AST DEW TOUR NEWS

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AST Dew Tour ends on an up note

by Tom Benning, Plain Dealer Reporter

Monday July 21, 2008, 5:54 AM

The thought of jumping off a 20-foot ramp didn't scare AST Dew Tour bikers and skateboarders.

But a little wind and rain did.

"I really didn't want the rain to affect the contest," said BMX rider Steven McCann from Melbourne, Australia. "If it's raining, you can't ride. If it is windy, you won't see big tricks."

Despite occasional weather problems, the Right Guard Open - Cleveland's leg of the Dew Tour - ended successfully Sunday. The four-day skating and biking competition brought 51,327 fans to North Coast Harbor and an estimated $10 million in economic impact to Cleveland, Dew Tour officials said.

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Action-sports stars of AST Dew Tour make the leap to celebrity status

by Tom Benning

Sunday July 20, 2008, 7:47 AM

More than anything, Ryan Sheckler is aching for a skateboard.

But that will have to wait. Sheckler, 18, has three interviews and a lengthy autograph session before he can hit the skate park at the Right Guard Open - Cleveland's leg of the AST Dew Tour.

So the teenage heartthrob cheers up and throws on a smile. For Sheckler and others, this is part of the deal. Now more than ever, action-sports athletes are primed to transcend their sport and make millions.

Skaters and bikers are jumping off ramps and landing on Madison Avenue.

Sheckler, a three-time Dew Cup champion, loves to skate but wants more. He wants the country's - even the world's - attention.

"I want to do something that no one else has done before," Sheckler, of San Clemente, Calif., said Friday. "It's about wanting to be that face that when people talk about skateboarding, they say my name."

Sheckler stars in his own MTV reality show, "Life with Ryan," and has his own signature line of Panasonic goods. He parties in celebrity circles and has appeared in a Lil' Wayne music video.

But Sheckler, who finished eighth in Saturday's skate park finals, isn't the only one making it big.

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Greg Hartman, FMX rider from Texas hurt, at AST Dew Tour in Cleveland

by Tom Benning

Friday July 18, 2008, 6:09 PM

UPDATED:Freestyle motocross rider Greg Hartman is in critical condition at the MetroHealth Medical Center tonight after suffering a hard crash at the Right Guard Open - Cleveland's leg of the AST Dew Tour.

Hartman, 24, of Cleveland, Texas, was performing a back flip during an FMX exhibition and had difficulty with the landing. The exhibition stopped so paramedics could tend to him.

Hartman was put into an ambulance at 5:26 p.m, taken to MetroHealth and admitted to the intensive care unit. The woman who joined Hartman in the ambulance was visibly shaken, but the exhibition re-started about 15 minutes later.

Hartman is originally from Greencastle, Penn., according to the Freestyle Motocross Online Web site. He began competing in 2001.

EARLIER POST:

Freestyle motocross rider Greg Hartman was taken to the hospital Friday evening after suffering a hard crash at the Right Guard Open -- Cleveland's leg of the AST Dew Tour.

The 24-year-old was performing a back flip during an FMX exhibition and had difficulty with the landing. The exhibition stopped so paramedics could tend to Phillips. He was put into an ambulance at 5:26 p.m.

Hartman's condition was not available. The woman who joined Hartman in the ambulance was visibly shaken, but Phillips' fellow FMX riders didn't look overly worried. The exhibition re-started about 15 minutes later.

Crowds flock to see skateboarding heartthrob Ryan Sheckler

by Tom Benning

Friday July 18, 2008, 5:26 PM

Taylor Denier and Amanda Shellenberger drove from Cincinnati to see one person on the AST Dew Tour: skateboarding heartthrob Ryan Sheckler.

"He's really hot," the 17 year olds said in tandem, "and he's really good at skateboarding."

Sheckler, 18, was easy to find at Friday's Right Guard Open - Cleveland's leg of the AST Dew Tour. You just had to look for the throngs of teenage girls with "I Love Ryan" shirts and signs.

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Dew Tour athletes defy stereotypes

by Tom Benning

Friday July 18, 2008, 3:47 PM

Kevin Robinson looks like he could crush the BMX bike sitting next to him.

With cantaloupe-sized biceps and a rigorous workout routine, the 36-year-old BMX rider can also squash one of the biggest misconceptions -- that they aren't athletes -- about action sports competitors.

Many of the stereotypes of AST Dew Tour competitors don't match those of typical Cleveland sports hero. In other words, these guys don't look like baseball, football or basketball players.

But Robinson, of East Providence, R.I., does body building on the side and lifts weights six days a week. He admittedly works out more than the average action sports athlete, but he said the most overlooked aspect of action sports is mental toughness.

"It takes a lot to get back on your bike and do the same thing you just got injured doing," Robinson said. "It's not if you get injured, but when."

Here are three other action sports myths that simply aren't true:

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Video: Dew Tour competition and festival open

by Lonnie Timmons III / The Plain Dealer

Thursday July 17, 2008, 7:30 PM

The 2008 AST Dew Tour has arrived in Cleveland. The event, which takes place at North Coast Harbor, will run through July 20.

Pro Skater Danny Fuenzalida gives a skate lesson on the park course at the AST Dew Tour

by cleveland.com staff

Thursday July 17, 2008, 3:26 PM

The AST Dew Tour runs today through Sunday at Lake Erie's North Coast Harbor. Click here for a complete listing of events and times.

Mayor Frank Jackson is an action sports fan; will attend AST Dew Tour

by Tom Benning

Thursday July 17, 2008, 12:38 PM

Updated at 8:30 p.m.

Cleveland -- Mayor Frank Jackson appreciates the economic impact and global exposure the AST Dew Tour brings to Cleveland. But that's not what will draw him to North Coast Harbor this weekend.

It's the motorcycles.

Jackson said he is a genuine fan of the freestyle motocross. In FMX, as it is called, athletes ride up dirt mounds on motorcycles and perform tricks in the air. The mayor brings his grandchildren along to see the competition.

"That's the one we really build the day around," Jackson said. "We visit all the other events, but that's the favorite."

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