Saudi Parkour is fast growing sport that elevates overall fitness, builds athletic strength and speed and increases self confidence. Spoonfed launched the first Saudi parkour academy in Jeddah in 2017 and has been steadily developing the sport and raise the standards of coaching. Flite Freerun is the official name of the parkour academy which develops children from age 2 years to adults. The main gym in Vision tower on Prince Sultan and Kayaal was the first purpose indoor built parkour space in Saudi Arabia and the home of #SaudiParkour. Founders Jon Dean and Heba Faqih state that the success of the academy is though the intensive staff development program that focuses on local trainers being developed to high level international standard coaches. Jon has worked in the sports and physical education industry for 20 years and created sports curriculums for schools, universities, hospitals, private academies and the national school sport strategy. Parkour champion Ed Scott works alongside Jon to develop the training system for the coaches and the student curriculum. Currently they are developing the first Saudi parkour qualification to be able to create quality coaches and teachers and maintain a high level of safety and effectiveness. Heba Faqih has a background in corporate social responsibility and ensures a key part of Spoonfed is to “leave the country a better place than we found it”. Heba from Madina did not have the opportunity to practice sport and has a mission to ensure all children have access to quality parkour class.
Aloula Non Profit the first registered nonprofit in Saudi Arabia Aloula has been able to improve thousands of lives through the 57 years of service in south of Jeddah . Their commitment to the community remains strong in helping families break the cycle of poverty, a phenomenon that remains for at least three generations. Their strategy is built on early intervention through educational, professional, and physical training. empowering children and youth in obtaining the right tools to help them break the cycle of poverty, achieve their personal goals, and become contributing members of society.
Jon and Heba met Dania Al Maeena Aloula CEO 9 months ago and were inspired by what they saw at the organization. They identified an outdoor space that wasn’t being used and asked if they could build a parkour park and develop local coaches to give classes. Spoonfed had the winning formula for building the park and developing the coaches and brainstormed an exciting way to fund raise. On National children day (November 20th) Spoonfed hosted an event to live build the park digitally through donations. The event was set up by backyard events and food provided by sweet & Savory and chocoroses. Guest of honor and parkour champion Ed Scott gave a speech about his optimism for the future of Saudi parkour followed by an acrobatic performance alongside the other coaches and one student. Qusai ….and Jumana …..spoke to the audience about their experience with the academy and what they loved about the sport. They also donated their own savings to help raise the goal amount of 50,000 SAR. Jumana’s parents told us that she had been saving for a new phone but wanted the children of Aloula to learn parkour like she was able to do.
The fund raising achieved the first goal of 50,000 SAR to lay the foundation, flooring and build the park which is planned to start in December. Spoonfed founder Heba stated “our goal is to raise another 50,000 SAR to put into coach development, training & additional equipment to create a sustainable project that will continue to grow and flourish.” Spoonfed are reaching out to the government for discussions on building quality public parkour areas through Jeddah to offer a place for people to stay active, play or train outdoors in the safety of quality parks. “We believe Flite Freerun will become the leader in parkour in the Middle East and inshallah we will see young Saudi champions emerging in the near future, ” said Jon Dean. This fund raiser showed how much the community cares and gave everyone the assurance that more parks will be built in the near future and help elevate Saudi Parkour to be a leading sport for the country. Dania added “ we believe that sports is for all and share the passion and belief with Spoonfed that every child deserves a fun and safe place to play and learn an exciting sport like parkour, thank you Heba and Jon for making it possible, and for everyone who supported this great cause”
SOURCE : ALBILAD
