Westbound Boarder

The first night and Dew Tour SLC qualifiers are officially a wrap, and what a night it was. It is always pretty chill to sit back and watch the qualifiers and it was a great showing for the Last Chance Events which is the athletes final opportunity to progress to the events of the next 3 days. We watched BMX dirt jumping at an awesome outdoor track, BMX Vert, and 4 amazing Street Skate Jam sessions. The Street Skate especially was a great event with incredible talent. The Finals for this event will surely be a show to see as these qualifiers proved there is a lot to look forward to. Stay tuned for more. . . .hope to see you there!

Schedule:

Friday, September 9th
2:00 PM – 7:30 PM FESTIVAL VILLAGE OPEN
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM BMX Dirt Semi-Final
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM BMX Vert Semi-Final
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM Skateboard Street Semi-Final
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM FMX Speed and Style
9:00 PM – 11:00 PM Concert

Saturday, September 10th
12:00 PM – 7:00 PM FESTIVAL VILLAGE OPEN
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM Skateboard Vert Final
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM Gatorade Free Flow Tour Skateboard Street Final
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM BMX Dirt Final
9:00 PM – 9:30 PM BMX Dirt Big Air

Sunday, September 11th
12:00 PM – 5:30 PM FESTIVAL VILLAGE OPEN
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Gatorade Free Flow Tour Skateboard Vert Final
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM Skateboard Street Final
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM BMX Vert Final

Action sports athletes from around the nation killed it in yesterday’s Dew Tour Championships Skate Vert Finals in Vegas, but of course none other than Shaun White took first place.

Check out the video highlights below!

One of our favorite snowboard brands, Planet Earth is introducing a new perspective. As if they haven’t already done enough with keeping up on the most fashionable (because admit it, that matters) AND eco-sensitive product line in action sports, they are now looking out for the little guys.

What’s Planet Earth’s Perspectives? It is a mic for people making things happen, because let’s get real not all of us are pro’s. The perspectives series offers down to earth, real life stories in the form of videos, interviews and photos to be shared with the rest of the planet. The Planet Earth Perspectives, in my opinion serves as motivation for all of the shredders out there who have one thing in common, the love of their sport.

This weekend (starting today), Salt Lake City, UT will play home to the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Skate finals.  Sister comp. to the Dew Tour, the Gatorade Free Flow Tour began in 2009 and since then has emerged as one of the premier amateur board sports competitions.

More than 70 of the best amateur skaters and BMX riders in the United States will be in Salt Lake City Sept. 16 – 19 to compete in the Skate and BMX Finals, including the 47 event winners from the Tour season and wildcard entries selected from the overall pool of competitors.

Highlighting the roster are four-time Gatorade Free Flow Tour finalists Chase Webb, Ryan Thompson, and Tyson Bowerbank (skate park), as well as third-time contestants Fletcher Renegar (skate park) and Spencer Bass (BMX park). This year also presents four dual-discipline athletes; competing in both BMX park and dirt are Daniel Sandoval, Jason Lopez, Kevin Peraza, and Vinny Mannino.

Check out the teaser video here or the full event lineup here, and tune in starting tonight!

The Dew Tour consists of five major, multi sport events spanning across the country, with a cumulative points system. The Tour features skateboarding (men and women, park and vert), BMX (park, vert and dirt) and freestyle motocross. At season’s end, the overall points leaders in the five disciplines will be crowned year-end champs and awarded the prestigious Dew Cup title. A Portland, Ore. stop is on the schedule, so listen up…

Shaun White is at it again. This time he will by fighting for the Skate Vert World Championship title at the Dew Tour Skateboarding Open. It all goes down this June 25-26 at Boston’s legendary TD Garden. Those competing against White this year include Dew Tour defending champ, Bucky Lasek, Boston Local Andy Macdonald, Alex Perelson and vert legend Bob Burnquist.

In addition to the Vert Competition we have also got the Skate Park World Championship competitors, including Paul Rodriguez, Chaz Ortiz , Greg Lutzka and defending champ Ryan Sheckler.

Dew Tour Schedule:

The Gatorade Free Flow Tour is the official amateur series of the Dew Tour and yesterday they announced their complete skate schedule for the 2010 season. It all begins May 22^nd and registration is open to all amateur skaters and BMX riders (21 and under) across the country. The contest is comprised of 47 events across 30 parks, featuring skateboarding (park and vert) and BMX (park and dirt) competitions. Destinations include the series park highlights at the Kona Skatepark (Jacksonvill, Fla.) and our very own Department of Skateboarding (Portland, Ore.) among many, many more.

The winner of each event earns a trip to compete against the pros in the Dew Tour’s season-ending finals this summer. For registration and more details on when the tour is headed to your neck of the woods this spring/summer, check out gatoradefreeflowtour.com.

…I am for reals here! All you have to do is submit your best video and you could earn yourself a spot in the Gatorade Free Flow Finals stop of the Dew Tour. It all takes place in Salt Lake City and these guys will even pay for your airfare and lodging if you are selected!

Events included are BMX park, Skate park and Skate vert – so check out Dylan Stark’s submission that the Dew Tour has shared with the world – think you are better than this youngster? Than get your video in ASAP, there are only a few days left to enter.

And I almost forgot, since the Gatorade Free Flow Tour is an amateur circuit competition, you do have to be an am to enter… (21 & under for BMX, 18 & under for skate). On top of competing in the Dew Tour, you just may find yourself competing against your favorite pros, because the winner of each competition will be up against the Dew Tour Pro’s in Orlando bABy!

UPDATE: We just spoke with the dudes at the Dew Tour and ladies are welcome and encouraged to enter the contest! C’mon ladies, make us proud!!

For those of you not paying attention, August has proven to be a pretty epic extreme sports month for the Portland area. Downtown Portland was host to the 2009 Wake Jam a couple weeks back (check out our recap & pics!) and is now bringing you the Dew Tour this weekend. That’s right. Today, Thursday August 13th – Sunday August 16th, the best Skate, BMX and Freestyle Moto Cross athletes will be competing for the highly coveted Dew Cup, and you can be there to witness it.

Tickets are available at the Rose Quarter and Online. Prices are quite reasonable and you can enjoy the entire weekend for less than $100 bucks.  It gets better too, with any single day or all session ticket purchase, you will receive a free ticket for Thursday’s event’s, which are not on sale to the public.

Still wondering what the Dew Tour is really about? Check ‘em out online, but here is a brief run down. The Dew Tour has been around since 2005 and is the first ever action sports tour. It consists of a five month tour, featuring competitions in three different action sports (Skate, FMX and BMX). At the end of it all an overall Dew Cup winner is determined and over $2.5 mill in prize money will be allocated accordingly.

Last years Dew Tour champs include FMX pro Adam Jones, BMX Vert competitor Jamie Bestwick, BMX park rider Daniel Dhers, BMX dirty dawg Cameron White, Skate Verter Pierre Luc Gagnon and lastly Chax Ortiz, Skateboard Park extrordinare. Where were all the ladies last year you ask? I really don’t know, but I will be on the look out for them this weekend, that is for sure!

Before I get into talkin’ about my experience with the Shred Sled, let me tell you a little bit about it. The Shred Sled is the next gen caster board and the first 4 wheel in-line, dual-deck board. You do not pump the ground like you do on a traditional skateboard. You use your hips, legs and arms to gain momentum to maneuver the shred sled – very similar to how you move yourself on a snowboard and surfboard. Don’t believe it? Check out this Shred Sled Demo Video on you tube here and the siiiick trick video here.

When I first heard from the Shred Sled experts, who described the shred sled as a skateboard that, ‘combines the movements of skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding,’ I could not believe what I was hearing. I thought if the Shred Sled really emulates snowboarding and surfing in one, then I am already sold. Obviously I had to try it out before I really jumped on board with the Shred Sled, so I impatiently waited its arrival.

My husband (Lance) and I took out the Shred Sled together and bravely attempted the unknown. My first ride on the Shred Sled was not exactly like a fairy tale. I quickly became discouraged as I had a difficult time keeping my balance and starting off on the Shred Sled. The narrow, 4 in-line wheels do make balancing on the Shred Sled, at first, a bit difficult. After about 10 minutes of failure and death gripping Lance’s arm for balance, I was able to start the Shred Sled without using something else for balance. After I was able to kick off to get my initial speed, the rest was really easy and comfortable. The carving turns you make by propelling your hips, legs and arms, are VERY similar to snowboarding and I really felt like I was making powder turns on the sidewalk. Unlike a normal skateboard or longboard, because the shred sled has the 4 in-line wheels, you are able to go any direction you want, make extra sharp turns, and even spin in full circles. Things you would never be able to do on a regular skate!

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Once Lance and I were both able to effortlessly maneuver the Shred Sled, we had a hard time sharing as we were both having so much fun. The Shred Sled really is like riding a bicycle. You may have a little bit of trouble balancing and squirming around at first, but guaranteed, you will get the hang of it sooner than later. And to top it all off? You don’t have to be a ‘boarder’ to learn how to Shred Sled. We have shown a number of our friends who don’t have any snowboarding or skateboarding ability, and they have been able to get the hang of the Shred Sled just as well.

Interested in getting a Shred Sled of your own? Check out the Shred Sled home page where you will find ordering information, testimonials and even tips for learning how to Shred Sled. You already part of the craze? Let us know what you thinkof the Shred Sled by leaving us a comment and be sure to check out our Shred Sled pictures on Flickr!

The ladies of the 2009 Summer X Games raised the bar in Skate Vert, Skate Street and Moto X this year with stellar performances in all areas. Here are some of the highlights:

The X Games Street victory goes to Marisa Dal Santo, now 2 time X Game gold medalist – although the triumph did not come easily for her. Santo was up against her friend, skateboard legend and four time gold medalist, Elissa Steamer (who took Bronze this time around). Alexis Sablone (recent comeback skater after taking time off of the sport to complete her college degree, go Alexis!), was there to give Marisa a run for her $$$ too. Lucky for Marisa – who entered the final round with her work cut out for her -nailed a frontside boardslide down the 12-stair bringing her into third and sealed the deal (and the gold baby) with a frontside lipslide down the rail. Congrats to Marisa Dal Santo!

The Women’s Vert contest was just as exciting as Street, as competition history was made for the ladies. As of a couple of years ago, no one had ever pulled off a kickflip indy in a women’s vert comp – and during the Women’s X-games vert contest, just that was done. Three out of the eight ladies competing in the vert comp, pulled off the trick in their run, resulting in podium spots for each of them.  Despite the solidity of last year’s gold medalist, Karen Jonz’ runs this year, gold went to Lynz Adams Hawkins for her commitment to raising the bar even higher and higher with her multiple McTwist attempts.  Lynz was surprised when she received the first place gold medal this year, but no one else was. Silver went to Karen Jonz and bronze to Gaby Ponce. Cheers to these ladies, keep on raising that bar!

Motocross took place on Saturday night of the weekend comp and the motocross teen sensation, Ashley Fiolek, did not disappoint anybody. Fiolek, who has been deaf since birth, was excited to come to the x games and do this well – and for good reason. The 18-year-old was forced to withdrawal from last year’s X Games due to an injury, but made up for lost time this year for sure. Fiolek did not get out of the gate very well and struggled against competitor Jessica Patterson for the remainder of the race. It was during the final lap that Fiolek took the lead and raced herself to the gold standing that she had been waiting for since last year’s X Games. And to top it off? The Moto X Games led to the highest billing a women’s X Games event has ever received on ESPN. Go Moto X Ladies!

So here is a shout out to all of the ladies who participated in raising the bar at the Summer X Games this year. Keep on shreddin’!

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