DES MOINES, Iowa — Skateboarders from across the world made their way to Des Moines Thursday for the start of the 2021 Dew Tour at the brand new Lauridsen Skatepark.
Rain forced events to be postponed Thursday evening but fortunately went away on Friday for the competition to resume.
Local 5 caught up with America's top skate official, CEO of USA Skateboarding Josh Friedberg.
"The park turned out incredible. It is such a good skate park. I think that it's what the future of skate parks should be," Friedberg said about Lauridsen Skatepark. "It's actually a really beautiful addition to the city down by the river. Fun place to hang out, great place to go skate and enjoy time with your friends, family, whatever."
Friedberg grew up skateboarding in Topeka, Kansas. Now, he helps run the largest skateboarding organization in the country.
After four years of being in Long Beach, Calif., organizers decided to make the move to Iowa.
The skatepark itself opened up May 7 for skaters to test the rails before the competition starts. The Dew Tour is also hosting the only U.S.-based Olympic qualifying events for skateboarding.
The event lasts from Thursday through Sunday. Click/tap here for the full schedule of events.
Catch up on more Dew Tour news on Local 5's YouTube channel
What is the Dew Tour?
Back in 2005, Mountain Dew launched the Dew Tour to showcase the athletic poise of skaters across the United States with five major events from Louisville, Ky. to San Jose, Calif.
In 2021, it’s now the only U.S.-based Olympic qualifying event for the Tokyo Olympics for skateboarding.
The event itself has evolved since its start in the early 2000s.
“Dew Tour is an innovative contest series and content platform that brings together the world’s best skateboarders, snowboarders, skiers, artists, brands, and fans in a celebration of creativity and style,” the tour's website says.
Adventure Sports Network Group became the official strategic partner of the competition in 2016. ASNG is the publisher of “Transworld Skateboarding,” “Snowboarder, Powder, Newschoolers” and “Adventure Sports Network.”
What are the COVID protocols?
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic isn't over. The Dew Tour has the following COVID protocols:
- Face masks are required.
- Daily health assessments are required, including a COVID-19 liability waiver and health assessment before entering the venue.
- Social distancing will be enforced.
Why Des Moines?
The brand new Lauridsen Skatepark started as a dream for skateboarders more than 10 years ago. Construction started over three years ago, but was put on hold for a bit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was built by "world-class builders" California Skateparks, the skatepark architects of the Dew Tour since 2014.
During a March press conference, Dew Tour Vice President and General Manager Courtney Gresik said they'd been eyeing Des Moines for a while.
"Des Moines has an incredibly loyal Mountain Dew fan base, and we knew our partners California Skateparks, who builds our custom courses, were close to finishing, you know, the nation's largest skate park in the heart of the city," Gresik said. "So when Catch Des Moines and Polk County reached out to us, the stars really aligned. And after a few visits to Des Moines, we knew it was the right fit."
The park is the largest in the United States, with 88,000 square feet of space.
How does this work as an Olympic qualifying event?
According to Dew Tour's website, this year's street and park competitions are sanctioned by World Skate, serving as the only U.S.-based global Olympic skateboarding qualifying event for 2021.
Skateboarders have a chance to earn valuable Olympic qualifying points for the opportunity to represent their country for skateboarding's debut at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Games.
Skateboarders will go through open qualifier rounds where the top 20 in men's and women's street and park disciplines will go onto the semifinals.
From there, they'll go against the pre-seeded top-12 World Skate ranked athletes who accumulated points from the 2019/2020 qualifying season.
After that, only the top eight will go onto finals.
What is the difference between street and park skateboarding?
The main difference between street and park skateboarding is the course.
In park skateboarding, competitors perform tricks on a large course that looks like an empty bowl. Skaters are scored on the tricks they perform while riding up the curved walls, grinding their skateboard decks along the edges and whatever tricks they do midair.
According to teamusa.org, "it's nonstop motion as they quickly transition from one trick to another without getting off their skateboards."
This is also done in street skateboarding.
However, skaters competing in street skateboarding do so on a straight course that is designed to look more like a regular city street, complete with handrails, stairs, benches and more.
How can I watch it?
Attendance is limited and tickets are no longer available, the Dew Tour's website says.
However, the entire event will be streamed on the Dew Tour's website and through other various outlets like YouTube and Facebook Live.
Lauridsen Skatepark hours:
- Thursday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Friday: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
- Saturday: 9 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
- Sunday: 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
Dew Tour hours:
Who are the skateboarders to watch?
There are more than 300 skaters competing in the individual park and street events at the Dew Tour, all battling for a chance to win the Dew Tour title while also earning points toward their country's Olympic skateboarding team.
Here's a look at the USA Skateboarding National Olympic Team:
- Jordyn Barratt, Women's Park
- Arianna Carmona, Women's Park
- Jordan Santana, Women's Park
- Minna Stess, Women's Park
- Bryce Wettstein, Women's Park
- Brighton Zeuner, Women's Park
- Cory Juneau, Men's Park
- Tristan Renni, Men's Park
- Heimana Reynolds, Men's Park
- Tom Schaar, Men's Park
- Alex Sorgente, Men's Park
- Samarria Brevard, Women's Street
- Mariah Duran, Women's Street
- Alexis Sablone, Women's Street
- Alana Smith, Women's Street
- Jagger Eaton, Men's Street
- Jamie Foy, Men's Street
- Nyjah Huston, Men's Street
- Dashawn Jordan, Men's Street
- Maurio McCoy, Men's Street
- Jake Ilardi, Men's Street
- Louie Lopez, Men's Street
Read more about the skaters by visiting usaskateboarding.com.