Did you know there are more than 10 colleges and universities within the US that have approved parkour as a club/organization? As a matter of fact there are often inter-collegiate jams in the NJ area, one that passed just a few months ago at Rutgers University (sorry for not telling you). But we'll make sure to keep you posted of anything within the academic area that pops up within our vicinity. But let's go back to parkour clubs on campus and defining the group when you want club/organization approval, here are some tips brought to you by the great people behind collegewfpf:
It is important to understand how your institution categorizes groups on campus. How many student organization departments are there? Ask around for the best fit for the purposes of your group. It does not matter what you would categorize parkour as ; it matters what the institution would consider your group. A parkour group can fit in some ways into many different categories. It can be an art form, performance group, athletic group, recreational group or workout group. But, parkour is not just one of these and thus can be hard to find a place for a parkour group on campus.
The best way to approach this issue is to understand the mission statement and resources each type of student organization provides. Some student organizations will consider a parkour group an athletic group, thus requiring a liability waiver for training, but cannot provide such a waiver. They might refer you to the club sports office or recreational sports office because they can better fit the needs of a physical group. On the other hand, the mission statement of a club sport or recreation activity might focus on competition and thus not be the best fit for a parkour group.
We suggest you relate how your group will operate with an existing club such as a martial arts group. This is where you will be able to find similarities in a group that is instructional, physical and not entirely competitive. If you find it necessary that you should not go in the direction of a club sport or recreational activity, include a liability waiver to cover the physical side of parkour and run the group similar to every other student organization.
Now that you've absorbed all that info here's a video of a traceur traceuring in University of Minnesota campus:
