Placing second was Chad Fernandez, 28, of Los Angeles, followed closely by Paul Rodriguez, 20, of Chatsworth, Calif. Sheckler’s winning run consisted of a 360 off the quarter-pipe over the improv feature, a sofa. He couldn’t have won without his signature trick, the Shecklair, a combination of tricks used to individualize his run.
“Everybody was skating amazing, but I tried to keep my head straight and stay focused,” Sheckler said. “When the pressure goes up, I start skating better.”
The second stop on the Dew Action Sports Tour is the Right Guard Open in Denver, July 7-10, and Sheckler feels he is in great position to claim a second victory and increase his lead in the points standings.
“The whole idea is to have fun,” Sheckler said. “I get to go into the next contest with my head up.”
Robinson, East Providence, R.I., used a 94.25 first run to edge Chad Kagy, Gilroy, Calif., and Simon Tabron of Great Britain. Robinson’s run included a no-handed flair across the channel (four-foot gap) in the vert ramp. Kagy parlayed a 93.25 second run to vault into second place. His run was highlighted by a double-tail whip to flair over the channel. Tabron was third as a result of a 92.75 first run. Dave Mirra, Greenville, N.C., was fourth with a 92.50 second run.
"I am really stoked,” Robinson said. “I take each stop one at a time. I am really looking forward to the next stops on the Tour."
Guettler, 21, of Brisbane, Australia, claimed the first victory of the inaugural Dew Action Sports Tour Thursday night in Freedom Hall. He stole the show by nailing a front flip followed by a huge back flip in his championship run to go along with his technical grinds and stalls.
"This is the best day of my whole life,” Guettler said. “[The Dew Action Sports Tour] competition is so big, it's just unbelievable."
Fellow Australian Steven McCann placed second. He pulled out all the tricks, including a 720 (two full rotations) and multiple bar-spin variations. Third place went to Scotty Cranmer, the youngest athlete in BMX Park competition at only 18. He was the only athlete to attempt to land a front-flip-takedown (front-flip with a twist) in finals competition.
Missing from the finals were BMX icons Dave Mirra and Ryan Nyquist. Both were knocked out during a preliminary round that was deep in talent.
"The Dew Tour is a legitimate contest, it's not just some show," McCann said. "You never can count [Mirra and Nyquist] out. They're icons for a reason. They may not have been on top this week but they'll be back. They let us young guys have it this week."
In the other result Saturday, Bohan captured the rain-abbreviated BMX Dirt competition. Bohan, of Brisbane, Australia, was declared winner of the BMX Dirt competition when rain rendered the course unrideable. Bohan led after the first run of the prelims with a score of 95.50. Cameron White, of Canberra, Australia, placed second at 92.75. Third place went to Cory Nastazio, of Flushing, N.Y., with a 90.00.
The next stop on the Dew Action Sports Tour is the Right Guard Open in Denver, July 7-10, followed by the Vans® Invitational in Portland, Aug. 18-21, the Toyota Challenge in San Jose, Sept. 8-11, and the PlayStation® Pro in Orlando, Oct. 13-16. The Tour has a total purse of $3.5 million, including a $1 million bonus pool. It features 22 network hours of primarily live coverage on NBC, and 10 hours of integrated cable broadcasts on USA Network.
Dew Details: A full day of festivities and family fun could be found daily in the Dew Action Sports Tour's Festival Village with interactive activities and gaming … Lines were lengthy on a daily basis for athlete autograph sessions at sponsor locations in the Festival Village … Shaun White landed a skateboard vert first during practice Friday morning. He wasn’t sure what to call it. It appeared to be a frontside 540 varial finishing on stalefish. He was about four to five feet over the coping of the 13.5 foot high ramp in Broadbent Arena … Four women --- Cara Beth Burnside, Lyn-Z Adams, Amelia Knoop and Holly Lyons - participated in a specialty Skate Vert competition following the men’s Skate Vert prelims Saturday … Crossfade performed their hit single “Cold” live on the Festival Village music stage Friday night. The Exies were the opening act … The Offspring headlined Saturday night’s musical entertainment at the Festival Village. Acceptance was the opening act.
