As skateboarding makes its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan, a Summit County local is all in on helping to bring the sport to the Paralympics as well.
Daniel Gale, co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports, is a member of the American contingent taking the initial steps to bring para skateboarding to, he hopes, the 2024 or 2028 Paralympics.
Gale, husband of Adaptive Action Sports co-founder and Paralympic medalist Amy Purdy, has worked with the X Games and Dew Tour to host para skateboarding events. He is now a member of a 10-person USA Skateboarding Subcommittee dedicated to getting skateboarding into the Paralympic Games.
Summit County locals and Adaptive Action Sports athletes Mike Minor and Kiana Clay will compete in the debut adaptive skateboard events on Sunday, May 23, at Dew Tour in Des Moines, Iowa.
Sunday’s Dew Tour contests include men’s street and park and women’s adaptive skate finals from 8:15 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time through noon Mountain Daylight Time. The Summit duo will be joined by another para snowboarder and skater in U.S. Paralympian Evan Strong.
Speaking Saturday, May 22, in between practice sessions, Minor an X Games medalist in adaptive skate said the first time para skate exhibition is a great example of mainstream representation for the sport. That’s especially the case as the Dew Tour is a qualifying event for hundreds of the world’s best skateboarders ahead of the 2022 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in Japan. Adaptive skateboarding is not a part of the 2022 Paralympic slate.
Summit County adaptive pro snowboarder and skateboarder Mike Minor will compete in Dew Tour’s adaptive skateboard competition next month in Des Moines, Iowa.
For the Frisco resident and 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Paralympic snowboard gold medalist, it’ll be his first summer Dew Tour after competing in the 2018 and 2020 winter Dew Tour para snowboarding competition. Minor also won a bronze medal in adaptive skateboarding at X Games Minneapolis in 2019.
The 2021 summer Dew Tour will be held May 20-23 and will include World Skate-sanctioned men’s and women’s skateboarding street and park competitions that will serve as the only U.S.-based global Olympic skateboard qualifying events for the 2021 Tokyo Games.