AST Dew Tour Unveils Street-Inspired Skate Course At Wendy’s Invitational, August 21-24 In Portland, Ore - Legendary Street Skater Eric Koston to Join Top Field Including Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodriguez and Greg Lutzka - New York – The AST Dew Tour, the
AST Dew Tour Unveils Street-Inspired Skate Course At Wendy’s Invitational, August 21-24 In Portland, Ore.
Legendary Street Skater Eric Koston to Join Top Field Including Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodriguez and Greg Lutzka
New York – The AST Dew Tour, the world’s premier season-long action sports tour, today announced a new street-focused skate course for the Wendy’s Invitational, held August 21-24 in Portland, Ore. This is the first time in Dew Tour history that the skateboard park course will focus on the elements of street skating with a plaza-inspired design.
The street-focused course in Portland will feature stairs, rails, jersey barriers, and cement ledges along with elements that will give the course a real-life feel – including a picnic table, fire hydrant, brick stamped Skatelite, and shrubbery. Legendary professional skateboarder Eric Koston was granted a wildcard to compete in the event, as his specialty is technical, street-skating.
“We are thrilled to unveil this new design,” said Wade Martin, AST president. “When the ’08 Skate Park Dew Cup champion is crowned at the end of the season in Orlando, it will be an athlete that is well rounded and who has remained consistent across the different styles of courses – both park and street focused.”
“This course is definitely my cup of tea. I saw the drawing of it, and it looked great," said Paul Rodriguez, currently first in 2008 Skate Park Dew Cup standings. "For me personally, this style of course gives me more options of tricks to try. So hopefully when I skate it in Portland I'll feel the same way."
Rodriguez expressed his approval of the new course and is excited to compete at the upcoming Wendy’s Invitational. He excels at this style of skating, as does Koston. Watch for some fierce competition from fellow skaters including three-time Dew Cup champion Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka and Jereme Rogers. All athletes are top contenders for a podium spot in Portland.
Currently in its fourth year, the AST Dew Tour is the most watched and attended action sports property in the world. Attendance for the 2007 AST Dew Tour totaled 280,000 and an average of 41 million viewers tuned in via NBC and USA each year. The top athletes in the world will take part in this year’s Tour, all competing for the highly coveted Dew Cup that will be awarded in Orlando at season’s end to champions in each of the six disciplines. The 2007 Dew Cup winners include Nate Adams (Freestyle Motocross), Jamie Bestwick (BMX Vert), Ryan Nyquist (BMX Dirt), Daniel Dhers (BMXPark), Shaun White (Skateboard Vert) and Ryan Sheckler (Skateboard Park).
The complete 2008 AST Dew Tour schedule is as follows:
Event Date Location
Panasonic Open June 19-22 Baltimore, Md.—Camden Yards Sports Complex Right Guard Open July 17-20 Cleveland, OH—North Coast Harbor Wendy’s Invitational Aug. 21-24 Portland, Ore.—Rose Quarter Toyota Challenge Sept. 11-14 Salt Lake City, UT—EnergySolutions Arena PlayStation® Pro Oct. 16-19 Orlando, Fla.—Amway Arena
About AST
The Action Sports Tour (AST) is the recently created umbrella brand and organization of the world’s most prestigious action sports events. Currently the AST consists of two national tours, one international event and an amateur series: AST Dew Tour (debuted in 2005), AST Winter Dew Tour (debuting in 2008), AST China (debuting in 2008), and Free Flow Tour (debuted in 2005). The AST properties are home to 280,000 spectators each year and broadcast in 100 countries and 280 million homes worldwide. The AST Dew Tour consists of five major, multi-sport events spanning across the country, with a cumulative points system, a $2.5 million competitive purse – the largest in action sports – and an additional $1 million bonus pool. Each event features skateboarding (park and vert), BMX (park, vert, and dirt) and freestyle motocross. At season’s end, the overall point’s leaders in the six disciplines are crowned year-end champions and awarded the prestigious Dew Cup. Key lifestyle elements at each Tour event include the Festival village, specialty competitions, and live cutting edge music. The AST Dew Tour partners include Mountain Dew (tour title sponsor); and Panasonic, Right Guard Xtreme, Wendy's, Toyota and PlayStation® (event title sponsors). Associate partners include Ball Park, Mongoose®, Nike 6.0, NowWhat.com and Verizon Wireless.
About NBC Universal
NBC Universal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates the No. 1 television network, the fastest-growing Spanish-language network, a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.
About MTV Networks
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 150 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, LOGO, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 300 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.
