Cleveland 2008 AST Dew Tour, Part 2

Eager for more park skateboarding news from the 2008 AST Dew Tour?

More videos taken during the Cleveland stop of the 2008 AST Dew Tour are appearing online, including official ones from the tour. In this video, you can watch the first part of the skate park finals in which the best 12 skaters perform in 2 runs each; the best run counts and the 6 skaters with the highest scores move on to a final jam to determine the winner.For Ryan Sheckler fans – and there are a lot of you out there! – here is video of Sheckler’s performance, which unfortunately included two slips, one where his board got away from him.

The day was hot and sticky, and the park course was somewhat challenging as far as flow, but it was still a great day for skate!

One thing could have made the day even better – and that is if the athletes wore skateboard protective gear, especially a skateboard helmet.

Although I “get” that park skaters don’t achieve the height that their vert skate counterparts do, I still wish these athletes would promote the importance of skateboard protective gear. Anyone, no matter how accomplished, can slip and fall during a run, and a skateboard helmet would protect them from the hard surface below and the sharp edges throughout the course.I’d much rather hear skateboarding news about amazing accomplishments than about a head injury – and I encourage all of you to wear your skateboard helmet every time you ride.