Tour Overview


The Gatorade Free Flow Tour is the official amateur series of the Dew Tour. In its seventh summer season, the Gatorade Free Flow Tour searches the country’s premier skate and BMX parks, trails, and ramps, giving top ams the once-in-a-lifetime chance to go from “Flow to Pro”.


The goal is to find top talent from across the country while giving skateboarders and BMXers of all abilities the opportunity to have fun while competing in a contest.


The 2011 Tour consists of 30 regional events across local parks in the U.S., featuring skateboarding (park and vert) and BMX (park and dirt). The winner of each regional event earns a trip to compete in the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals held in conjunction with professional Dew Tour events in Portland and Salt Lake City. The champions in the four disciplines of the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals earn a spot to compete against the pros at the Dew Tour Championships, held October 13-16, 2011 in Las Vegas.


Gatorade’s partnership with the Free Flow Tour began in 2009, and with its presence comes an added commitment to uplift amateur skateboarders and BMX riders, while providing an extended platform to grow action sports. Fuel TV broadcasts select coverage of the Gatorade Free Flow Tour, and allisports.com is the home of all digital content and tour information


Competition Rules


ELIGIBILITY:

  1. The GFFT is open to male and female Skateboarders and BMX Riders 21 years of age or younger on the day of the regional event. All competitors must be of Amateur Status (See below definition). All contests are open to competitors from any country; however Alli will only provide flights to the GFFT Finals from airports within the continental USA.

  2. The junior Jam is dedicated to beginner Skateboarders and BMX riders 13 years of age or younger on the day of the regional event. Winners of the Junior Jam do not qualify for the GFFT Finals.

  3. Employees and immediate family of Alli, Gatorade, Fuse, and any participating partner of the GFFT are not eligible to compete.

AMATEUR vs PRO:

  • All GFFT competitors must be considered an AMATEUR ATHLETE to participate in the event. As it relates to the GFFT, the following guidelines are used to determine amateur eligibility:
  1. Any participant, including winners of past GFFT stops, are eligible to compete as long as they have maintained an amateur status and meet all other requirements.

  2. If you have competed in a Dew Tour event and made it past Open/International Qualifiers into the Prelims/Semi Finals or Finals, you are not eligible to compete.
    1. The only exception is if you received a special invitation from the Dew Tour – AS AN AMATEUR – and you maintained your amateur status.

  3. If one of your sponsors is providing you with money above and beyond that which covers travel expenses and is considered part of your income, you are not eligible to compete.

  4. If you have competed in the professional division of a professional contest in any discipline in the following events* and accepted prize money, you are not eligible to compete in the GFFT:
    1. Asian X Games
    2. BMX Masters
    3. Brazilian X Games
    4. JomoPro
    5. Maloof Money Cup
    6. Mystic SK8 Cup
    7. NASS Festival
    8. Nokia Fise
    9. Pro-Tec Pool Party
    10. Rebel Jam
    11. Simpel Session
    12. Street League
    13. Tampa Pro
    14. T-Mobile Playground
    15. Toronto BMX Jam
    16. X Games

*Alli reserves the right to add or delete events to this list

  • Alli and GFFT Management will confirm an athlete’s amateur status prior to each contest and will notify participants if they are NOT eligible to compete. Alli and GFFT Management reserve the right to further look into an athlete’s amateur status following each GFFT event and prior to the GFFT Finals. Alli and GFFT Management reserve the right to disqualify an athlete at any time if they do not meet the guidelines stated above.

DIVISIONS:

  • Junior Jam Division
    1. Open to Boys and Girls 13 and younger for both Skateboard and BMX.
    2. The Junior Jam Division will consist of two separate competitions: Skateboard Park and BMX Park.
    3. Competitors 13 and younger who have the desire to compete in the Open Division are welcome to do so.
    4. Competitors can’t enter different divisions of the same Discipline, i.e. You can’t enter Skateboard Park Open and Skateboard Park Junior Jam.
    5. Prizing will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competitors. Winning Junior Jam does not gain entry to the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals.

  • Open Division
    1. The Open Division will consist of four separate disciplines: Skateboard Park, Skateboard Vert, BMX Park and BMX Dirt.
    2. Skate competitions are open to male and female skateboard competitors who are 21 years old or younger on the day of the contest.
    3. BMX competitions are open to male and female BMX competitors who are 21 years old or younger on the day of the contest.
    4. Prizing will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competitors in each discipline.
    5. The First Place winner of each BMX Park event will earn a trip to the BMX Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, which will take place in conjunction with the Dew Tour stop in Portland.
    6. The First Place winner of each Skateboard Park event will earn a trip to the Skateboard Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, which will take place in conjunction with the Dew Tour stop in Salt Lake City.
    7. The First, Second, and Third Place winners of each Skateboard Vert event will earn a trip to the Skateboard Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, which will take place in conjunction with the Dew Tour stop in Salt Lake City.

COMPETITION FORMAT:

  • Organizers recommend that Venues run its competitions with a “Jam” format for Park events and a standard format for Skateboard Vert and BMX Dirt events. Examples of these formats are outlined below. If a park decides that these formats are not the best options for their competitions, Venue will communicate its alternative recommended format to Organizers 30 days before the Event Date. The alternative format will be reviewed and approved or declined by Organizer within one week.

  • Example of a Skateboard Park Jam Format
    1. Split field of competitors in heats of 4-7 competitors.
    2. Each heat will have an open jam of 4-6 min.
    3. Pre-determine the exact number of competitors in each heat, timing for each heat, and how many rounds of competitions before event starts. JJ division should have a first round straight to a final. Open division should have a first round, a semi final, and a final. If there are not enough competitors to have a semi final, move right to a final.
    4. Final should have 5-7 competitors
    5. After Final heat, top three competitors will be chosen and 4th and 5th place will also be named.

  • Example of a Skateboard Vert Format
    1. Divide competitors into 2 heats (heat 1: older competitors, heat 2: younger competitors).
    2. Preliminary Rounds - Each competitor in Heat 1 will get 2 timed 45 second runs. Followed by 2 timed 45 second runs from Heat 2.
    3. Best run counts.
    4. Top 5 overall competitors advance to finals.
    5. Finals – each competitor will get 3 timed 45 second runs.

  • Example of a Controlled BMX Park Jam Format
    1. Split field of competitors in heats of 4-7 competitors.
    2. Each heat will have a controlled jam of 10-12 min.
    3. A controlled jam consists of riders going in a pre determined running order for 30 sec each or until he or she falls. Two BMX riders should never be on the course at the same time. Pre determine the exact number of competitors in each heat, timing for each heat, and how many rounds of competitions before event starts. JJ division should have a first round straight to a final. Open division should have a first round, a semi final, and a final. If there are not enough competitors to have a semi final move right to a final.
    4. Final should have 5-7 competitors.
    5. After Final heat top three competitors will be chosen and 4th and 5th place will also be named.

  • Example of a BMX Dirt Format
    1. Each competitor gets two runs through the dirt course, best run counts
    2. Top 5 move into Finals, where each gets another 2 runs, best run counts

PRIZING

  • Junior Jam – Skateboard Park & BMX Park
    1. Prizing will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competitors.
    2. Winning Junior Jam does not gain entry to the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals.

  • Open – Skateboard Park
    1. Prizing will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competitors.
    2. The First Place winner of each Skateboard Park event will earn a trip to the Skateboard Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, which will take place in conjunction with the Dew Tour stop in Salt Lake City.
      1. Two (2) nights standard occupancy hotel accommodations.
      2. Transportation to/from airport, hotel, and venue.
      3. Four (4) meals.
      4. If competitor is under the age of 18 on the day of departure a guardian or chaperone will be accommodated in the same terms.

  • Open – Skateboard Vert
    1. Prizing will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competitors.
    2. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place winners of each Skateboard Vert event will earn a trip to the Skateboard Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, which will take place in conjunction with the Dew Tour stop in Salt Lake.
      1. Two (2) nights standard occupancy hotel accommodations.
      2. Transportation to/from airport, hotel, and venue.
      3. Four (4) meals.
      4. If competitor is under the age of 18 on the day of departure a guardian or chaperone will be accommodated in the same terms.

  • Open – BMX Park
    1. Prizing will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competitors.
    2. The First Place winner of each BMX Park event will earn a trip to the BMX Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, which will take place in conjunction with the Dew Tour stop in Portland.
      1. Two (2) nights standard occupancy hotel accommodations.
      2. Transportation to/from airport, hotel, and venue.
      3. Four (4) meals.
      4. If competitor is under the age of 18 on the day of departure a guardian or chaperone will be accommodated in the same terms.

  • Open – BMX Dirt
    1. Prizing will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competitors.
    2. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place winners of each BMX Dirt event will earn a trip to the BMX Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, which will take place in conjunction with the Dew Tour stop in Portland.
      1. Two (2) nights standard occupancy hotel accommodations.
      2. Transportation to/from airport, hotel, and venue.
      3. Four (4) meals.
      4. If competitor is under the age of 18 on the day of departure a guardian or chaperone will be accommodated in the same terms.

  • Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals Overall Winners
    1. Prizing will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place competitors.
    2. The First Place winner of the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Skateboard Park Finals, Skateboard Vert Finals, BMX Park Finals, BMX Dirt Finals will earn a trip to the Dew Tour Championships in Las Vegas, NV.
      1. Earn entry into the prelims against the pros.
      2. Standard occupancy hotel accommodations during the duration of the event.
      3. Transportation to/from airport, hotel, and venue.
      4. Two (2) meals per event day.
      5. If competitor is under the age of 18 on the day of departure a guardian or chaperone will be accommodated in the same terms.

  • All travel must be taken on dates specified by GFFT. No alternate travel dates available. If winner is unable to travel on the dates designated by GFFT then the trip prize will be forfeited in its entirety with no compensation being paid in exchange. Therefore, GFFT reserves the right to hand the trip to the runner up of the event that generated the winner.

  • No responsibility is assumed by GFFT for any travel delays or travel cancelations. Any expenses incurred by the winner that are not specifically included in the trip prize description above are the sole responsibility of the winner. Any difference between stated approximate value and actual value of the trip prize will not be awarded.

  • No substitution of prize is offered, no transfer of prize to a third party is permitted, and non-cash prizes may not be redeemed for cash value, except as determined by GFFT in its sole discretion. Void wherever prohibited or restricted by law. All contestants, as a condition of entry, agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decision of the judges that shall be final and binding.

WINNER NOTIFICATION:

  • Prize winners of each contest will be notified the day of competition once the judges have selected the winners. Winners may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability Release with (where lawful) a publicity release within seven (7) days of the date first written on the notification letter. If any required documents are not returned within the required number of days, or if mail is returned to Sponsor as undeliverable mail without a forwarding address, the prize may be forfeited. If applicable, allow 2-3 weeks for delivery of trip prize information following completion of notification process.

RELEASE OF LIABILITY:

  • All winners, by acceptance of a prize, agree to release Alli, Alliance of Action Sports, LLC, Gatorade, NBC Sports Ventures, Inc., MTV Networks, Fuse, LLC, applicable Host Resorts, Sponsors, and Promotional Parties from any and all liability, claims, or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages, or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership, or use of the prize or while preparing for, participating in, and/or travelling to and/or from any prize-related activity or any typographical or other error in these Official Rules or in the announcement or offering of any prize. Sponsor makes no representation or warranty of any kind concerning the appearance, performance or safety of any prize. Winner bears all risk of loss or damage to prize after it has been delivered. Upon request winners must consent (and confirm such consent in writing) to the use of their name, voice, picture, or other likeness for promotional purposes in all media as determined by sponsor without any compensation.

© Copyright 2012 Alli, Alliance of Action Sports, LLC / All Rights Reserved