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The highly anticipated 2013 USA FLOW Tour schedule has been confirmed. This year’s National Prime Tour has some exciting new aspects for the season, which include a first time “specialty” event held at Wave House San Diego, as well as two newcomers to the tour located in Scottsdale, Arizona and Jay Peak, Vermont. The layout of the tour has always been a priority when forming the schedule. The 2013 season has been formatted to help the travelling riders get more out of the tour by having the Prime events grouped closer together – not just by location but also by their respective regions.
Kicking off the Prime tour on May 31st is the Westin Hotel, Scottsdale AZ. This new venue will be hosting a FLOW Tour event for the first time and they are very excited to be a part of the tour. With a new FlowRider®, which is partnered up to the well known Westin hotel group, this event will be sure to kick off the season with a bang!
The North East Leg
Also joining the FLOW Tour in their first year is Jay Peak Resort, VT. They will be hosting an event on June 21st. This winter ski resort boasts an amazing indoor water park, which has consistently warm climate control 365 days a year. With the convenience of neighboring hotels, waterslides and awesome wilderness views, it was a no brainer to invite them to take part in the 2013 season. With an exception to the rule, Maeva Surf, located in Montreal Canada have earned their way onto the USA tour by showing their passion and drive to help grow the sport of Flowboarding. On June 22nd, get your passports ready, and make the quick 2 ½ hour drive from Jay Peak across the border to compete with our Canadian neighbors.
The West Coast Leg
Kicking off this four-event stretch over 7 days, The Cove, Riverside CA, will host an event on July 19th. This municipal venue has possibly the best double FlowRider in California and after a very successful first season in 2012, there was no hesitation in joining the 2013 season. For the first time in the USA FLOW Tour history, we will be having a “Specialty” event hosted by the only Wave House in the nation, located in Mission Beach, San Diego. On July 20th, Wave House San Diego will be hosting a FlowBarrel® only event for all FLOW Tour competitors. Being only 2 hours away from Riverside it would be a waste not to include this “one of a kind” venue in the tour schedule. Giving the competitors a break from the regular routine competition format, they will get to test their skills on the infamous Bruticas Maximus in an all-amateur event. Those riders who are not familiar with the left hand breaking FlowBarrel will want to do their homework and start preparing for this one-off event. Judged by the local Pro’s, these competitors will earn bragging rights for the rest of the FLOW Tour season, along with some really cool prizes.
Just a short flight away, the West Coast Leg goes to Utah where the Tour has possibly the most popular stops on the schedule. Just 4 days after Wave House SD, Salomon Center, Ogden UT, will host an event on July 24th. Home to a FlowRider Triple (and the 2012 World Flowboarding Championships) and the simulated skydiving machine known as the Ifly, it’s an obvious staple venue on the FLOW Tour schedule. FlowRider Utah is always known for their awesome prizes and passion for the sport, which is crucial to the overall success of an event. On July 26th just 1 ½ hours south, the competitors will make their way to Provo Beach Resort to close out the West Coast Leg. Provo boasts an indoor FlowRider Double, which is part of an entertainment complex with miniature golf, tenpin bowling, arcades, not to mention the hot Jacuzzis to chill in while witnessing all the action!
The East Coast Leg
From one end of the nation to the other, the FLOW Tour takes us to the East Coast where Fantasy Surf, FL will host the first event of three over a six-day period on August 25th. Fantasy Surf, last seasons host to the “Finals” are always involved in the growth of the FLOW Tour as well as the sport of Flowboarding. Boasting an indoor FlowRider Double situated amongst 5 star accommodation villas, this venue always goes above and beyond to accommodate the competitors. Just 1 ½ hours down the road, Surf Style, Clearwater, will be hosting event #2 on the East Coast leg on August 27th. Surf Style being one of the unique venues on tour, being situated inside a surf store on the beach front of Clearwater, shows that the location of the tour can be anywhere. With close contacts in the surf industry and great relationships with the big surf/skate brands, Surf Style is by far the leader in competition prizes. Florida seems to be the Mecca of the competitive flowboarding and is home to some of the best flowboarders in the nation, so be sure to mark it on your calendar.
Finals
After a devastating hurricane, which almost wiped out the Long Beach Island (LBI) area, we are proud to announce that Flow House LBI, NJ will host the 2013 USA FLOW Tour Finals on August 31st to September 1st. Proving that it will take more than natures forces to keep Flow House off the tour, Dan Sprague (Flow House LBI manager) took up our invitation to host the tour finals and insisted on having the event at their venue which FLOW (Flowboarding League Of the World) are extremely happy about.
“Hurricane Sandy was the most powerful and devastating storm to hit our island in over fifty years, yet amid the destruction hope and a sense of community have never been stronger. People from the island, surrounding towns, and around the nation have come to help when we all needed it most, and they wanted nothing in return but the opportunity to help. That being said we are more excited than ever for the coming summer and the chance to host this year’s Finals. We have enjoyed being part of the tour the past two years and love to help with the growth of the sport and community” said Dan Sprague.
This unique water park set-up, situated on the Long Beach Island strip, will be hosting the event over Labor Day weekend, which will be sure to bring an awesome crowd to witness the best flowboarders in the nation.
2013 Tour poster with schedule
Exciting changes
The positive part of having a six-month off-season is that we have time to refine and improve aspects of the tour. One exciting new change to take note of is the introduction of an electronic scoring system. FLOW has been working closely with flowboarding South African FlowBarrel Pro Matt Lammers, whose full time job is program design. We will be working with Matt to roll out an electronic system for the 2013 season and should have a test design in the next few weeks. We are also going to go “online.” This means that all competitors will be able to have access to entry forms/venue waivers and more at their finger tips which should make the registration process more streamlined. There are also a few changes to the 2013 USA FLOW Tour rulebook, so be sure to give it a read through.
Don’t forget about the Pro/Am events, which will be run along side the Prime Tour. These Pro/Am events do not have a point system or committed prize money pool but play a very important part in contributing to the growth and momentum to the sport of flowboarding.
It would be wrong not to keep some surprises, so be sure to stay tuned and keep an eye on http://www.facebook.com/FLOWtour , http://flowboarders.com and http://waveloch.com/flow-tour for up to date information.
See you all in summer……………………
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