At the Paris Olympics, different sports and disciplines were combined, such as sailing or extreme slalom, which belongs to the kayaking sports. Moreover, breakdancing was accepted in urban areas. Tokyo 2020 saw for the first time skateboarding or BMX competitions, which will continue to have a space at Paris 2024. However, the urban sport that did not have a place in the French capital was parkour. This discipline consists of “getting from one point to another in the most efficient way possible”, explains Burgos tracker Sergio Picon, detailing that “there are people who do acrobatics along the way and others who prefer to go as fast as possible”.
Sergio Picon, together with Mario Pelaez and Mario Gonzalez, young lovers of parkour or tracking (tracker in French), proposed to build the first park of this discipline in the city. On August 25, 2023, the slopes in Buenavista Park (G-9) were inaugurated.
The park has been operating for a year and the children who frequent it are happy to have a space for this specialization. They also consider that it lacks maintenance and cleaning, as there is always rubbish in it, such as pieces of glass, which is dangerous when jumping. They are also not entirely satisfied with the distribution of the elements available in the park. “They do not connect the pieces as we suggested, but we appreciate that they have made us a parkour park,” says Mario González, a follower who participated in its design, who confirms that it is another area of Burgos and that it enriches the city.
The three boys, with the help of a friend who had already planned two “parkour parks” in Valladolid, were responsible for laying out the appropriate paths for both children and adults to perform the exercises. Traceur Mario Peláez points out that they proposed “a design and modified it in a way that made no sense. For example, they included walls with which you couldn’t do anything. Furthermore, once it was opened, they found that they had raised many elements to a level that was not useful for performing acrobatics and jumps. “When we arrived at the park, we realized that the procedures were crazy, like the fences that had to be at a certain height and reach halfway,” highlights Peláez.
Before its construction, young fans of the sport had to practice it in the street, looking for spaces with urban elements suitable for its development, such as the Plaza de las Bernardas. “Any place with two walls and a sidewalk is a territory. We continue to work, but with the park there is more variety in training,” says Mario González. This man from Burgos began practicing the discipline after a friend recommended him. According to Sergio Picon, the values of parkour are community and progress together. For this reason, Mario Pelez assures that “anyone who is interested and sees us, does not hesitate to approach. “We are open to teach them.”
