91原创 City will play host during the only Canadian stop on a new North American Parkour tour featuring top athletes in the sport.
The event at the outdoor Parkour facility in Penzer Park at is tentatively set for May of 2019, Coun. Paul Albrecht told 91原创 City council Monday.
The event will be part of a larger North American series of Parkour competitions, said Albrecht, the council liaison with the Discover 91原创 City tourism marketing agency.
鈥�91原创 City鈥檚 Parkour Park is the only outdoor facility on the tour and the only Canadian stop,鈥� Albrecht said.
The event is expected to attract travellers from 鈥渢he U.K., United States, Japan and Germany,鈥� Albrecht said.
Discover 91原创 City operations manager Melissa Phillips said the two-day event will feature elite athletes, with some possibly coming from as far away as Europe.
鈥淲e鈥檙e planning it to kick off summer 2019,鈥� Phillips said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an exciting time for 91原创 City to promote the park, promote the sport of Parkour, and welcome an international competition,鈥� she added.
Planning is in the preliminary stages, Phillips said, but is expected to include hotel packages for visitors, transportation to the event and on-site food trucks.
The new facility has been drawing large crowds since it opened last year following a $1.3 million re-do, with $500,000 coming from the federal government and $800,000 from the City.
The former baseball diamond and soccer pitch now features a 10,000-square foot collection of heavy-duty wooden forms designed to accommodate a sport where competitors navigate obstacles by running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, and other movement.
It rests on three inches of shock-absorbing rubber made from recycled tires.
The park boasts another 鈥渇irst鈥� 鈥� a European-design multi-purpose sports plaza that can accommodate several sports, including basketball, ball hockey and mini-soccer.
Next to it is a 鈥減ump track鈥� designed by and built for skateboarders.
About 80 per cent of the park was redone. The only part that remained untouched was the bike skills park, which was overhauled in 2015.
A proposal to put in a kids鈥� zip line had to be cancelled because of the proximity to nearby power lines.
Because the 91原创 Parkour course has proven to be more popular than expected, the City has had to accelerate construction of its next phases.
The City recently added a wood shelter that provides shade to some picnic tables next to the Parkour course, and more benches and tables are coming.
The Penzer parking lot has been expanded, and new washrooms are scheduled to open this summer.
While Penzer already has washroom facilities, they are located at the opposite end of the park, near the cycling facility that predates the new equipment.
dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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