Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk files for divorce

Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk has filed for divorce from his third wife, Lhotse Merriam. People.com reports that Hawk, 42, filed the documents Friday in northern San Diego County. The two have been married since 2005 and have one child together.

"We have made the difficult decision to file for divorce," the couple said in a joint statement released Monday.

"We remain deeply committed and loving parents to our daughter, and out of respect for that responsibility we ask that people honor our family's privacy during this important time of transition," the statement said. "Thank you for your understanding."

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Tony Hawk and Lhotse Merriam, in 2005 at Merriam's shop in Encinitas. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

Street League skateboarding DC Pro Tour hits Ontario Saturday

Some of pro skateboarding's top competitors will be on hand Saturday at Ontario's Citizens Business Bank Arena for the second stop of the Street League DC Pro Tour fueled by Monster Energy.

Fifteen-year-old Nyjah Huston of Huntington Beach scored a stunning victory at the debut event Aug. 28 in Glendale, Ariz., pocketing a $150,000 first-place paycheck and setting the stage for an intense battle this round among the sport’s elite competitors.

Preliminary rounds, which are closed to the public, are scheduled for Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. The grand finale is slated for Saturday from 1 to 3:45 p.m., with doors opening to the public at noon. General admission tickets for Saturday are priced between $25 and $45 and are available for purchase online or at the arena.

Street League skateboarding’s three-event series features participation from some of the world’s top street skateboarders -- including stars such as Ryan Sheckler, Paul Rodriguez Jr. and Chris Cole and core street skateboarders P.J. Ladd, Mike Mo Capaldi, Brandon Biebel and Dylan Reider -- a combined roster of athletes that includes winners of past X Games, Dew Tour and Maloof Money Cup events.

The tour's $1.2-million purse is the largest in skateboarding, with nearly $400,000 awarded at each of the three stops culminating with the finale in Las Vegas on Sept. 25.

Supergirl Jam offers up snowboarding, skateboarding and inline skating Sunday at Venice Beach

Venice Beach will be the site Sunday for the Supergirl Jam, the next event of the 2010 Supergirl Jam series, with top female skateboarders, inline skaters and snowboarders (yes, snowboarders) competing for a portion of the $36,000 total prize purse.

Athletes will hit the slopes, made possible by 80,000 pounds of man-made snow being brought to the beach, to compete in the snowboarding rail jam. Two-time defending champion Laurie Currier will be on hand to defend her title, facing other top boarders -- including former event medalists Chanelle Sladics and Leanne Pelosi -- determined to thwart a three-peat.

In addition to snowboarding, the event will feature top skateboarding and inline skating pros competing on a custom-built street course designed to challenge their board and rail skills.

This year's Supergirl Jam Skateboard Street contest welcomes the return of the 2008 Supergirl Jam skateboard champion, Lauren Perkins, who was injured in 2009 and didn't compete. Perkins will attempt to recapture the title that Amy Caron claimed last year, also facing tough competition in the likes of 2010 X Games medalists Leticia Bufoni and Alexis Slabone.

Supergirl Pro Junior surfing contest Saturday in Oceanside

The next event in the Supergirl Jam series is the Supergirl Pro Junior surf contest Saturday in Oceanside.

Sixteen of the best age 20-and-younger female surfers in the world will be vying for a portion of the $21,000 purse, including a $10,000 top prize, in this Assn. of Surfing Professionals Grade-4 contest that offers the the richest ASP Women’s Pro Junior prize purse in history. 

Expected to compete is last week's Women’s U.S. Open of Surfing winner Carissa Moore; 2009 ASP Women’s World Tour Rookie of the Year and 2008 Supergirl Pro Junior Champion Coco Ho; and 2009 Supergirl Pro Junior silver medalist and 2008 Women’s U.S. Open Champion Malia Manuel.

New to this year’s event is the Supergirl Shootout, giving those athletes who don't advance to the finals a chance to compete in a best trick contest for $1,000 in bonus prize money. 

Competition is scheduled to run from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with the award ceremony at 2:45 p.m. and an autograph session following.

Skateboarder Paul Rodriguez, artist Don Pendleton team up with Mountain Dew for Green Label Art: Shop Series contest

Skateboarding pro Paul Rodriguez and legendary skate artist Don Pendleton have teamed up with Mountain Dew to announce the Green Label Art: Shop Series contest, in which 35 skate shops nationwide are competing to have their artwork featured on a Mountain Dew can.

"A couple years ago, I did a Mountain Dew bottle design with Chris Pastrus, another skater who is an artist, and that went over really well, so when Mountain Dew came to me with the Green Label Art: Shop Series program, I wanted to keep it just about skateboarding," Rodriguez said. "There are a ton of artists within skateboarding, but Don Pendleton is one of the most standout artists among those artists, so I thought getting him to collaborate with us was a slam dunk."

Each of the 35 participating skate shops worked with a local artist of their choice to create a unique Mountain Dew can design, competing for a chance at winning $10,000 in prize money ($5,000 for the winning shop; $5,000 for the winning artist). Fans are encouraged to visit the Green Label Art website to check out all the skate shops, vote on their favorite can designs and enter for a chance to win a trip to the Dew Tour or limited-edition skateboarding gear featuring the artwork that Rodriguez and Pendleton collaborated on, shown above.

Supergirl Jam series begins Wednesday in Simi Valley

The Supergirl Jam series kicks off its fourth year Wednesday with the Supergirl Am Jam, a skateboard street contest featuring top amateur skaters, at Skatelab in Simi Valley.

Co-sponsored by ASA Entertainment and Warner Bros. Consumer Products on behalf of DC Comics, the action sports competition is the industry's only large-scale, all-girls event and features more than 100 of the world's top female action sports athletes competing in skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing and inline skating.

Practice begins at noon, with preliminaries at 2 p.m., a final practice at 4 p.m. and the finals from 4:30-5:30 p.m. The winner will earn a spot in the invitation-only pro competition during the Supergirl Jam on Aug. 22 at Venice Beach.

"This series was built to inspire young women and provide opportunities for these amazing artists to showcase their skills,"  ASA Entertainment CEO Rick Bratman said. "ASA is really proud to help promote these world-class athletes and be a part of the incredible progression in female action sports."

The series will kick off with three events, each highlighting the sports’ most talented female pros as well as up-and-coming amateurs:

Wednesday -- Supergirl Am Jam (skateboarding); Skatelab, Simi Valley

Aug. 14 -- Supergirl Pro Junior (surfing); Oceanside Pier

Aug. 22 -- Supergirl Jam (snowboarding, skateboarding, inline skating), Venice Beach

Additional surfing and snowboarding contests are being planned for November and December and will be announced at a later date. Admission to all of the Supergirl Jam events is free.

"We are very proud to present the Supergirl Jam for its fourth year," said Karen McTier, executive vice president of domestic licensing and worldwide marketing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "It's an honor to once again provide an opportunity for these young women to take center stage and be applauded for their talent, dedication and inspiration."

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: Leticia Bufoni takes flight during the 2009 Supergirl Pro Am Jam skate contest. Credit: Supergirl Jam

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X Games 16 tickets go on sale Thursday

Tickets for X Games 16 will go on sale Thursday at venue box offices, Ticketmaster outlets and through Ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices range from $9-$40 for events being held July 29 through Aug. 1 at four downtown Los Angeles locations.

All tickets include admission to X Fest at L.A. Live. Taking place in conjunction with the X Games, the free action sports festival will open at 9 a.m. daily and will feature sponsor and industry booths, musical performances, interactive parks, athlete appearances, demonstrations and more.

The competition schedule, listed by date, time, events, venue and ticket price(s): 

Thursday, July 29

10:30 a.m. -- BMX freestyle park elimination and skateboard street elimination; Event Deck at L.A. Live; $9.


4 p.m. -- Moto X Super X, men’s, women’s and adaptive; Moto X freestyle and skate big air; Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum;  $16
.

Friday, July 30

11 a.m. -- Skateboard park elimination and BMX freestyle street elimination; Event Deck at L.A. Live; $9
.

4 p.m. -- BMX vert, skate vert and skate vert best trick; Nokia Theatre; $20, $40.

5 p.m. -- Moto X step up, best whip and best trick; Staples Center; $17, $22, $25, $30.

Also Friday is the women’s skate vert, a free event at 2:15 p.m. inside Nokia Theatre.

Gatorade Free Flow Tour comes to Perris on Saturday

The Gatorade Free Flow Tour will be hitting the Compound action sports ramp park in Perris, Calif., on Saturday, bringing its BMX competition -- including the Tour's first BMX dirt event -- to Southern California, all with no admission charge.

And for those younger than 21 who want to do more than watch, registration is open for male and female amateurs in BMX park and dirt disciplines, with a chance to earn a trip to compete in the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals, held at the Dew Tour’s Toyota Challenge, and advance to a spot competing against the pros at the Dew Tour Championships, Oct. 14-17 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

There is a $15 entry fee, and all participants younger than 18 must bring a parent or guardian to the event to sign a liability waiver. Registration can be completed ahead of time on the Gatorade Free Flow Tour website or completed on-site the day of the event, with no limits on the number of participants.

Saturday's event registration and competition times are:

Registration -- 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Junior Jam competition-- 2 p.m.
Open Park competition -- 3 p.m. 
Dirt competition -- 5 p.m.

Entering its sixth year, the Gatorade Free Flow Tour is the official amateur series of the Dew Tour. The series holds competitions across the country throughout the summer, providing a platform for amateur skaters and BMX riders to showcase their skills. The 2010 tour consists of 47 regional events across 30 parks in the U.S., featuring skateboarding (park and vert) and BMX (park and dirt).

The remainder of the 2010 Gatorade Free Flow Tour season schedule follows:

Ryan Sheckler Skate for a Cause benefit Saturday in Lake Forest

Some of the country's top skateboarders will be on hand Saturday at Etnies Skatepark of Lake Forest, competing to help raise money for charity.

The Sheckler Foundation's Skate for a Cause event, benefiting the Make-a-Wish Foundation, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fundraiser, hosted by professional skateboarder Ryan Sheckler and Etnies, will feature top pros competing in three best-trick contests, vying for a total prize purse of $10,000.

The list of skaters competing includes Sheckler, Greg Lutzka, Rob Dyrdek, Eric Koston, Colin McKay, Paul Rodriguez Jr. and Pat Duffy and at least a dozen others. 

The event is free and open to the public, though skateboard fans who want to get closer to the action can purchase a Friends and Family pass for $200 per person, which places pass holders alongside the action during the demos and contests.  VIP tickets for guaranteed seating immediately outside the skating area also may be purchased for $50 per person. The passes and VIP tickets can be purchased either on site or in advance by calling (949) 542-3079, with all proceeds raised from sales donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

In addition to watching the best skate pros compete, attendees are invited to donate to the cause by participating at the skateboard carnival village, where there will be games and activities, plus local vendors selling food, with all money raised also donated to Make-a-Wish.

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: Ryan Sheckler goes skating. Credit: Etnies

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Dew Tour announces 2010 season, including championships in Las Vegas

The schedule for the sixth season of the Dew Tour has been announced and will include the action-sports tour's first visit to Las Vegas.

"I'm excited that the Dew Tour is going to be in Las Vegas this year," said three-time Dew Cup champion Ryan Sheckler. "I love Vegas, so to be able to compete there seems almost surreal."

Top skate and BMX athletes are vying for part of a $2.5-million purse based on overall tour standings in each of the five disciplines -- skateboard park, skate vert, BMX park, vert and dirt.

The first two events kicking off the season are sport-specific, with a park and vert skate event in Boston, followed by a park, dirt and vert BMX stop in Chicago.

The five-city tour also visits Portland, Ore., and Salt Lake City for multi-sport competition and culminates with the championships at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

"All five of our host cities for this upcoming year have shown tremendous support," said Chris Prybylo, Alli Sports vice president of events and Dew Tour general manager. "We look forward to what this season will bring, and the addition of Las Vegas to the slate will make the final event of the year that much more dynamic and dramatic."

The complete 2010 Dew Tour schedule:

June 25-26       Skate Open/ISF Skateboarding World Championships         Boston

July 23-24      Nike 6.0 BMX Open                                                                     Chicago

Aug. 12-15        Wendy's Invitational                                                                  Portland, Ore.

Sept. 16-19       Toyota Challenge                                                                         Salt Lake City

Oct. 14-17        Dew Tour Championships                                                           Las Vegas

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: Bob Burnquist competes in the skate vert finals during the 2009 Dew Tour Playstation Pro. Credit: Alli: Alliance of Action Sports

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Legendary skateboarder Bob Biniak, one of the original Dogtown Z-Boys, dies

Legendary skateboarder Bob Biniak, one of the original Dogtown Z-Boys, has died at age 51, reports Times staff writer Valerie J. Nelson.

Here's an excerpt from the obituary:

Bob Biniak, whose daring and innovative skateboarding style as one of the original Dogtown Z-Boys helped revitalize the pursuit in the 1970s, has died. He was 51.

Biniak died at Baptist Beaches Medical Center in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., on Feb. 25, four days after having a heart attack, said his wife, Charlene.

To his fellow Z-Boys -- a ragtag group from Dogtown, a rough beachfront area wedged between Venice and Santa Monica -- Biniak was simply "the Bullet," a nickname that saluted his affinity for speed.

"Bob Biniak was a major legend," said Michael Brooke, publisher of Concrete Wave magazine. "He was absolutely one of the key Dogtowners . . . and really set the stage for aggressive skateboarding. He was fierce."

Action sports high school anti-tobacco tour kicks off Monday in Ontario

The ASA High School Tour will kick off its Spring "Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids" schedule Monday in Ontario, Calif., with top skateboarders, BMX and inline-skating pros visiting high school campuses nationwide to perform stunts and offer students information on the risks of using tobacco.

ASA Action Sports World Tour and X Games athletes will also spend time with students, posing for photos, signing autographs and talking about how you can be cool by not smoking.

Now in its 11th year, the tour will visit one school each day, five days a week, in nine markets across the country -- including Los Angeles-area schools March 15 to 19. The events are offered at no cost to participating schools, thanks to sponsorship from ASA Entertainment, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the United States Marine Corps.

"When we started this program 11 years ago, we hoped it would have the positive impact on students that we've been fortunate enough to affect," ASA Entertainment CEO Rick Bratman said.

Since the tour’s inception, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids messaging has reached over 1 million students.