Break Out Your Passport, It’s the LG Action Sports World Tour

Sep 01 2006 / Los Angeles, CA

I’m not the first to say it, but I should have paid more attention in my high school Spanish class. At the time (I’m sure many of you fall into this category) I suspected I’d never have a use for anything other than suburban American English. 15 years later, the LG Action Sports World Tour has proved me wrong, and forced me to break out those goofy foreign language tapes in preparation for some wild adventures. The tour has brought me to some rather “exotic” locations around the world, and left me fumbling my way around Barcelona looking for Las Ramblas in broken Spanish.
 

PHOTO GALLERY Check out pictures from the Berlin stop on the LG Action Sports Tour. View Gallery>

The crew from the LG Action Sports World tour has made it a point to bring large-scale action sports events to unsuspecting locations. They’ve set up camp at the base of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. They’ve brought their portable set up to a popular European tourist beach in Northern Italy (Rimini). Moscow? China? Yup, they’ve been there too with ramps and pros in tow. Last year they even invaded the home of the legendary Manchester United, in Manchester, UK for the LG Action Sports Championships.
 
The Action Sports World Tour has brought events to parts of the world that otherwise might not have access to pro level events and talent… and they even bring inline. Remember inline skating? Two boots, eight wheels, and that one girl… oh yeah, Fabiola DaSilva. Inline contests have all but disappeared from other mainstream events, but the ASA (the group who put on the tour) has deep roots in the inline world, and it’s making its best effort to keep it alive. Because of that you’ll find some of the best names in inline at every stop on the tour, including the brother’s Yasutoko. [Insert music from a 70s ninja film here] The two Japanese wonder boys have taken a page from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon book of style, and they always leave you with your jaw hanging at your knees. When the Yasutoko’s skate, every other pro on the tour — whether a BMXer or Skateboarder — has their eyes on the ramp. It’s clear everyone appreciates the talents of the brother’s Yasutoko. And who’s that guy spinning himself silly? That’s likely Shane Yost, the Australian who’s been nicknamed the Tazmanian Devil for his non-stop spinning madness. At last week’s Berlin tour stop, Shane overtook the Yasutokos, who have dominated the last four years of inline vert. The battle is heating up.
 
At every stop of the tour you’ll find some of the biggest names in BMX and skateboard vert. LG BMX team riders Simon Tabron and John Parker are regular fixtures, as well as Koji Kraft, and Tom Haugen. Skateboard names on the tour include Tas Pappas, Anthony Furlong, Jake Brown, and Mathias Ringstrom. As a bonus, a few of the tour stops are also featuring park events, where you’ll also find Koji and Tom, in addition to other big names like Steven McCann and Tobias Wicke. One thing you also get to experience with the LG tour is local talent. New locals pop out of the woodwork at every stop, so you just might see the next tour standout in the making. Alesandro Barbero for instance, made his presence felt at last year’s Rimini, Italy stop. Now he’s a fixture at some of the international park events. Oh yeah, if you’re lucky you might also catch an FMX demo or two.
 
Each year of the tour culminates at the LG Action Sports Championships in late October. Last year it was the UK, this year the tour finds itself finishing off in Dallas, TX. Look for some of the biggest names in action sports to be battling it out for the big bucks in Dallas. If it’s FMX you want, you’ll need to head to Pomona, CA for the FMX side of things the last week in September.
 
The LG Action Sports World Tour is evidence that these sports truly do have a global presence. The talent at each stop is incredible, and bringing events of this magnitude to new cultures can only help the sports to prosper.  
 

- Jared Souney