Today is a wonderful day. In fact, the events leading up to this day have been nothing short of amazing. I want to begin by saying that I appreciate all of you who continue to believe in what we are, what we do, and what we practice and teach.
As some of you heard already, several months ago I was presented with an opportunity to open my own gym in Henrietta. I have thought long and hard about this and have decided that this is an opportunity I cannot pass up. As many of you know, Rochester is not always as inviting as it is currently. Sun is a rare pleasure and reminds us to enjoy and appreciate each ray of sunshine. For the past two years, Rochester Parkour events have come almost to a standstill every season. This is difficult in many ways as many of our community members are college students who are only here during those select months. Because of this predicament, shelter that we can call our own is rather necessary.
The ability to claim a space of our own is challenging. For the past two years, Zac, Jeff, myself and many others have worked hard to make Parkour easily accessible, safe, and cheap (free). Because of this, Rochester Parkour as an organization has no funds to contribute to such a move. Thus, some creative fund raising must occur.
I am going to start things off by first presenting that I will be beginning a paid Rochester Parkour “class” in the park. This venue will have a structured curriculum and will encompass my close attention to a student’s technique, physicality, and condition. My services as an instructor, teacher, and guide will be donated to this cause and every penny that comes in from this venue will be put towards gym space. Details on this will come out in the next couple days with more information as well as my credentials to begin such a venue.
I understand that not everyone can pay for such classes, please do not think that I am abandoning you. Saturday jam sessions will continue as normal and I will continue to make myself and my knowledge of parkour and exercise science available to anyone who requires it.
This is only one small step. I am one person and I can only do so much. You all are such wonderfully creative people. Use those over-active imaginations and start bouncing some ideas together.
This is a community project, not just my own. This open letter to the community is to hopefully reach out and see how many people want to realize what I see; how many of you are ready to work hard for something you believe in and something you are passionate about. With your help, Rochester Parkour could see a gym space by Fall, before the harsh weather hits us once again, and halts whatever progress we make as a community.
There are no specifics currently on the structure of the gym. I am still researching how best to set this up, legally. However, to help get things started, this is what is going through my mind currently:
One of my favorite places to buy groceries is a small store near Manhattan Square Park called the Abundance Cooperative. The store is a community owned place where people can buy goods, but can also become members of the community and take part in political matters regarding how the store functions, what things to buy, etc.
This is how I picture a gym in my mind. A space owned by the community members of Rochester Parkour. In this way, the gym is a tool wielded by the community and the tool acts and services the needs of the community. If needs change, the tool changes with them.
To my knowledge nothing like this has really be set up before in this light and there is still a lot of research to be done on the matter. Please call me, text me, email me, use the APK forums, or ask me out to coffee (or training!) to give me your thoughts and ideas. I cannot make this work without any of you.
So here it is, out in the open. Rochester Parkour’s new goal - a gym space by Fall.
I will pump out more details as information is gathered and processed. Stay tuned and stay active. Any amount of help is useful whether it be monetary help, volunteering, or idea generation. Let’s make this idea a reality!
Charles Moreland
518.209.7262
cdmoreland2@gmail.com
CharlesMoreland.com
AIM CharlesMoreland2
Greetings everyone and welcome Summer! I hope all of you are excited for the sun, warmth, and training!
This post here is to inform everyone that this last week marked a giant turning point for Rochester Parkour. Two very important members of the crew (Zac and Jeff) have graduated and left to pursue other opportunities. The work they did for this community does not go unrecognized and some of you who want things to run smoothly will need to take up responsibilities and fill their shoes.
Our normal training schedule is back on order:
Saturdays, Manhattan Square Park at 2:30pm
Sundays, Zenith Gymnastics at 2pm until 3:30pm $5
There will also be at least two other structured meeting days either at Manhattan Square or High Falls. Check in at the end of this week for more information.
I will also be utilizing this site better to inform the public of our doings. To accomplish this, I will be photographing and documenting our doings more regularly and posting (hopefully) weekly updates. Check here for those.
Hope to see a good turnout, Happy training!
Charlie
So the Rochester Rocks New York State Jam is almost upon us… and now with the details!
If you’re driving up, you can meet at Ross’s house (157 Henrietta St, Rochester, NY 14620). Aim to get there sometime Friday afternoon, 4:30 or 5pm. If you’re going to get there earlier, or later, or you just want to call and let Zac know when you’re going to be around, give me a call: 410.370.8000.
The rough schedule is as follows:
Friday: Meet up at Ross’s house, small groups will go out to all our various smaller spots for small group jams. We’re going to try to mix people up best we can, so everyone gets to meet new people. We’ll come back that night for a cookout.
Saturday morning: get to High Falls (get directions to 64 Commercial street, once you arrive there keep going straight to the parking lot) by 10am. People not staying with Ross can either meet us at Ross’s house, or meet us at High Falls. Lunch at some point, and then the regular weekly jam at 2:30 at Manhattan Square Park. Dinner, and then two options: People can either go to more small local places in small groups, or Zac’ll be taking a group to a kick-ass Juggling/Circus Show at 7:30pm at Rush-Henrietta High School. Probably another cookout for dinner.
Sunday: We’ll have a slow morning, and then hit up Zenith Gymnastics from 2-3:30. And then we kick you out!
So that’s the jam guys. If you’re a local, I highly encourage you to stay at Ross’s house anyway! It’ll be a ton of fun, and a great time and place to meet other nearby traceurs and traceuses.
Just a sampling of who else is coming, there should be people from Buffalo, Ithaca, Albany, and NYC. Hopefully some people from Toronto and more, too!
Don’t forget: Please bring $5 or a canned good to donate to Foodlink. This will be an awesome jam for us, and it’ll be a great time to do some good, too!
Also, Jesse Danger will be here, and if you order a kick-ass shirt from his website (heartlesssleeves.com) before Tuesday, he’ll bring it to you personally and donate $5 of the proceeds to Foodlink.