Mission: To use the sport of parkour to engage at-risk young people and tackle the no-ball-games culture in London
Funding: 250,000 a year, 84,750 from the Home Office and the rest from local sources
Westminster Positive Futures started teaching parkour to young people in spring 2006, and so far more than 500 young people have taken up the dynamic sport.
Also known as free running, parkour developed from French military physical training and was initially made famous by exponents in Paris. Parkour experts' gravity-defying leaps and bounds across the urban landscape are now commonly seen on TV and cinema screens.
Those running the Westminster scheme hope to give young people an enjoyable outlet for their energy that will improve their fitness and help to channel them away from crime.
Eugene Minogue, Positive Futures sports officer, says: "We target areas of deprivation, where at-risk people can use their estate as their parkour playground. We use it in six wards across London, all of which are among the most deprived areas in the country.
"Lots of estates do not allow ball games so young people can't be physically active in their community. We do lots of workshops first. We tell them where they can and can't go, and we start them off with static jumps. Then we take them out. It's all about fluency of movement. It teaches you to go over an obstacle, not around it, not to let it inhibit your flow."
Minogue believes the non-competitive and accessible nature of the sport gives it a unique attraction: "It is not your usual types. We've had boys who have not taken part in team sports and have underachieved in physical education. Lots of Muslim girls have also taken to it."
