How to Watch the World's Best Skateboarders This Summer in Des Moines

The annual summer Dew Tour competition circles back for its second year at Lauridsen skatepark in Downtown Des Moines (DSM) to host some of the world’s best women and men athletes in skateboarding. This year looks very different from last year’s competition, which served as an Olympic qualifying event for skateboarding, which made its debut in Tokyo last summer. And of course, last year’s COVID-19 restrictions meant limited attendance rules were in place.

Some key differences in enjoying Dew Tour for 2022:

• Dew Tour will be held for two days in late July: 29 & 30. Competition will start later in the day and end under the lights. We’ll run from 3 - 10 p.m. on Friday and 2 - 10 p.m. on Saturday.
• Invite-only, finals competition – only the best of the best skaters will be on-site competing.
• The return of the Battle of the Shops.
• FREE (well, this hasn’t changed, Dew Tour has always been free) but no tickets are required to enter.
• VIPS: Want to be a VIP at Dew Tour this year? You can! Purchasing a VIP pass gets you into this exclusive area with the best seating as well as food & beverages. Stay tuned to DewTour.com for details on VIP passes.
• FOOD & DRINK! We’re welcoming in some of Des Moines’ finest food trucks and local drink purveyors into our Dew Tour experience area to keep you full and refreshed while you’re at Dew Tour.

This year’s event is an invite-only competition that focuses on street and park disciplines, in both traditional and adaptive athletic competitions. Field sizes include 12 skateboarders for the men and eight for the women. Each competition is straight to finals, where participants are allotted three 45-second runs, and their best run counts as their final score. Skateboarders are judged on overall impression on a 1–100-point scale.

This year also marks the return of the Dew Tour’s Battle of the Shops, featuring five Midwest-based skate shops competing for shop glory: Subsect (Des Moines), Escapist (Kansas City), Familia (Minneapolis), Uprise (Chicago) and Infinity (St. Louis). Each shop will have two team riders represent their store and will be competing on the street course in two heats. The top three shops will then move on to a final where the winners will be placed.

With initial invites sent out, be sure to keep updated with the invited athletes you can expect at Dew Tour in Des Moines.

Dew Tour will be fully live streamed at DewTour.com as well, for those who might not be able to join the event in person.

Stay updated with all the news around Dew Tour on social @DewTour: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and our website at DewTour.com.

The Greater Des Moines Partnership calendar of events is a one-stop resource for activities taking place throughout the region. Find networking information for Greater Des Moines (DSM) businesses or events specific to Downtown DSM.