New York 2008 – The AST Dew Tour, the world’s premier season-long action sports tour, announced that the Wendy’s Invitational in Portland, Ore., will host a Nike 6.0 Snowboard and Ski Rail Jam specialty competition Saturday, Aug. 23. Nearly 44,000 pounds of ice are used to create the snow for the Rail Jam. The third stop of the AST Dew Tour, the Wendy’s Invitational, will take place Aug. 21-24 at Portland’s Rose Quarter.
“Some of the best snowboarders and skiers competing in a Rail Jam in the middle of the summer at Portland’s Rose Quarter, sounds like fun to me,†said Wade Martin, AST President. “This is the fourth year of the Rail Jam in Portland, but this is the first year we will have both a Snowboard and Ski Rail Jam. This will be a great precursor to the much-anticipated AST Winter Dew Tour, which kicks off in December and includes both snowboarding and freeskiing disciplines and kicks off this December.â€
Matt Walker, 19, of Boulder, Colo., is the favorite in the Ski Rail Jam having captured first place in the ski slopestyle event at this year’s Aspen/Snowmass Open. He will face some stiff competition as he takes on Frank Raymond, Peter Olenick, Tom Wallisch, Joe Schuster and Ian Cosco.
Snowboarder Jonas Michilot, 20, of Bloomington, Minn., is the reigning Rail Jam champion and has hopes to repeat in 2008. He will have tough competition from Mike Casanova, Travis Kennedy, Chris Rotax, Trevor Jacob and Lucas Magoon.
Riders will begin each run perched atop a 30-foot snow-covered platform and then ride down the course to perform tricks on a handrail with ledges on either side. Each rider will be allowed one introductory run, followed by a 30-minute jam session that includes all the athletes. Fans can catch the Snowboard Rail Jam from 8:30 to 9 p.m. outside the Rose Quarter followed by the Ski Rail Jam from 9:45 to 10:15.
Three judges will rank the competitors based on overall impression of the following: variety, difficulty, technical ability and the use of course obstacles. At stake is a prize purse of nearly $14,000.
The inaugural season of the Winter Dew Tour kicks off at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Breckenridge, Colo., Dec. 18-21, 2008, continues at Mount Snow Resort in West Dover, Vt., Jan. 8-11 and concludes at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in Lake Tahoe, Calif., Feb. 19-22.
Currently in 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 280,000 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).
About 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 280,000 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 season’s 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®, Nike 6.0, NowWhat.com and Verizon Wireless.
About 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.
About MTV Networks
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 150 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services – MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, LOGO, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of 150 Harvester Drive, Suite 140| Burr Ridge, IL 60527 Action Sports Tour, LLC MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 300 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.