2009 ASA World Tour Cincinnati
Extraordinary Memorial Day Weekend Crowds enjoy ASA Action Sports World Tour Prelims at Kings Island
KINGS ISLAND, Cincinnati (May 23, 2009) - The more than 30,000 fans that flocked to Kings Island amusement park today experienced not only fun in the sun, they also enjoyed the prelims of the BMX Vert and Skateboard Vert contests at the ASA Action Sports World Tour presented by BFD.com. When the Tour's fourth stop finished its first round action, some expected qualifiers and some surprises had advanced to Sunday's finals.
BMX Vert's 14 entries had two 45-second runs each to impress the judges and display the talent necessary to land in the top 10 qualifying spots for Sunday's Finals. Meeting the challenges of the ramp, the tough field, and the 85-plus degree temperatures, the following men advanced:
Simon Tabron — Newquay, England
Jimmy Walker — Gilberts, Illinois
Steven McCann — Melbourne, Australia
Jay Eggleston — Denver, Colorado
Chad Kagy — Gilroy, California
Koji Kraft — Addison, Illinois
Francisco Zurita — Santiago, Chile
John Parker — State College, Pennsylvania
Tom Stober — Woodward, Pennsylvania
Jorge Jovel — Tela, Honduras
Following BMX action, the Skateboard Vert field was narrowed from 13 men to 10, with Pierre-Luc Gagnon (Montreal, Canada) and Danny Mayer (Omaha, Nebraska) advancing at the top of the list, and Marcelo Bastos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) advancing as the third finalist. Also headed to the finals are: Adam Taylor (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), Rob Lorifice (Encinitas, Calif.), Jean Postec (Annecy, France), Josh Stafford (San Diego, Calif.), Anthony Furlong (Tampa, Fla.), Neal Hendrix (Costa Mesa, Calif.), and Zach Miller (Del Mar, Calif.). Noticeably absent from the finals are Alex Perelson (San Diego, Calif.) and Elliot Sloan (New York, NY) who placed third and fifth respectively just two weeks ago at the ASA Action Sports World Tour stop in Chicago. Evidence of the level of skill displayed this afternoon, neither man was able to successfully lay down runs that could stack up to the competition.
On Sunday, the finalists start with clean slates. The best of two 45-second runs determines the BMX winner, and the best 10-wall run in four rounds takes the Skateboard Vert title. BMX Vert Finals begin the day's competitions, followed by Skateboard Vert action, and in between each session, Jimmie McGuire (Lawton, Okla.), Brian Foster (Minden, Nev.) and Dustin Nowak (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) will wow the crowd with flips, whips, release moves and their sickest tricks on the freestyle motocross ramps. All of the action begins at 12:45 p.m.
For more event details visit
www.ActionSportsTour.com. Enjoy videos and event photos at
BFD.com. And, for more ASA Action Sports World Tour information or media photos, contact Denise M. Abbott at
abbott@asaent.com or 310 430 0496.
For more information about ASA Action Sports World Tour please visit
www.ActionSportsTour.com or contact Denise M. Abbott, ASA Director of Media Relations & Marketing at (310) 410-3020, ext. 309 or via e-mail at
abbott@asaent.com.
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About ASA Entertainment:
Founded in 1994, ASA Entertainment, LLC is an action sports event, television
and content production agency focused on creating and executing customized,
turn-key marketing programs that range in scale from grassroots to global.
ASA's events, featuring skateboarding, freestyle BMX, inline skating, free-skiing,
freestyle motocross, snowboarding and music, are broadcast domestically on
CBS, Spike, VERSUS, FUEL TV and Fox Sports Net, and distributed during 937
hours of programming to more than 1 billion HH globally via our 32 international
broadcast partners. ASA's productions span the spectrum from large, international
competitions such as the LG Action Sports World Championships to amateur contests,
lifestyle and branded entertainment events, demonstrations, exhibitions and
mobile tours. As one of the most established organizations in action sports,
ASA Entertainment strives to develop premium content around the fastest growing
sector of American sports. ASA Entertainment is a member of the Omnicom Group.
For more information, visit
www.ASAentertainment.com or
www.ActionSportsTour.com.
