Jump City: Seattle
| Jump City: Seattle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
Reality sports |
| Directed by | Matt Bartley |
| Starring |
Blair Herter Brady Romberg |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Gabe Landau John Moore |
| Editor(s) |
Carl Cramer Paul Sadowski Chris Sam Eli Sentman Stephen "Buzz" Wein |
| Location(s) | Seattle, Washington |
| Camera setup | multiple |
| Running time | 48 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Pro Parkour Little Pond Television Inc. |
| Distributor | FremantleMedia Enterprises |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | G4 |
| Picture format |
NTSC 480i HDTV 1080i |
| Original run | February 15, 2011 – April 5, 2011 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Jump City: Seattle is an American television series that formerly aired on G4. It features four of the top freerunning and parkour teams in the United States all coming together for the first U.S. tricking competition. Each week, the athletes compete in different parkour challenges spread out across the streets of Seattle, Washington.
About
Jump City: Seattle was G4's new eight-episode weekly series and promoted as the first American championship parkour competition. It was hosted by G4 correspondent Blair Herter and Parkour veteran Brady Romberg. Filming of the show was based in Seattle, Washington and it was produced by Fremantle Media, North America. The series was launched on February 15, 2011 with the season finale episode (deemed a de facto series finale) on April 5, 2011. It is unknown if future seasons of this show will be produced as G4 has ceased operations on December 31, 2014.
Background
Pro Parkour League (PPL) consists of four existing Parkour teams: Miami Freerunning, The Tribe, Team Tempest and Rogue, that include athletes such as Brian Orosco and Levi Meeuwenberg (both of American Ninja Warrior and Sasuke fame) who would compete in places all over the city of Seattle, in landmark spots such as Seattle City Hall, Freeway Park, Pioneer Square, Seattle Center, and Qwest Field—where the championship match would be held.
Premise
Rules: Each episode will feature two teams competing in a speed round (how fast can a team can go through a predetermined course) and a freestyle round (45 seconds of Freerunning and tricking on a course established or made up by the runner, scored on a scale of 1 to 10).[1] Three of the four team members participate in each round. Each team has 30 minutes per round to warm up and then the competition is on—an eight-week battle to see who's on top of the American parkour scene. When only two teams remain, they will battle it out for the trophy in the championship match that will take place in Seattle's Qwest Field.
Each parkour team has four athletes: three starters and one reserve. The reserve player is very important, he must be ready to go in case of a starter gets injured. When two parkour teams meet its called a "match".
- (Match = 2 rounds: speed & freestyle).
To win a match you need to win two rounds.
- (Win 2 rounds = win the match).
If each team wins one round, they will be forced into a sudden death tie-breaker.
- (A tie = sudden death).
Judging is based on a scale of 1 to 10 and will base the score on three different criteria: Creativity, Difficulty, and Execution.
- Creativity - how the competitors move through the obstacles in their run. They must show off a wide variety of moves and incorporate them in as much of the course as possible.
- Difficulty - the judges want to see the competitors raising the bar of their athleticism and will be scored on the complexity of their moves. The bigger their moves, the greater their points will be.
- Execution - when performing a trick, competitors must stay in control, sticking their landings, and connecting all their moves together to create a flow. So its all about control and flow--sticking the landings and transition from one move to the next simultaneously.
The speed round is set up as a relay through a predetermined course and the team with the fastest time through the course wins the round.
In the freestyle round, each person is given 45 seconds to perform a routine anywhere on the course. They are judged on creativity, difficulty, and execution. The team with the highest combined score wins the round.
If the first two rounds are won by two different teams, a sudden death round is forced.
Over the course of the season, each team competes against each other in regular competition. The team with the most wins in regular competition automatically moves on to the finals. However, the team with the fewest wins in regular competition leaves the event and the other two teams compete in the semi finals with the winner going to the finals. If there is a tie in the final standings, the team with the higher season-wide freestyle average will move on.
Warning Message: "This program is an athletic competition that features activities performed either by professionals or under the supervision of professionals. Accordingly, G4 and the producers must insist that no one attempt to recreate or re-enact any event, athletic performance, or other activity performed on this show."
Parkour Teams
There are four teams:
| Team Tempest |
|---|
Team Tempest - The heavy favorites, Tempest Freerunning is from Los Angeles. The team met in 2003 and team members work as stuntmen in Hollywood.
| Order # | Team Member | Background/Style |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Levi "Skynative" Meeuwenberg | Meeuwenberg is a Hollywood stuntman and is considered the "godfather of parkour" because he helped bring parkour and freerunning into the mainstream. He is featured in several movies and television shows demonstrating his skills. He competed in several Ninja Warrior tournaments in Japan and was the only competitor to make it into the third stage in Sasuke 20. Also was a competitor on American Ninja Warrior, the U.S. version of Sasuke and American Ninja Challenge. As of episode 4, season one, Meeuwenberg suffered a broken wrist but will compete in later competitions. |
| 2 | Brian "Nosole" Orosco | A stuntman who grew a handlebar mustache as light-hearted gimmick to calm his nerves and not take himself so seriously while freerunning. Also went to Japan to compete in several Ninja Warrior (Sasuke) tournaments and has also competed on American Ninja Warrior and American Ninja Challenge. |
| 3 | Paul "Diddy" Darnell | Has a lot of parkour experience. Competed in Sasuke 23 and both American Ninja Warrior 1 and American Ninja Warrior 2. |
| 4 | Caine Sinclair | Has a very strong style in while freerunning. Known by fellow freerunners for his big drops and complexity. Throws a lot of technical moves such as corkscrews and twists. Competed in Sasuke 23 and all three ANW's. |
| Miami Freerunning |
|---|
Miami Freerunning - A team from Miami, Florida who have been training together for 3 years. In order to be an official member, they have a ritual—new members are shot with a stun gun.
| Order # | Team Member | Background/Style |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Gonzalez | Former Tribe member and Miami Freerunning founder. He teaches kids and adults at his gym, Miami Freerunning and Parkour Academy. |
| 2 | Albert "Spider" Valladares | Former professional wrestler, where he got his nickname. Competed in mixed martial arts before he became a stunt choreographer, performing various stunts for fight scenes. |
| 3 | Jared "J.J." Woods | The fastest on his team, a former sprinter, who does vaults, and powerful moves. |
| 4 | David "Young Flip" Rodriguez | Trains with several black & white masks, and wears one everywhere he goes so he can remain emotionless in competition. Also competed in Sasuke 27 and American Ninja Warrior 3. |
| The Tribe |
|---|
The Tribe - Founded in Washington, D.C., Tribe is America's first parkour team, who have been very successful. As Tribe founder Michael Zernow says, "This is art. This is physicality. This is being able to take your life into your own hands, so it wouldn't just be about kids on YouTube doing crazy stuff."
| Order # | Team Member | Background/Style |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael "Frosti" Zernow | Founder and team leader. A teacher of parkour, he has many years of experience. Was a contestant on Survivor: China and American Ninja Warrior 3. |
| 2 | Billy "Skipper" Hughes | Former competitive diver training for the Olympics, which affected his parkour and freerunning. |
| 3 | Travis "Noble" Graves | Very competitive, has the ability to combine speed with power. |
| 4 | Jereme Sanders | Uses martial arts moves in his freeruns. |
| Team Rogue |
|---|
Rogue - Made up of rookies from different areas.
| Order # | Team Member | Background/Style |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dylan Baker | Youngest player competing, just out of high school. |
| 2 | Korey Sarvas | Former soccer player, got into parkour because it challenged his mind and body. Died from a drowning accident in 2011. |
| 3 | Jake Smith | All-around trickster, very creative in his freeruns. Also competed on ANW 1 and ANW 3 |
| 4 | Drew Drechsel | Performs huge flips off high platforms. Was in Sasuke 27 and American Ninja Warrior 3. |
Episode Guide
Season One (2011)
- PPL Regular Season (6 weeks)
Quarter-final Matches
Week 1: Tempest vs. Rogue
| Original Airdate | Location(s) | Parkour Teams | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Sudden Death Round | Winning team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 15, 2011 | Seattle City Hall Freeway Park* |
Tempest | Time: 56:27 | Orosco = 7.4 Darnell = 7.0 Meeuwenberg = 8.8 Total: 23.2 |
Meeuwenberg = 9.1 | Tempest |
| Parkour Team | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Sudden Death Round | Losing Team | ||
| Rogue | Time: (52:85) 57:85* | Baker = 8.3 Smith = 8.0 Sarvas = 8.4 Total: 24.7 |
Baker = 8.4 | Rogue |
- * The competition was moved from City Hall to Freeway Park in the middle of the Freestyle Round because of rain.
- * A five-second penalty was imposed on Rogue when Sarvas missed a "fly zone" on the course.
Week 2: Tribe vs. Miami Freerunning
| Original Airdate | Location(s) | Parkour Teams | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Winning team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 22, 2011 | Freeway Park | Tribe | Time: 55:65 | Hughes = 7.9 Graves = 7.9 Zernow = 8.5 Total: 24.3 |
Tribe |
| Parkour Team | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Losing Team | ||
| Miami Freerunning | Time: 56:52 | Woods* = 7.9 Valladares = 8.3 Gonzalez = 8.0 Total: 24.2 |
Miami Freerunning |
- * David Rodriguez removed himself from the freestyle round after suffering a leg injury in the speed round. Reserve, Jared Woods, replaced him.
Week 3: Rogue vs. Tribe
| Original Airdate | Location(s) | Parkour Teams | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Winning team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1, 2011 | Downtown Seattle (alleyway) |
Rogue | Time: (43:25) 48:25* | Smith = 8.2 Baker = 8.7 Drechsel = 8.5 Total: 25.4 |
Rogue |
| Parkour Team | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Losing Team | ||
| Tribe | Time: 50:25 | Zernow = 8.4 Sanders = 7.6 Graves = 7.8 Total: 23.8 |
Tribe |
- * A five-second penalty was imposed on Rogue when Smith missed a "fly zone" on the course.
Week 4: Tempest vs. Miami Freerunning
| Original Airdate | Location(s) | Parkour Teams | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 8, 2011 | Downtown Seattle (alleyway at night time) |
Tempest | Time: 50:33 | Orosco = 8.8 Sinclair* = 7.5 Darnell = 8.0 Total: 24.3 |
Tempest |
| Parkour Team | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Losing Team | ||
| Miami Freerunning | Time: 55:89 | Rodriguez = 7.8 Gonzalez = 7.5 Woods = 8.3 Total: 23.6 |
Miami Freerunning |
- *Levi Meeuwenberg was forced out of the competition after injuring his left wrist while practicing on an elevated bar for the speed round. Later, it was revealed by a medic that he fractured his wrist and would be out the entire season. (This was the very injury that forced Meeuwenberg out of the 26th Sasuke tournament and made him give his spot to alternate Adam LaPlante.) Reserve player Caine Sinclair will take Meeuwenberg's place for the rest of the season. On another note Sinclair had come in with a broken toe on his left foot and injured his right ankle in the speed round.
Week 5: Tempest vs. Tribe
| Original Airdate | Location(s) | Parkour Teams | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Sudden Death Round | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 15, 2011 | Seattle Center (rooftop) | Tempest | Time: 46:33 | Sinclair* = 8.3 Darnell = 8.1 Orosco = 7.8 Total: 24.2 |
Orosco = 9.0 | Tempest |
| Parkour Team | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Sudden Death Round | Losing Team | ||
| Tribe | Time: 43:71 | Zernow = 7.7 Sanders* = 7.5 Hughes = 7.6 Total: 22.8 |
Hughes = 8.4 | Tribe |
- *Caine Sinclair competed with an injury—a broken toe on his left foot that he injured before the season began. He suffered through that and also "tweaked" his ankle in week 4.
- *Perhaps from nerves, Sanders threw up before the speed round, but still managed to compete.
Week 6: Rogue vs. Miami Freerunning
| Original Airdate | Location(s) | Parkour Teams | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 22, 2011 | Seattle Center (rooftop) | Rogue | Time: 44:51 | Drechsel* = 8.0 Sarvas = 7.8 Smith = 8.0 Total: 23.8 |
Rogue |
| Parkour Team | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Losing Team | ||
| Miami Freerunning | Time: 47:20 | Woods = 7.6 Valladares = 8.6 Gonazlez = 7.5 Total: 23.7 |
Miami Freerunning |
- *Drew Drechsel competed with an injury to his toe popping out on his right foot that he injured during the speed round, but remained in the freestyle round.
Semi-final Match
Week 7: Tribe vs. Rogue
| Original Airdate | Location(s) City Hall | Parkour Teams | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 29, 2011 | Seattle City Hall | Tribe | Time: 49.74 | Graves = 7.5 Hughes = 8.5 Zernow = 8.9 Total: 24.9 |
Tribe |
| Parkour Team | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Losing Team | ||
| Rogue | Time: 51.55 | Smith = 7.7 Baker = 8.2 Drechsel = 8.2 Total: 24.1 |
Rogue |
NOTE: The course was entirely changed from its Week 1 set-up so as not to give Team Rogue an advantage.
Final/Championship Match
Week 8: Tempest vs. Tribe
| Original Airdate | Location(s) | Parkour Teams | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Sudden Death Round | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 5, 2011 | Qwest Field | Tempest | Time: 1:32:10 | Sinclair = 8.5 Darnell = 8.1 Orosco = 8.5 Total: 25.1 |
Orosco = 9.0 | Tempest |
| Parkour Team | Speed Round | Freestyle Round | Sudden Death Round | Losing Team | ||
| Tribe | Time: 1:24:28 | Graves = 7.9 Hughes = 8.2 Zernow = 8.4 Total: 24.5 |
Zernow = 8.6 | Tribe |
Season standings
Regular season
(After 6 Matches/Week 6)
| Team | Win | Loss |
|---|---|---|
| Tempest (C) | 3 | 0 |
| Rogue* | 2 | 1 |
| Tribe | 1 | 2 |
| Miami Freerunning (X) | 0 | 3 |
(C) = Championship Berth / (X) = Eliminated / * = Eliminated in the play-offs
- Championship Match
| Championship Final | ||||
| Tempest* | 1 | |||
| Tribe | 334 | |||
- *Team Tempest is the first ever Pro Parkour League (PPL) champions.