Nantwich freerunners aim for a higher place for Parkour

By Andrew Stuart
Website Contributor

Freerunning is moving over objects quickly

Running across buildings and obstacles is a pastime known as freerunning. It's not normally associated with South Cheshire, but it's one that a group of teenagers from Nantwich have taken up.

Joel Howells and his friends call themselves the Nantwich Freerunners.

After run ins with authorities and residents, they are looking for funding for a place to practice.

They've already been working together with the police to get the sport recognised.

Joel says they train in a structured and extreme way and the sport is about freedom.

Nantwich freerunners aim higher - photo gallery

Agility

He says: "It's all about finding new ways of traversing, vaulting and even rolling across, through, over and round everyday objects found in the street.

"Objects that usually to a normal passer by would be an obstruction or be of no use to create quicker travelling opportunities."

Freerunning is just another name for Parkour. It was created for a documentary called Jump London, to appeal to an English speaking audience.

It is the practice of moving between A and B smoothly, quickly, and dynamically. It started in the Parisian suburbs in the 1980s.

The team do paid demonstrations at shows and events and a freerunning park is in the pipeline.