F54’s Timmy Knuth takes the Free Flow Tour skate title in Salt Lake City
To fully appreciate the allure of the Free Flow Tour for up-and-coming amateur skateboarders, look no further than the pro Skate Park contest on the 2008 AST Dew Tour, where last year’s Free Flow Tour champ Chaz Ortiz is now holding it down in the top three – just behind Paul Rodriguez and Ryan Sheckler – among the best of the best in pro competition. The Free Flow Tour has also been good to 2006 champ David Loy, now a star of the Birdhouse Skateboards team. Add a new name to that list of freshly-minted Free Flow legends: Timmy Knuth. The 17 year-old skater from Melbourne, Florida won the Free Flow contest at Kona Skatepark in August, earning the right to compete in Finals at the Toyota Challenge, the 4th of 5 stops on the AST Dew Tour. Hundreds of skaters from around the country competed in 16 regional contests, each sending one winner here to Salt Lake City for the Free Flow Tour Finals. On a Dew Tour Skate Park course designed for pro competition, Knuth proceeded through quarterfinals and semi-finals to skate in a 4-man Finals jam session and emerge as champion. Knuth finished just ahead of 16 year-old skater CJ Dixon of Cocoa Beach, FL, winner of the Free Flow contest at MESH Skatepark, and 15 year-old Alex Longcamp from Aurora, IN, winner of the Free Flow contest at Factory Skatepark. Knuth has been steadily climbing up in the world of amateur skateboarding. He won the Best Trick contest at the Damn Am contest in Minneapolis in June, and has made the top 10 at many recent contests. He considers himself a street skater first and foremost, but says he’s also happy to be holding his own in competition. “I’m friends with both Chaz Ortiz and David Loy, so to be able to follow their path and come out on top of the Free Flow Tour feels really good,” says Knuth. Next up: Knuth’s Free Flow Tour title gives him a wildcard ticket to skate against some of his personal heroes in Prelims at the PlayStation Pro next month in Orlando. He has big skate shoes to fill: Both Loy and Ortiz took full advantage of the opportunity, qualifying for Finals and kick-starting their skateboarding careers. “The contest in Orlando is only about 45 minutes from my home, so I’m really looking forward to being able to skate there and have a lot of my friends and family come see it,” says Knuth. “To be honest it hasn’t all really sunk in yet, but I know this is pretty big.” Skate Park Finals 1. Timmy Knuth, Melbourne, Fla., 90.00 2. C.J. Dixon, Cocoa Beach, Fla., 81.50 3. Alex Longcamp, Aurora, Ind., 80.67 4. Ryan Thompson, Katy, Texas, 78.33 5. Brandon Strosser, Lancaster, Pa., 73.17 (The following skaters did not qualify for the jam session finals) 6. Jack Olson, St. Louis Park, Minn., 76.67 7. Andrew Gary, Yorkville, Ill., 75.33 8. Tyson Bowerbank, Sandy, Utah, 69.67 9. Nick Matthews, Naperville, Ill., 68.00 10 Cody Davis, Ramsey, Minn., 67.00.