2008 AST Dew Tour Announces Prequalified Athletes

The AST Dew Tour has announced the athletes who have pre-qualified for the 2008 tour. Most of the names are not a surprise, as at least the top 10 riders from each discpline, based on their final AST Dew Tour rankings from 2007, were automatically qualified. Additionally, three to four wildcards were handed out per sport, though most recipeints are familiar faces to the tour. Chaz Ortiz is apparently going to compete in Skate Park after winning the Free Flow tour and appearing at the PlayStation Pro as an amateur but the other two Skate Park wildcards, Chad Fernandez and Paul Rodriguez, have been fixtures on the tour since its inception.

FMX had the most interesting wild card picks, with Dany Torres, a Spainard who has done well on the X-Fighters tour, joining the tour as a rookie. Robbie Maddison, who competed in 2006 on the tour, will make a triumphant return after setting a world record earlier this year. The final wildcard, Mathieu Rebeaud, has been on the tour since 2005.

Keep reading for all the pre-qualified athletes and the full press release.

AST ANNOUNCES PRE-QUALIFIED ATHLETES FOR
2008 AST DEW TOUR

Roster of Pre-Qualified Athletes Expected to Compete at Panasonic Open Include Baltimore’s Bucky Lasek and Three-Time Dew Cup Winners
Ryan Sheckler and Jamie Bestwick
NEW YORK – June 10, 2008 – The AST Dew Tour, the world’s premier season-long action sports tour, today announced the roster of athletes that are pre-qualified for the 2008 AST Dew Tour. The Panasonic Open kicks off in Baltimore, June 19-22 at Camden Yards Sports Complex.

Athletes are pre-qualified based on their rankings at the end of the 2007 AST Dew Tour season. Additionally 3-4 wild cards per discipline have been selected. Athletes who are not pre-qualified may compete as Open Qualifiers at the Panasonic Open to earn a spot in the preliminary rounds. The full list of pre-qualified athletes is as follows:

Skateboard Park
Ryan Sheckler
Greg Lutzka
Rodolfo Ramos
Austen Seaholm
Carlos de Andrade
Fabrizo Santos
Kurtis Colamonico
Tulio de Oliviera
Danny Fuenzalida
Mike Peterson
Danilo do Rosario
Jason Barr
Mathieu Therres
Rodil Araujo Jr
Jereme Rogers
*Chaz Ortiz
*Paul Rodriguez
*Chad Fernandez

Skateboard Vert
Shaun White
Bucky Lasek
Pierre-Luc Gagnon
Bob Burnquist
Andy Macdonald
Rune Glifberg
Jean Postec
Alex Perelson
Danny Mayer
Anthony Furlong
*Adam Taylor
*Rob Lorifice
*Sandro Dias

BMX Park
Daniel Dhers
Mike Spinner
Ryan Nyquist
Scotty Cranmer
Dave Mirra
Dennis Enarson
Allan Cooke
Steven McCann
Garrett Reynolds
Josh Harrington
Diogo Canina
Rob Darden
Kevin Kiraly
Alistair Whitton
Marcus Tooker
Craig Mast
Colin Mackay
Ryan Guettler
Gary Young
*Mike Laird
*Ben Wallace
*Dan Sieg
*Austin Coleman

BMX Vert
Jamie Bestwick
Simon Tabron
Steven McCann
Chad Kagy
Jimmy Walker
Kevin Robinson
Jay Eggleston
Dennis McCoy
John Parker
Zack Warden
*Francisco Zurita
*Koji Kraft
*Austin Coleman

BMX Dirt
Ryan Nyquist
Cameron White
Dennis Enarson
Luke Parslow
James Foster
Corey Bohan
Anthony Napolitan
Diogo Canina
TJ Ellis
Chris Doyle
Ryan Guettler
Colin Mackay
Allan Cooke
Joey Marks
*Steven McCann
*Morgan Wade
*Rob Darden
*Chris Gerber

FMX
Nate Adams
Adam Jones
Mike Mason
Jeremy Lusk
Todd Potter
Jeremy Stenberg
Wiley Fullmer
Myles Richmond
Tkayuki Hadashino
Beau Bamburg
*Robbie Maddison
*Mathieu Rebeaud
*Dany Torres

*Indicates wild cards
**All 2008 AST Dew Tour pre-qualified athletes are not guaranteed to compete at all five stops of the ‘08 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