Shaun White, Travis Pastrana to Compete at Vans® Invitational

August 14, 2006 - New York, N.Y - The Dew Action Sports Tour, the pro tour of action sports, makes the third stop of its second season with the Vans® Invitational, August 17-20, at Portland's Rose Quarter. The five-city tour opened in Louisville in June and also includes stops in Denver, San Jose and Orlando.

Skateboarder Shaun White, BMX athlete Jamie Bestwick, and FMX competitor Travis Pastrana are among the athletes who will be in Portland to compete for the Dew Cup, awarded at season's end to the athlete with the highest number of points in each of the six combined disciplines of skateboarding, BMX, and freestyle motocross. The Tour's inaugural season champions include
Ryan Sheckler (Skateboard Park), Bucky Lasek (Skateboard Vert), Kenny Bartram (Freestyle Motocross), Jamie Bestwick (BMX Vert) and Ryan Guettler (BMX Park and BMX Dirt). Each Dew Cup winner received a portion of the $1 million year-end bonus and returns for the 2006 season.

The Vans® Invitational will feature 150 professional action sports athletes; all qualified for the remainder of the season at the first two stops on Tour, the Panasonic Open and Right Guard Open.  Due to depth of this year's athlete talent, the Tour increased the finals field in all disciplines, following 12 athletes instead of 10 to advance to the finals. The Tour also increased the size of the FMX, BMX Park, BMX Dirt and Skateboard Park courses so athletes can perform bigger and better tricks.

The last stop of the Tour, the Right Guard Open in Denver, Co., saw intense competition. Some highlights are below:

Jereme Rogers, 21, from Boston, Mass., scored a 91.58 to edge
11-year-old Nyjah Huston, of Davis, Calif., sealing the victory with a
switch frontside tailside to fakie. Huston, who also took second place at the first stop of the Tour, finished second at 88.92.  In third was Rodolfo Ramos, 22, of Brazil with a score of 86.25.

In Skateboard Vert, U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White, 19, from Carlsbad, Calif., scored an 89.75 on his first run in the best-of-two format. He edged Brazil's Sandro Dias, 31 who finished second with an 89.25. The 2005 Dew Cup winner in Skateboard Vert, Bucky Lasek, 33, of Baltimore, Md., finished in third with a score of 87.00.

Currently sitting atop the BMX Park standings is the Venezuelen
rookie, Daniel Dhers, 21.  At the Right Guard Open, Dhers surprised everyone by earning the victory and 100 points to move to the top of the season points standings entering the Vans® Invitational.  Trailing Dhers is Panasonic Open winner, Scotty Cranmer, 19, of Jackson, NJ, and Great Britain's Alistair Whitton, 25.

In BMX Dirt, Ryan Nyquist, 27, of Los Gatos, Calif., scored a 96.25
on his second run to win the title.  He secured his win by performing his first barspin 720 in competition.  Placing second was Panasonic Open winner Anthony Napoliton, 20, of Youngstown, OH with a 94.00 and in third Luke Parslow, 21, of Riverside, Calif., with a score of 93.25.

Jamie Bestwick, 35, of Great Britain, scored a 94.00 on his second
run in the best-of-two format, to win the BMX Vert competition.  He moved from second to first place in the season standings with the victory. Placing second was Chad Kagy, 27, of Gilroy, Calif., with a score of 92.50. In third was Kevin Robinson, 34, of Providence, RI, with a 92.25.

Travis Pastrana, 22, Annapolis, Md., sealed his victory in Freestyle
Motocross at the Right Guard Open on his first run, earning a 96.83.
Pastrana chose to forgo his second run and instead concluded the competition with a victory lap around the course with 2005 Dew Cup winner Kenny Bartram, 27, of Stillwater, Ok.  In second was Nate Adams, 22, of Glendale, Az. with a 96.17 and placing third was Bartram with a 95.67.  Pastrana and Adams are now tied for first place in the season standings with 175 points each while Bartram and Norway's Ailo Gaup are tied for second with 112 points.

In addition to competitions in skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross, the Vans® Invitational will also feature a Snowboard Rail Jam on Thursday, August 17.  Riders will start atop a 30-foot tall snow-covered platform and ride down a handrail with ledges on either side, performing tricks along the way.  The rail jam will feature nine top male snowboarders including last year's champion, Yale Cousino, and Oregon's own Ben Watts.  Each rider will be allowed one introductory run followed by a 30-minute jam session including all athletes.

Fans can explore the Dew Action Sports Tour's Festival Village every day of the event, which includes athlete autograph sessions, video gaming and interactive courses.  The Verizon Wireless music stage will feature Crossfade with special guest The Last Vegas on Friday, August 18 at 9:00 p.m.

Admission to all competitions, the Festival Village, and the Friday concert featuring Crossfade is included in the daily ticket price for the Dew Action Sports Tour's Vans® Invitational.  Friday through Sunday, a daily adult ticket is $15 in advance and a child's daily ticket is $7.50 in advance. At the door, tickets are $18 for adults and $9 for children.  Tickets to the Vans® Invitational on Thursday, August 17 are $7.50 in advance or $9 the day of. A four-day pass to the Vans® Invitational is $20 for children and $40 for adults.  Tickets are available at the Rose Quarter Box Office, online at RoseQuarter.com, participating Safeway locations, or by calling 877-789-ROSE (7673).  Please note that all tickets are subject to convenience and handling charges.

NBC will air the Vans® Invitational on August 19 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. EDT and August 20 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. EDT.  USA Network's telecasts are from Midnight-1:00 a.m. on August 18 and Midnight-1:00 a.m. on August 19.  FUEL TV provides pre- and post-event coverage of the Dew Action Sports Tour through upcoming stop previews and 30-minute wrap-ups. Check www.fuel.tv for complete listings.

For Vans® Invitational schedule information and complete results and
standings, fans can log on to www.dewactionsportstour.com.

The Dew Action Sports Tour schedule, events and locations are as follows:

DATE                    EVENT                           LOCATION
June 22-25             Panasonic Open           Louisville, Ky. - Kentucky
Expo Center
July 13-16              Right Guard Open        Denver, Co. - Pepsi Center
Aug. 17-20             Vans® Invitational      Portland, Ore. - Rose Quarter
Sept. 7-10              Toyota Challenge         San Jose, Calif. - HP
Pavilion
Oct. 12-15              PlayStation® Pro         Orlando, Fla. - TD
Waterhouse Centre