BIG CHANGES IN NEW AST DEW TOUR
By the time you read this, the traditional first stop of the AST Dew (Action Sports Tour) in Baltimore, Ohio, will be on or over. The 2008 changes could surprise the Tour's ever growing masses of fans.
This year's schedule will make one stop each month: June 19-22, Baltimore; July 17-20, Cleveland; August 21-24, Portland, Oregon; September 11-14, Salt Lake City; October 16-19, Orlando. But you'll see a lot more of the Dew than ever before.
First news: new sponsors. NBC no longer goes it alone, MTV has signed on for the ride. Since the AST Dew Tour is grabbing more of the youth demographic than either NBC's rather stodgy Olympics or MTV's 'seen it, copied it, done with it' videos; both television giants figured they could combine wheels and rock and grab even more of an audience, since MTV can bring the music. Expect a more 'Warped' style rock/skate show at each of the five stops.
But FMX, with its dirt-track toreadors on motorbikes, is being downsized. Only three of the Dew's five stops will have FMX comps: Baltimore, Salt Lake City and Orlando. FMX at the Cleveland and Portland stops will only be best trick demos.
In skateboard park, the regular two part jam is gone. According to action sports site Lat34 (Lat34.com), the two-part jam session is being eliminated in favor of one seven-minute Jam with six skateboarders who can utilize the whole course. In theory this could improve competitiveness since some athletes excel in the jam format more than others.
Last year's champion, the world's top action star Shaun White, will not participate in two stops, and may even miss others. He will miss Baltimore and Portland, and has yet to announce whether he will make Salt Lake or Orlando. While White blames his snowboarding schedule for his absence, he would not be forced to attend the U. S. snowboard team summer camps, nor does he need the practice. Some are saying that the constant work of being "on" while competing in two sports, both summer and winter, is just too much, and White is on the edge of burnout; so he is pulling back a little from his grueling schedule. White will be at July's Cleveland visit.
On a sad but triumphant note, Baltimore will mark the one year anniversary of top BMX rider Stephen Murray's life-altering crash. Murray was doing a double back flip and landed on his head, crushing his spine and paralyzing him from the shoulders down. His heart stopped twice in the ambulance, and he was not expected to live. But Murray not only survived, he has worked with all his athlete's heart to recover. He no longer breathes with a ventilator, he now has some sensation below his shoulders, and Murray says, "Someday, I will walk again." (The Murray "Stay Strong" Foundation is still accepting donations, to donante, go to "stephenmurrayfamilyfund.com)
Finally, with everything athletic focused on China at the moment, it's no surprise that the AST Dew Tour made its first international stop in Beijing in April. Both skate vert and park contests were scheduled, but rain canceled the park comp. Pierre-Luc Gagnon won, followed by Andy McDonald in second and Adam Taylor in third. Brazil's Sandro Dias pulled off a cool 900 to cop the Vert Best Trick award.