sanctioned event is September 2-3, 2017, in Berkshire, UK and brings back the much-loved 3Run Family Jam while adding a WFPF (World Freerunning Parkour Federation) Jump off Competition — another stop on the WFPF World Tour. Under the guidance of Sam Parham, WFPF Principal and one of 3Run’s founding members, this is the first parkour competition 3Run has endorsed.

IPF sponsors instructor certification in Thailand

This month, athletes from Iran, India, Turkey, and Tajikistan traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to participate in the four-day instructor certification. Attendees received Level 1-2 certification recognized by the WFPF, the Asia Freerunning Parkour Union (AFPU) and the IPTC (International Professional Training Certification).

Leaders from several of the world’s parkour communities were in attendance including the founders of both the Iran and Tajikistan federations. IPF was proud to have two extraordinary women from Iran among the contingent of attending athletes, furthering its commitment to gender equity.

The next IPF sponsored instructor certification will be at Ryan Doyle’s world-famous Airborn Academy in Liverpool, UK, following the conclusion of the 3Run Family Jam & WFPF Jump Off Championships in September. Doyle, the sport’s first world champion, founder of Airborn Academy and one of the most-recognized names in the sport, is a member of the IPF Executive Council.

"In order to grow the sport, parkour must rely on a network of certified instructors to ensure safe practices and progressive instruction while encouraging the creative, grass roots nature of parkour," said Doyle.

Under IPF auspices, WFPF has certified more than 800 parkour instructors in the U.S., Canada and Asia.

IPF attends membership meeting at Sport Accord/GAISF

IPF was one of 48 international sports federations invited to Lausanne, Switzerland in early June to review their pending application for official recognition by Sport Accord/GAISF, the world federation of sports governing bodies. Representatives from around the world shared information on how best to chart the path toward Sport Accord/IOC recognition as independent and autonomous sports. In private meetings, both Sport Accord and IOC officials expressed strong support for parkour and its future in the world of sports.

Government of Kosovo recognizes parkour

The government of Kosovo became the first nation to officially recognize parkour as a sport. The Kosovo Freerunning Parkour Federation—KosovoFPF— was formed by Berat Mavriqi.

Mavriqi brought together five major parkour teams in Kosovo and with the ongoing support of IPF, gained official government status on October 13, 2016.

"The support from the IPF was vital for us and helped us elevate our status as an organized sport," said Mavriqi. "Kosovo’s Olympic Committee (KOC) now accepts Kosovo’s Parkour Federation as an active member. I will continue to collaborate with IPF and I believe this path of development will lead to a bright future for parkour."

Mavriqi added that the sport’s official government status coincided with a visit from IOC President Thomas Bach. "At that time, IOC President Bach was visiting Kosovo and was informed about the federation of parkour and recognized our hard work. For his honor, we did a short parkour demonstration to show our respect for his attendance and parkour awareness," he said.

While the road to recognition is long, IPF supports many countries engaged in this process. To date parkour athletes, teams and community leaders from 67 countries have asked the IPF or its sister company, WFPF for assistance in providing materials, mentoring and organizational support for parkour communities in need.

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