GRINDTV Newswire via Allied Sports: Burr Ridge, Ill. - June 23, 2010 -The Dew Tour returns to Boston for the second consecutive year for the Skate Open, ISF Skateboarding World Championships, June 25 and 26 at TD Garden. Kicking off the 2010 season, Neon Trees and Paper Tongues will perform a FREE concert at City Hall Plaza on Thursday, June 24 at 8pm. The five-city tour will continue on to Chicago, Portland, Ore., Salt Lake City, and conclude with the Dew Tour Championships in Las Vegas this October.

Over 120 of the best skateboard athletes from 22 different countries will compete in Boston at the Skate Open in both vert and park. Highlighting the vert roster includes defending Dew Cup Champion and Skate Vert World Champion, Bucky Lasek, Boston-native Andy Macdonald, up-and-comer Alex Perelson, 2008 Dew Cup Champion Pierre-Luc Gagnon and vert legend Bob Burnquist.

The defending Skate Park World Champion and three-time Dew Cup Champion, Ryan Sheckler will look to repeat his World Champion status again in 2010. However, he will have to contend with the likes of Paul Rodriguez, Chaz Ortiz, Ryan Decenzo, Nick Dompierre, Jake Duncombe, Greg Lutzka and Boston-native Jereme Rogers. Fans can catch the skate park final streaming live on www.Allisports.com, Saturday, June 26 beginning at 7:45pm EST.

The defending women's Skate Vert World Champion, Lyn-z Adams Hawkins, will compete against young up-and-comers Allysha Bergado, age 13, and Lea Taylor, age 14, to regain her title again in 2010. Vanessa Torres will look to defend her title of women's Skate Park World Champion.

Athletes are pre-qualified based on their rankings at the end of the 2009 Dew Tour season. Athletes who are not pre-qualified may compete as International Qualifiers at the Skate Open, ISF Skateboarding World Championships to earn a spot in the preliminary rounds. The full list of pre-qualified athletes is as follows:

Skateboard Park Men Skateboard Vert Men
Chaz Ortiz Andy Macdonald
Paul Rodriguez Bob Burnquist
Ryan Sheckler Bucky Lasek
Greg Lutzka Adam Taylor
Austen Seaholm Sandro Dias
Rodolfo Ramos Renton Millar
Carlos De Andrade Anthony Furlong
Danilo Do Rosario Alex Perelson
Fabrizio Santos Rob Lorifice
Kurtis Colamonico Pierre-Luc Gagnon
Tyler Hendley Paul-luc Ronchetti*
Milton Martinez Josh Stafford*
Dave Bachinsky
Ryan Decenzo
Timmy Kunth


Skateboard Park Women Skateboard Vert Women
Vanessa Torres Lyn-z Adams Hawkins
Abisha Alshebaiki Allysha Bergado
Lacey Baker Amelia Brodka
Amelia Brodka Elise Dabby
Leticia Bufoni Mimi Knoop
Amy Caron Gaby Ponce
Mayra Gallegos Franziska Stolz
Candy Jacobs Lea Taylor
Miho Kazama Nora Vasconcellos
Lorena Lima
Marta Nery
Elizabeth Nitu
Lauren Perkins
Rachel Reinhard
Alexis Sablone
Chihiro Uchida

*Indicates wild cards

Twenty-two countries from around the world will be represented at the Dew Tour's Skate Open, ISF Skateboarding World Championships. The complete list of countries includes:

Australia Italy
Belgium Japan
Belize Malaysia
Brazil Mexico
Canada Netherlands
Chile Poland
Czech Republic Puerto Rico
Finland Portugal
France Switzerland
Germany Thailand
Great Britain United States

Photo: Elsa via Getty Images

Pierre Luc Gagnon edged out Bucky Lasek and Andy McDonald to take the gold at the supposedly dead X Games Vert event. It didn't seem so deceased to me today. There was some serious technical coping killing (bad choice of words I know), and above the deck gnar that went down. Plus, it was on national television, and in front of a packed house, the only time something dead has been able to pull that off, it was Michael Jackson's body.

PLG had some steazy runs in which he stuck nollie backside bigspin heelflips, and airs like fakie 720s. In Bucky's second place runs he had it "his way" with McEggplants, and a few switch 540s. Then there was good old Andy MacDonald, I can't believe this guy is still around, I remember him competing against Tony Hawk when the X Games were in their infant years. His sponsors too! He's got to be the only guy on the Airwalk team. You know how he has pulled it off? Consistency, he sticks everything, nothing too crazy, but everything he does, he lands. It's also worth noting that 15-years into this thing Andy and Bucky are bringing home medals.

There you have it, PLG opted out of the Big Air contest to focus on vert and it payed off. He is now a gold medalist in a classic skateboarding event. Not an Evel Knievel stunt show.

Results:
1. Pierre Luc Gagnon
2. Bucky Lasek
3. Andy MacDonald