The AST Dew Tour will kick off in about three weeks and Interstate reports that Paul Rodriguez, Rodney Jones, Chad Fernandez and ChaZz Ortiz have been granted wildcards for this year’s tour — the top 16 from the previous year’s tour are automatically invited, with four wilcards rounding out the 20 invitees.

The rest of the field dukes it out in the open qualifiers at the tour’s first two events. There’s no word if Ortiz will turn pro or not at this point. Ortiz won last year’s Free Flow tour and came back to sixth in Orlando’s PlayStation Pro. He decided not to take any winnings, instead choosing to remain an amateur .

Among the skater who have prequalified for the tour are last year’s overall winner Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka, Rodolfo Ramos and Austen Seaholm.

The tour kicks off in Baltimore with the Panasonic Open on June 19.

The tour consists of 49 total events including 24 skate park, 5 skate vert and 20 BMX Park.   Check the press release that follows for all the dates.

AST ANNOUNCES 2008 FREE FLOW TOUR SCHEDULE

Overall Free Flow Tour Champions Will Receive Wildcard Entry
Into Final Dew Tour Stop

NEW YORK — May 6, 2008 — The AST, the umbrella brand and organization of the world’s most prestigious action sports events, today announced the complete 2008 Free Flow Tour schedule. The Free Flow Tour is the official amateur series of the AST Dew Tour and provides amateur athletes with the opportunity to qualify into the final event of the AST Dew Tour, the PlayStation Pro®, as well as the prospect for professional sponsorship. The Free Flow Tour kicks off May 17 in Rye, N.H.

The Free Flow Tour will include a total of 29 skate competitions (five skate vert and 24 skate park) and 20 BMX competitions (four BMX vert and 16 BMX park) at 28 parks across the U.S. The top skate and BMX finishers at each of the 49 competitions will be flown to the AST Dew Tour’s Toyota Challenge, in Salt Lake City, Utah for the Free Flow Tour Finals, where one champion will be crowned in each discipline. Encompassing the ‘Flow to Pro’ theme, the two overall skate and BMX park champions and the two overall skate and BMX vert champions win a wild card spot to compete against the pros at that final stop of the AST Dew Tour, the PlayStation Pro®, in Orlando, Fla.

“Free Flow Tour gives young amateurs the opportunity to be propelled to the next level of competition,” said Wade Martin, AST president. “The Free Flow Tour will be crisscrossing the country this summer discovering the new pool of talent that is the future of skateboarding and BMX.”

The AST has also teamed with BNQT, a leading digital action sports company, to launch www.FreeFlowTour.com. FreeFlowTour.com will be the exclusive home to all competition video, photos, contest information, on-line registration, as well as host a social community for participants and fans.

The 2008 Free Flow Tour schedule* includes the following dates and locations:
All events are Park discipline; bolded events indicate Vert discipline, in addition to Park

Bolded indicate Vert competition
* Schedule subject to change.
** Free Flow Tour Finals at the AST Dew Tour’s Toyota Challenge

2008 REGISTRATION
Each competition is open to both male and female amateur competitors age 18-and-under for skate and 21-and-under for BMX. Contest registration forms are available at Free Flow Tour host parks and at www.freeflowtour.com. There is an entry fee that varies park to park, and all participants under the age of 18 must bring a parent or guardian to the event to sign a liability waiver.

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