UPDATE:
You can now sign up to make your FREE ticket reservation to attend the Dew Tour in Des Moines, Iowa coming May 20-23, 2021! You can reserve 1 time slot per day, and must have a ticket to enter.
Tickets are limited so don’t wait.
When the news broke that the 2021 Dew Tour was coming to the new Lauridsen Skatepark in Downtown Des Moines, we had three simultaneous thoughts:
- How insane.
- Wow. We need to learn about skateboarding.
- How do you pronounce Lauridsen?
Mark your calendars! May 20-23 is going to be big for Des Moines. The 2021 Dew Tour is serving as the ONLY U.S.-based, global Olympic skateboard qualifying event for 2021. This is even bigger when you consider that skateboarding will make its debut at the Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo, which were rescheduled in 2020 for July 23 – August 8, 2021. (Source: DSMSkatePark)
So I decided to do the only thing I knew how to to do, slide into @DSMSkatePark‘s DMs and ask them all the questions I have. Here they are for you below! Special thanks to Kami Rankin, Community Outreach Coordinator of Polk County Conversation, and Norm Sterzenbach at Skate DSM for answering!
Check out our deep dive into what happens at Lauridsen Skatepark after the event here.
First and foremost, how do you pronounce Lauridsen?
LORE-ED-SEN
How did Lauridsen Skatepark come to be?
This project began way back in 2004. That year, AMOS (A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy) met with and surveyed churches, community leaders, and Des Moines residents to determine what public projects were needed in the city for our youth. A public skatepark was the clear favorite. AMOS put together a small committee and sought support from the City of Des Moines. Then, the City of Des Moines donated 2 acres of beautiful riverfront property adjacent to School Street and 2nd Avenue to become the site of a regional skatepark as an extension of the Principal Riverwalk. From there, fundraising began! Check out the whole background of the park here.
Courtesy of Dew Tour
Even for those of us who know next to nothing about skateboarding, this feels like a huge deal for Des Moines. Exactly how big of a deal is it that the Dew Tour is here?
It’s extremely big! Not only are we able to attract a major skateboarding event to Des Moines the same month it opens, but it is also the only Olympic qualifying event in the U.S. More than 300 of the best skateboarders from around the world will be coming to Des Moines for a chance at an Olympic berth. This event will be globally televised and Des Moines will be showcased across the world.
Can you give us the “elevator pitch” version of the journey that professional skateboarders have to take to get to an Olympic qualifying event?
Like any Olympic sport, there are many paths to lead you to a qualifying event. In skateboarding, your qualification is based on the number of points you earn through international qualifying events and which country you are competing with. Each continent is only allowed a limited number of qualifying athletes per gender and discipline.
Are there particular tricks we should be looking out for?
Unlike other sports (gymnastics, ice skating, etc.) skateboarding is not judged based on which tricks you do, but rather overall impression. So there isn’t a go-to trick to look out for. Park skating is based on your best score from three 45-second course runs. Street skating is based on your best score in two 45-second course runs and 5 single trick runs.
What can locals who aren’t in the skating community do to support the event?
We aren’t sure of all the event details at this point, but we do know there will be tickets available and offsite satellite locations streaming the competition while it’s happening live. We will be encouraging the public to take advantage of the free tickets and community opportunities while the Dew Tour is in town. There will be some rules and restrictions due to COVID, so we ask the public to be respectful of these “do” and “don’t’s.”
We already know that most competitions will be open to public spectators. However, due to COVID, we will be limiting spectators through a ticketing system which will be free. More details to come as the event draws closer!
Do you think Des Moines is preparing for a renaissance in skate culture, or has it been here all along?
Des Moines has had a rich skate scene since the 1980’s, but with the opening of the Lauridsen Skatepark, the Dew Tour, and skateboarding making its debut in the Olympics, we anticipate a major increase in skateboarding in the region.
We’ll be updating this post as news gets released and the tour gets closer! Stay tuned.
In the meantime, check out our other interview with SkateDSM on what we can all do in the park after the Dew Tour leaves town!
