AST ANNOUNCES 2008 DEW TOUR SCHEDULE
February 19, 2008
AST Announces 2008 Dew Tour Schedule
– press release –
NEW YORK – February 19, 2008 – The AST Dew Tour, the world’s premier season-long action sports tour, today announced its schedule for the 2008 season (June-October). In addition to returning to Portland, Ore. and Orlando for the fourth time, the Tour will stop in Baltimore, Cleveland and Salt Lake City for the second consecutive season.
“With nearly 300,000 spectators in 2007, the highest attended season to date, we are extremely excited about returning to Baltimore, Cleveland, Portland, Salt Lake, and Orlando,” said Wade Martin, president of AST. “All five host cities have demonstrated great support of action sports and we know the fans will embrace the Tour in even greater numbers in 2008.”
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
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).
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 over 300,000 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 seasons 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®, and Verizon Wireless. More information can be found at www.ast.com.
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.