Organizers say there will be no shortage of local talent when the Gatorade Free Flow Tour holds a skateboarding competition Saturday at noon at Baltimore's Charm City Skatepark.
The tour, an amateur skateboarding and BMX series that travels throughout the country during the summer, will be returning to Baltimore for the second consecutive year.
Charm City Skatepark owner Jason Chapman said he expected the event to attract anywhere from 60 to 100 competitors in two age groups: 12-and-under and 13-18.
"Last year we pulled in some [competitors] from as far away as Illinois," Chapman said.
The winners will be flown to the Gatorade Free Flow Tour Finals in Salt Lake City in October, where they'll get a chance to compete against the pros.
Chapman said two of the favorites in Saturday's competition are Tyler Thomas, 11, from Federal Hill, and KDN Maxwell, 15, from O'Donnell Heights.
"Tyler is well-rounded and amazing," Chapman said. "He can skate rails, ledges, ramps - he can skate everything. And he always has big support. He'll have a lot of fans cheering for him."
KDN Maxwell, Chapman said, is a compelling story because he has been skating for only three years.
"He showed up [at the skatepark] with a basketball in one hand and a Wal-Mart board in the other," Chapman recalled. "He was an annoying little kid for about a month or so.
"Then he really got into it ... every day he was out there skating. Now ... he excels with technical tricks on big stuff. You can slide or grind on a rail ... but he can flip his board on it, which is insane. He's a man. He's got a real powerful style."
Gatorade Free Flow Tour
When: Saturday, noon
Where: Charm City Skatepark,
4401 O'Donnell St.
Phone: 410-327-7909
