Friday, July 12

Core Tour

Press Release

The best athletes in core sports and top emerging music artists will converge at the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan for the Core Tour(tm), presented by Got Milk?, on July 20-21. This free summer sports and music festival will feature live music performances from top local bands and action-packed alternative sports competitions.

Designed to give amateur athletes the chance to compete alongside seasoned pros, this event features gravity-defying core sport competitions staged in a 90,000 square foot area of ramps and jumps. National and international competitions will bring out some of the world's best athletes to battle in the core sports of BMX dirt jumping, skateboarding, inline skating, and mountain board jumping.

Competitions will be staged on courses nearly as extreme as the athletes themselves - including the huge MBS Elements launch ramp, where athletes will skyrocket off at distances of over 50 feet. BMX competitors will fly and flip nearly three stories into two 12-foot high, 25 foot-wide dirt chasms made of 80 tons of packed dirt trucked in for the event. The action will also be happening in the specially designed street course, packed with quarter-pipe ramps, rails and launch boxes.

Core Tour competitions include:

* King of Dirt(tm) Pro-Am: Premier national BMX dirt jump competition for amateurs and pros, featuring best aerial flips, tricks, and specialized moves, cored on consistency and difficulty of tricks performed. A winner-take-all "Big Air" competition will also take the action to new heights, with jumps up to 23 feet.

* Mountainboard "Best Trick" Competition: High flying competition for the best aerial maneuvers off the huge MBS Elements ramp - separate competitions for mountainboarders and a National Skate Series (NSS) competition for inline skaters.

* Street Course Competition: Hot street course action as the United Skateboard Association (USA) and Real Action Sports roll out their "Beast of the East" and "Best of the West" skateboard contests. In line skaters will roll in for the NSS event Pro-Am competition, featuring 60 seconds of timed competitions for the best use of course jumps and elements.

* All Girl's Skate Jam: The street course and mini vert ramps will also be the scene for the only sanctioned all-girls skateboard competition in the country, featuring some of the world's best female amateurs and pros.

Nationally ranked pros slated to compete at various tour stops include: four time World Champion Jason Lee (mountainboarding); 2000 NSS Champion Jason Stinsman (inline); Brian Patch (skateboard); 2001 King of Dirt Champion Ryan Nyquist (BMX); 2000 Gravity Games and X-Games gold medallist Stephen Murray (BMX); Jen O'Brien (skateboard); and New Yorker Carolyn Junkel (mountainboarder).

Fans who turn out for the Core Tour's non-stop action will also be treated to live demo action on the street course and launch ramp by "Team Go-Ped" who will unleash a barrage of aerial tricks on their two-stroke motorized Go-Peds(tm).

Adding to the excitement, some of the best new local and national alternative bands will pump up the volume at the Panasonic e-War Music Stage with live concerts and DJ-spun tunes from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Featured acts include Long Island aggressive indie rockers Forward, and NYC hard rockers Veraspeed. Fans can also enjoy autograph session with athletes and bands, and explore the tour's interactive 30-vendor display area to take home free giveaways and register to win incredible prizes.

Open practice for amateur and pro athletes is available on Saturday starting at 9:00 a.m. Athletes under the age of 18 require a guardian's signature at the time of registration. Athletes can also register in advance at www.courtour.com . Amateur registration fees range from $20 - $35.

About the Core Tour 2002 marks the fifth year of the Core Tour, with stops including: Venice Beach, CA (June 21-23), South Street Seaport, NYC (July 20-21), and Huntington Beach, CA (Sept. 6-8). This year's tour is sponsored by Got Milk, 800-CALL-ATT, Paul Mitchell, Panasonic, Elements, and MBNA Bank. For more information call 212-465-3265. For additional details, updates, and daily schedule of events, visit www.coretour.com/media.