Hubbable 6: Jam Of The Beast, a parkour holiday, and one of the most appropriately named jams in the world.
Hubbable has made a tradition of breaking the mold, the first year had 300 attendees, a number unheard of by most major U.S. events at the time. The modus operandi for modern parkour events is to try for bigger, and better, every year. Hubbable on the other hand, making a strong case for community jams, never has to try.
This year could easily be summed up with just a few simple words: Massive movements, ludicrous yelling, hard bails, and genuine effort. However, these are just a few of the things that go down at Hubbable, and they certainly don’t paint a complete picture.
Hubbable came into existence to fill a void, and send a message. In 2010, when the first Hubbable happened, there were no community jams, or events, to fill the gap between winter hibernation, and the full swing of summer training.
On top of that, the Boston community has a certain intense energy to it. Boston experiences some of the hardest winters of any parkour community in the US and yet, they’re one of the first to get back outside; sometimes they never even go inside. Who else could be better to host such an event? Besides, as they’re likely to tell you, Boston goes hard.
That energy is immediately visible in the movement of the Boston community. Chances are good that the first thing you see when you walk up to Hubbable will be something big. Every iconic Hubbable challenge is over the top; massive, technical, at height, or often enough, all three. Fortunately, the people are over the top too. Athletes at Hubbable push each other…hard.
Sometimes this can manifest in negative ways. To name a few examples, slip-outs, gnarly back falls at height, and arguably the worst shin slam in the annals of parkour history were all caught on camera this year.
In the end, it all comes together into something unique, positive, and most of all, genuine. When you take on a personal challenge at Hubbable, Hubbable takes it on with you. The community gathers and words of encouragement are shared. The nature of the challenge is irrelevant, as is your success or failure. That’s because as long as you get back up, dust yourself off, and don’t give up, then Hubbable will never give up on you.
As with any jam, there are cameras, gawking passersby, and the ever-growing crowd. These are all pressures that we as a community will have to learn to deal with as parkour continues to grow. Community jams provide a perfect opportunity to interact with our cities and reach out in positive ways to the other communities that inhabit them. Fortunately, with its exceptionally wild spots, inclusive environment, minimalist structure, and deep community roots, Hubbable provides a perfect example of how to do just that.
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