Community, Competition, and Growth at Krete Academy

This past weekend, Krete Academy had the honor of hosting a local qualifier for the United States Parkour competitive circuit. Athletes from across the region came together to test their skills, challenge themselves, and earn a chance to move on to the next stage of competition.

Competitors traveled from Spokane, Seattle, and Montana to take part in the event, all with the same goal: qualifying for Regionals at Dynasty Fitness in Preston, Washington on May 16th and 17th. From there, adult finalists will have the opportunity to qualify for Nationals in Boston later this season.

For those unfamiliar with competitive parkour, athletes compete across three different categories that test a wide range of movement skills, creativity, and athleticism.

Skill focuses on completing a series of movement challenges within a set time limit. Athletes attempt as many challenges as possible, with obstacles often involving jumping, climbing, swinging, vaulting, balancing, and rolling. Skill rewards adaptability, precision, and consistency under pressure.

Speed features timed courses with set start and finish points. While the general path is shown to athletes, competitors must decide for themselves the exact steps, movements, and route they believe will get them through the course in the fastest time possible. This category combines strategy, efficiency, and explosive athletic movement.

Style is the most creative division of competition. Athletes build their own movement lines using parkour techniques, acrobatics, and transitions across the course. In United States Parkour competitions, athletes are judged in three areas:

• Composition — originality of movements, course flow, obstacle interaction, and how well the line is put together

• Execution — clean movement quality, control, safe landings, and minimizing falls or mistakes

• Difficulty — the challenge level of the tricks, combinations, and transitions performed

While the competition itself was exciting, our favorite part of the weekend was something much bigger than scores or placements. What stood out most was the incredible sense of community support that makes the parkour scene so unique. Throughout the event, athletes cheered each other on regardless of age, experience level, or hometown. Whether someone was landing a big skill for the first time or pushing through a difficult challenge, the encouragement from fellow competitors was constant.

That atmosphere is what makes events like this so special. Parkour competition is not just about individual performance — it is about growing together, supporting one another, and celebrating the hard work every athlete puts in behind the scenes.

We were also proud to see the event run safely and injury free. Every athlete competed with focus, control, and respect for both the course and their own limits. Events like this continue to demonstrate that parkour, even at a competitive level, can be just as safe as traditional school sports when athletes train responsibly and support one another.

We especially want to recognize our own athletes here at Krete Academy. Watching our kids step up with confidence and composure was incredibly rewarding. The effort they have been putting into training and preparing for the competitive season was on full display, and we could not be more proud of how they represented themselves and our community.

To everyone who competed: thank you for making this event such a positive and memorable experience. We are excited to see many of you continue on to Regionals and beyond. Good luck to all the athletes moving forward in the season — we cannot wait to see what you accomplish next.

Check out our first place adult style and speed winner: Caleb Kinniburgh from Kalispell, Montana