Team Kinetix, Ladies Aerial
Aerobics reaching new heights
Based in Witham, the Team Kinetix Academy is predominately known for its Youth Parkour sessions, however the team wanted to show the local community that the academy is for everyone, regardless of age, gender or ability.
It was Team Kinetix’s aim to get more women interested in taking part in physical activity, especially after the pandemic. Exercise is very often low on the list of priorities for women, especially mothers, as they have little time for themselves. Not all women enjoy group exercise classes or feel comfortable attending a gym, so Team Kinetix wanted to offer them something non-traditional, a little different, but fun! A multi-skills course was set up for women, where they had the opportunity to try parkour, acrobatics and aerial/ circus skills.
It was Team Kinetix’s hope that the women who attended would feel the benefits of taking time for themselves, both physically and mentally and learn something new whilst doing so. By offering 3 different skills within the one class, participants had the opportunity to see if they enjoyed or excelled at one thing over another. Physical activity sessions can often be disheartening when participants cannot achieve to the same degree as everyone else, but in every one of the multi-skills classes, there was always at least one skill that each person was better at than another, due to the variety.
The first course started in November 2021 and ran for 6 weeks and was well attended, followed by a second course throughout January and February. Due to its popularity, the team were unable to find a night in the week that suited everyone that was interested and therefore decided to split the classes. By running ladies-only classes in parkour and Aerial/Circus skills on separate nights of the week, allowed those who were previously unable to attend, to take part. This also gave participants who completed the first two courses, the opportunity to specialise in the area that interested them most.
Through Active Essex’s Find Your Active Fund, Team Kinetix were able to purchase additional equipment for these classes, as well as allowing them to run at a reduced rate to make it as accessible as possible for everyone who wanted to come and give it a try. The funding also enabled the organisation to have an open day, where they had the opportunity to promote new and existing classes for women on the timetable.
The Team Kinetix Ladies Aerial sessions, saw friendships form and the sense of community and support amongst the women developed very quickly throughout the course. There was no competition, only the championing of each other and a desire for everyone to succeed and feel happy with their achievements.
