160 hungry groms throw down this weekend for the Volcom Damn Am street contest and best trick bonanza in Costa Mesa. SPoTlight Productions has the full details.

2008 champ David Loy has two Volcom Damn Ams under his belt: Are these other ams going to let him get away with another one?

Also, watch out for the Ollie Pop Gum High Ollie contest, immediately following the street comp. What the hell is Ollie Pop Gum? I wondered that too. Apparently there's now an "action sports gum", with a whole grom team and everything, so next time you roll through some gum at the skatepark and go into an old man rage about it, you'll know who to blame: Damn these Damn Ams all to hell!

In 2006, 2007, and 2008 I followed the Dew Tour skate events like it was my job. No, seriously: It was my job! Now that I've put in a full season covering it from the comfort of my couch instead of plane-hopping all over the country, I can honestly say that I've missed it. Sure, the Dew Tour events are a made-for-TV spectacle, and at least a few steps removed from skateboarding as most of us know it, but they've also come a long way in 5 years. I think they've helped keep skateboarding in the limelight, and they've certainly helped boost the careers of Ryan Sheckler, the gang of Brazilian dudes, and some up-and-comers like Chaz Ortiz and Ryan Decenzo. Evolving contest formats in both the Skate Park and Vert events have kept things interesting, a steady stream of contests over the course of the Summer and Fall has helped take vert skating off life support and made MTV superstars out of a couple of the park guys, and the Free Flow Tour has come into its own as a legit amateur series.

I'll leave it at that: It's someone else's job to cover the Dew Tour like it's their job nowadays. But props to 2009 Dew Cup champions Chris Cole and Bucky Lasek all the same: Traveling the country to skate in high-pressure events in front of arenas full of fans and countless armchair aficianados month after month is hardcore. I made some great friends in the years I was following the action more closely, and I miss them all now that I'm on the sidelines. In the time-honored tradition of football dads everywhere, I spent a chunk of this weekend watching the Dew Tour on NBC with my kids, patiently explaining the rules of the contest, calling out the tricks, and quibbling with the judging and on-air commentators. When it was over, as sure as other kids pick up the pigskin and take to the streets with their dads after watching a big game, my kids grabbed their skateboards and BMX bikes. Mission accomplished, Dew Tour. See you next year?

The saga of the Brooklyn Banks has been one of the greatest stories in skateboarding 5boro's Steve Rodriguez and a gang of NYC skaters saved the legendary spot, getting it official skatepark recognition from the city and creating one of the world's great skate havens. But there's bad news today, via Gothamist.com and the Downtown Express:

"The area under the Brooklyn Bridge has been a popular skateboard park for decades, but its days are soon coming to an end, at least temporarily.

The city plans to use the internationally known Brooklyn Banks skate park as a staging area during the Brooklyn Bridge reconstruction, which is starting later this year and will last until 2014, said Ralph Musolino, a district manager for the city Parks Dept.

Musolino said the closure of the skate park was not certain, but Scott Gastel, spokesperson for the city Dept. of Transportation, later said the city would definitely need the space. Gastel was not sure when the park would close."

Get out there and skate the hell out of it while you can, NYC! We'll stay on the story, and we're hoping Rodriguez and company have another miracle up their sleeves. Anyone have any sway with the NYC DOT?

Photo: Steve Rodriguez at Brooklyn Banks, via NewYork.TimeOut.com

British skater Paul-Luc Ronchetti won the vert contest at Freestyle.CH Z rich over the weekend (photo by Marc Zanger, courtesy Zurich.Freestyle.CH), beating out American Danny Mayer, German J rgen Horrwath, and Brazilian Sandro Dias.

The last time I saw Ronchetti skate in person was at the Dew Tour after he won the 2008 Free Flow Tour vert competition and got to skate against guys like Pierre-Luc Gagnon. Dave Duncan kept talking about how PLR was too young for PLG to take him out for a PBR, and Ronchetti had no idea what he was talking about.

At any rate... nice reminder that some good things are happening across the pond. Freestyle.CH heads to Berlin next, October 9-11.

Skateboard Vert Superfinal Results, Freestyle.CH Z rich:

1. Paul-Luc Ronchetti, GBR 81.67

2. Danny Mayer, USA 78.67

3. J rgen Horrwath, GER 72.00

4. Sandro Dias, BRA 69.67

Don't have the industry connects to get on set at Paramount Studios today for the 5th Annual Vans Downtown Showdown?

Never fear: Live HD webcast from the event today at FUEL.TV/DowntownShowdown

The Girl, Black Label, Flip, and Creature teams each designed an obstacle for the competition: Girl pays tribute to the China Banks in SF, while the others went for thematic flair: Click through to FUEL.TV for a sneak peek at this year's obstacles.