The first Olympic qualifying event for skateboarding in the U.S. will be held in Long Beach, World Skate, Mountain Dew and ASN: The Adventure Sports Network Group announced today.
Preceding skateboarding being a part of the Olympic Games for the first time in Tokyo 2020, Dew Tour, the annual multi-day skateboard competition and festival, will be held again in Long Beach June 13-16. It will count as the first qualifying event, as well as the final qualifying event in 2020.
More than 300 skateboarders at the top of their game will descend on Long Beach to compete in individual men’s and women’s Park and Street competitions to win the local title, while at the same time earning points for their country’s Olympic team.
Mariah Duran, the first female skater to join the Mountain Dew team, who also made the United States’ first national team for skateboarding, said this is a groundbreaking year.
“This year is arguably the most exciting and interesting year in skateboarding and Olympic history,” Duran said in a statement.
Dew Tour VP and General Manager Adam Cozens said this is a historic time for Dew Tour to be heading the qualifiers.
Expected to compete during this summer’s event are USA Skateboarding national team members Duran, Nyjah Huston, Jagger Eaton, Tristan Rennie, Lacey Baker, Jordyn Barratt and international athletes representing Japan, Brazil, Canada and more.
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The Olympic qualifying period for the sport runs from Jan. 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020; the qualification system is based on World Skateboarding Rankings upheld by skateboarding’s International Governing Body, World Skate.
In 2014 and 2018 Dew Tour ran the qualifying events for free-skiing and snowboarding.
“With our background in staging world-class events that celebrate the progression and culture of skateboarding, as well as our history in hosting other Olympic qualifying events, our goal is to showcase the absolute best in men’s and women’s street and park skateboarding as we kick off the road to Tokyo,” Cozens said in a statement.
Check out dewtour.com and worldskate.org for more information.