Skateboarding is the basis of many freestyle sports. Snowboard stars such as Iouri Podladtchikov and Shawn White are passionate skateboarders and see it as the basis of their success. Now Iouri Podladtchikov is touring Switzerland with the Iouri & The Kids Skate Tour. From July 8-14, he will be visiting the seven best skate parks with skate pros Monir Salihi and Martino Cattaneo and ripping the bowls and obstacles with the youngsters. "If you want to snowboard well, you have to skate well" is the credo that snowboard pro Iouri Podladtchikov lives by. He laid the foundations for his career by skating and taking part in countless bowl contests, where he was one of the best early on and also won the Swiss Championship title in 2008. Just hours before Podladtchikov flew to New Zealand for a training camp last year, he was having fun in his neighborhood's new skate park. The session with the many local kids motivated him to skate more together again and encourage young people to do so. The idea of a week-long tour through Switzerland was quickly born and the necessary levers were set in motion. Seven sessions in the best skateparksThe skatepark managers, partners and Iouri's skate friends Monir Salihi (Zurich) and Martino Cattaneo (Lugano) were immediately enthusiastic about the Iouri & The Kids Skate Tour. The tour starts on July 8 in Wilen/Wollerau, then goes to Lausanne, Lugano, Sarnen, Näfels, St. Gallen and ends on July 14 with a stop in Winterthur. The warm-up session starts at 1 p.m., the kids' session at 2 p.m. and the photo session with the well-known skate and snowboard photographer Vernon Deck takes place from 5-6 p.m.. Skateboarders aged eight and over are welcome. They can benefit from tips from the pros and skate together in the best skate parks. Participation is free and registration is not necessary. In the event of rain, skateboarding will take place indoors. The anticipation is greatThe entire tour will be traveling in a tour bus equipped with bunks and a kitchen. DJ Ruben Cassiano will provide the right sound. Podladtchikov is really looking forward to the skate tour: "I can hardly wait to motivate the kids to come out to the cool skate parks that we now have. That's how it all started for me. I would be very proud to meet a few kids this year who will be among the best in ten years' time. Martino Cattaneo was just as much a kid when I was still very active in bowl contests. And now he skates with more style than you could wish for! I'm excited to see what's in store for us." More info at facebook.com/IouriAndTheKids Iouri & The Kids Skate Tour 2012 - In BriefDates/Locations July 8 Wollerau www.wollerau.chJuly 9 Lausanne www.fievre.chJuly 10 Lugano www.skateparklugano.chJuly 11 Sarnen www.skateparkobwalden.chJuly 12 Näfels www.massivskatepark.blogspot.chJuly 13 St. Gallen www.sanktgallen.chJuly 14 Winterthur www.block.ch
