AST Dew Tour Kicks Off Today

June 19, 2008 8:11am

AST DEW TOUR ARRIVES IN BALTIMORE TO KICK OFF FOURTH SEASON, JUNE 19-22, AT CAMDEN YARDS SPORTS COMPLEX

NEW YORK - June 19, 2008 - The AST Dew Tour, the world's premier season-long action sports tour, begins its fourth season on June 19 with the Panasonic Open at Baltimore's Camden Yards Sports Complex. The five-city tour also includes stops in Cleveland, Portland, Salt Lake City and Orlando.

Entering 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 nearly 300,000 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 (BMX Park), Shaun White (Skateboard Vert) and Ryan Sheckler (Skateboard Park).

There are a number of athletes to watch on the fourth season of the AST Dew Tour-both veterans and a few new faces. A list of a few of those athletes to watch is as follows:

Skateboarding

· Bucky Lasek, native to Baltimore, boasts of two Dew Tour titles in Skateboard Vert from 2005 and 2006. In 2007 he was recovering from a knee injury and placed third overall, but his win at the final event of the season at the PlayStation Pro proved that he's back on top of his game. Expect great things to come from this seasoned vert skater.

· Mathieu "Gumbie" Therres was a new face on the AST Dew Tour skateboard park scene last season after winning the open qualifiers in Baltimore and earning a spot to compete on the Tour. He is entering his second professional season this year and has been embraced by his native Baltimore.

· Thirteen-year-old Chaz Ortiz is the rookie to watch this year. The Chicago native held his own against the likes of Ryan Sheckler and Greg Lutza during the PlayStation Pro season finale last season. All eyes will be on him to see how he fares this year in his first professional season on Tour.

· Ryan Sheckler of San Clemente, Calif. will be on a quest for a perfect season, narrowly missing that goal last year. The three-time Dew Cup champion in skateboard park won three of the five stops, placing second only to Greg Lutzka for the remaining two events.

BMX

· Anthony Napolitan of Youngstown Ohio is looking to claim the Dew Cup title in BMX dirt this season. The 2006 Dew Cup winner was up against some fierce competition last year, and he has been training hard in the off-season to regain his dominance.

· Jamie Bestwick of Nottingham, GBR has won 11 off the 15 BMX vert events over the three-year history of the AST Dew Tour. His competition is looking to unseat the three-time Dew Cup winner.

· Mike Spinner of Oceanside, N.Y. made history in BMX Park competition after completing the first 1080 at the Vans Invitational last season. Spinner will be the one to watch this season as he is hungry for his first Dew Cup victory after finishing second last year.

FMX

· Jeremy Stenberg of Winchester, Calif. placed sixth in 2007 and is looking to regain his dominance in the sport and capture his first Dew Tour title. His biggest competition is reining champion Nate Adams.

· Nate Adams of Glendale, Ariz. is the man to beat in FMX competition as the reining Dew Cup champion. Adams was the athlete of the year in 2007 and will try to make it back-to-back titles in 2008.

· Mike Mason of Minden, Nev. finished third last season and will look to overtake his competitors during the 2007 Dew Tour season.

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