I'd heard a lot about how the weekend 18/19 August was the main focus of Join In UK (an initiative to keep us all vaguely interested in sport and on a goodwill high while we wait for the Paralymic Games to start) and so had a gander on the website to see what we could do with the boys this Saturday. There seemed to be an AWFUL lot of Netball (far too many traumatic memories) but my eye was caught by an Urban Games event at the big outdoor "Times Square" at The Centre for Life in Newcastle.
We'd been a to a death defying BMX event there before, and I had spent most of the time with my hands over my eyes, but the kids loved it, so we did a packed lunch (ah Home Bargains, where you can still get the food they stopped making when you were 12 - RICE THINS!!) and headed over to make the most of it.
The Centre for Life was a little disappointingly sparse on arrival, but it soon started to fill up with small people in skinny jeans with rucksacks and scooters and bikes and boards... The bottom arena had a skatepark set up where nothing seemed to be happening other than a load of incredibly mouthy children (seriously, I'm not a prude, but that sort of language out of a 12 year old irks me...) queueing up to get a go. After asking about 5 different people Josh worked out that he was not going to get a go, even though they had scooters for hire sitting unused, so we moved to the upper arena where the 3sixty stunt bike team were riding bikes along impossible narrow railings and leaping from platform to platform. My boys were totally absorbed, and there was a great MC letting you know what everyone was doing. The "bunny hop" competition (jumping over a railing from a stand still) was fantastic, and the boys were incredibly excited when the rider from the North East matched the world record!
There wasn't a lot for the boys to actually DO at Times Square, so we headed over to the Discovery Museum where there were street dance and free running events going on. The sun was shining hard by now, and we were greeted by the site of around 20 teenage lads with tops off, tracksuit bottoms dangerously low, flipping and leaping in all manner of incredible ways. These are the sort of proper geordie lads that would never have got involved in traditional gymnastics, but what they were doing was really spectacular. We signed the boys up for the next participation course, and found a spot to watch the lads do their A-B competition around the car park. It was pretty awesome viewing, and the boys got really involved in cheering them on.
While waiting for their workshop, we popped inside for the street dance. I wish I had photos, but everyone moved WAY too fast for my phone camera! Despite my early 20s being completely soundtracked by CDs from B-Boy competitions, I'd never actually seen a battle, and had no idea they went on in Newcastle. I work at an arts centre, and there's a whole series of classes that are put on to help kids without an awful lot of hope (the sort that get shoved in B&Bs aged 15 without an adult) to do really amazing urban art, and learn to DJ, and basically get a positive focus using things they care about. I spotted several of those kids in these competitions, and there was such a great attitude of mutual respect and wanting to be the best. The moves were incredible, there was a lass who was doing the most ridiculous holds in such complicated positions, and it was interesting to see who the judges picked each time.
Then the boys had their go at free running, taking it in turns to jump over a vault box in varying and interesting ways. They loved it, and the lad that was running it was fantastic with them.
I'm not sure it would have been such a great day out in inclement weather, but we had a really fantastic and full afternoon at the Urban Games. And, as it hadn't cost us a penny, we could treat ourselves to hot chocolate and cake at the best cafe in Newcastle (The Settle Down, if you haven't been then get ON IT).
A good bit of cheap entertainment which gave you faith in young people! 7.5/10
LINKS
https://www.joininuk.org/ - events continue until Friday
http://www.theurbangames.org.uk - touring the North East throughout August and September
http://www.3sixty.me.uk/3SIXTY_Bicycle_Stunt_Team/Home/Home.html - the stunt bike team
http://www.thesettledown.com/ - for the best cheap eats and INCREDIBLE cakes
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