Photo: Harry How, Getty Images
Chaz Ortiz, a 2007 Gatorade Free Flow Tour champ, is
a top pro. (As seen in USA Today) - Baseball has the minor leagues. The NFL has college football. In the world of action sports, the Gatorade Free Flow Tour feeds the major league of skateboarding and BMX.

Founded in 2004, the Gatorade Free Flow Tour is North America's largest amateur action sports contest series, with 47 competitions at 33 venues each summer.

The name Free Flow derives from the freestyle nature of the sports as well as the "flow to pro" motto of the tour. Amateurs often acquire sponsorship in the form of gear and apparel before reaching pro status with a salary and travel budget.

Structurally, the Gatorade Free Flow Tour acts as a feeder system for the pro-level Dew Tour by selecting an overall skateboarding vert, BMX dirt and two overall skate and BMX park champions each year for a spot to compete against the pros at the final Dew Tour stop in October.

Photo: Fat Tony/RideBMX.com
Matt Whyatt - winner of 2009 GFFT in BMX Park.

Last year's BMX champion Matt Whyatt supports the opportunity.

"I'm really glad I was able to compete against the pros in the final stop of the Dew Tour last year," he says. "The fact that a company as big as Gatorade has put their support behind us and the tour really shows how much our sports have grown and how important this competition is for amateurs."

Skateboarder Chaz Ortiz, who won the 2007 Gatorade Free Flow Tour at age 13, is the most accomplished of the athletes.

Within a year he was Dew Cup champion and has achieved pro status and skateboarding stardom. He acknowledges the impact the amateur tour had on his career.

"Free Flow is a great opportunity for kids to go from flow to pro," Ortiz says. "And it was the best opportunity for me to realize my dreams."

The next stop on the Gatorade Free Flow Tour is July 11 in Mount Hood, Ore. For full schedule visit GatoradeFreeFlowTour.com