Free-running troupe X5 Academy is excited to unveil its plans for the new year following positive results in 2017.
X5 Academy senior coach and business owner Will Tuck said the academy has grown its classes from 120 athletes/students to almost 300 regularly attending its premises in 2017.
The Academy has also competed in parkour competitions in Singapore and Sydney.
The troupe also hosted national and international free-runners for the Freerun X5 Jam event in January
Mr Tuck shares his roles with Brandon Parker and Mark Hay.
He said X5 Academy has worked towards attracting people to the sport and maintaining interest.
“When we first started in Bunbury no one had really heard of it and they saw us as being the people that almost ‘created’ it,” he said.
“I used to walk around town and say I do parkour and people used to have no idea what parkour was.
“Now you walk around and ask just about anyone who’s quite young and they understand what it is.
“It’s great to see that there is change happening in the community and people are becoming more aware of what it is.”
Mr Tuck said many parkour helped many young people steer away from trouble, latch onto a “way of life”, and become passionate about the sport.
X5 Academy has been working towards its next Freerun X5 Jam spectacular, scheduled for April next year.
The group has increased in resources and popularity since its beginnings in 2011.
Last year, the troupe moved to a purpose-built parkour gym on Picton Road.
The group regularly performed at events such as the Dardanup Bull and Barrel Festival, the Eaton Foreshore Festival and the Collie Show.
Mr Tuck added anyone interested can come down to X5 Academy’s gym or send a message to the troupe’s Facebook page.
Visit the website, https://x5-academy.myshopify.com/, or call 0450 194 150 for more information.
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