Free Flow Tour - Amateur Skateboarding Competitions

The Free Flow tour is an amateur skateboarding and BMX competition that tours around the United States, with stops all over the country. The competitions are open to any amateur skater or rider aged 18 or under, and it only costs $10 to enter! If you lose, you still get a prize bag and there's a party, but if you win, you can get into the Free Flow Tour finals, and then win a Wild Card spot in the finals of the Dew Action Sports Tour, skateboarding or riding against the pros!! The Free Flow Tour is handing out over $7000 in cash prizes, along with tons of free skateboarding gear and other stuff. You should check it out!

The goal of the Free Flow tour is to give younger amateur skaters a chance to get out there and get seen. "To go from Flow to Pro," is the way they put it. Plus you get to meet other skaters, perhaps some pros, see what a competition is like, and have a LOT of fun! And $10? That's nothing! You'll get prizes just for showing up and trying, and if you WIN ... well then, you'll be getting back a lot more than your $10!

What's the Free Flow Tour Like?

Near the start of the 2006 Free Flow Tour was the Brooklyn event at Millennium Skatepark in Owls Head Park. The crew at the event all felt like this was the kind of park you'd want in your own town. It had a strong, comfortable feeling, with all the locals having fun in their own skatepark. Shaggy, the park manager, knows all the local skaters by name and has a great laid-back attitude, and is loved by everyone. The park itself is complete with a street course and a huge bowl.

The contest kicks off with the Junior Jam, and the little rippers tear up the park. Adam Zubaidi, a 10 year old local kid, takes first place with smooth skating, and popping huge ollies. The Free Flow finals are also won by a local guy - Tony Soto, age 18, gets the crowd pumped up with his consistent style. He feeds off the crowds energy, and blows them all away with a kick flip to fakie on the quarter pipe - a trick he had never even tried before!

Most of the kids at the competition are from New York, but some come from further away to compete. Second place went to Forest Baily, a 14 year old guy from Rawsonville, Vermont. And that's great - in fact, that's part of the point of the Free Flow Tour. to let younger skaters meet new friends, and to give them more chances if hey want to follow the tour. To challenge each other, and more than anything, to have fun!

Free Flow Tour schedule 2008:

• 17-May Glendale, AZ Union Hills
• 18-May Rye, NH Rye Airfield
• 24-May Hampstead, NC Skatebarn
• 31-May Burlington, VT Talent Skatepark
• 31-May Joplin, MO Autumn Ramp Park
• 7-Jun Jackson, NJ Incline Club
• 8-Jun Jackson, NJ Incline Club
• 14-Jun Baltimore, MD Charm City
• 21-Jun Newnan, GA Factory
• 29-Jun Encinitas, CA Ecke YMCA
• 6-Jul Simi Valley, CA SkateLab
• 12-Jul Florence, KY Ollies
• 19-Jul Albuquerque, NM Los Altos Skatepark
• 19-Jul Philadelphia, PA Woodward
• 20-Jul Nashville, TN 6th Ave
• 26-Jul Des Moines, IA Saylor Skatepark
• 27-Jul Tinley Park, IL Krush
• 2-Aug Jacksonville, FL Kona
• 3-Aug Columbus, OH Flow
• Aug 8-10 Golden Valley, MN 3rd Lair
• 9-Aug Grand Prairie, TX Alliance
• 16-Aug Reno, NV Open Ground
• 23-Aug Denver, CO Woodward
• 30-Aug Longwood, FL Mesh
• 6-Sep Salt Lake City, UT Ogio Training Facility
• Sep 11-14 Salt Lake City, UT EnergySolutions Arena
  Free Flow Tour Finals at the AST Dew Tour’s Toyota Challenge

If you or your kid loves skateboarding, and wants a chance to get out there and be seen, to make new friends, and to be challenged - then the Free Flow Tour was made for you. Take a look at the Free Flow Tour website to find more stops near you, or plan to travel and hit even more! Come out to watch, come to skate, and come to have fun.