Panasonic Open Kicks Off Action Sports Tour in Baltimore

Panasonic
will kick-off the 2007 AST Dew Tour season this weekend with the Panasonic Open
at the Camden Yards Sports Complex in

Baltimore,

Maryland. The event will feature
competitions in action sports events including skateboarding, BMX, and
freestyle motocross from June 21-24.

The AST
Dew Tour debuted in 2005 with Panasonic as a founding sponsor and is now the
most watched and attended action sports property in the world. Recognized as
the premier professional tour in its category, the competition offers the
largest competitive purse in action sports – $2.5 million, with an additional
$1 million bonus pool based on year-end tour standings. The events are
televised nationally by NBC Network, USA Network and FUEL TV, providing the
largest combined network and cable commitment in action sports. The 2007
Panasonic Open will be followed by tour stops in
Cleveland,

OH,
Portland,
OR,
Salt Lake City,
UT and

Orlando,

FL.

Over 150
of the best action sports athletes in the world will compete in the Panasonic
Open this year, including Baltimore’s own Bucky Lasek (Skateboard Vert), Ryan
Sheckler (Skateboard Park), Dave Mirra (BMX Park and BMX Dirt) and Nate Adams
(Freestyle Motocross). In addition to the competitions, the Panasonic Open
takes on a festival atmosphere in the ”

Festival
Village”
with interactive events and a musical performance by Saliva.

As title
sponsor, Panasonic receives tour-wide category exclusivity and event naming
rights for the Panasonic Open. Panasonic will also receive an NBC and USA TV
media package and an opportunity to demonstrate products on-site.

At each of
the five AST events, Panasonic will showcase its 103-inch Plasma TV in a
specially designed Panasonic Experience tent, featuring interactive audio and
video with Panasonic high tech headphones. For a hands- on experience, fans
will be able to borrow a Panasonic Lumix digital camera during the day to take
photos of their favorite athletes and events. Not only will participants be able
to demo the product, they will be given their SD memory card, so they can take
their pictures home to share with friends and family.

The
Panasonic Experience booth will also host autograph sessions with AST Dew Tour
Street Champion Ryan Sheckler.

To further
support the action sports community, Panasonic recently launched its updated
“Share the Air” (www.sharetheair.net) website, a digital content
destination for action sports, which features photoblogs by key influencers.
The site also features a user-generated content contest with an open call for
24-second action sports films, judged by renowned videographers Ty Evans and
Aaron Meza. Two Grand Prize winners will be awarded with Panasonic High
Definition camcorders. A photo gallery for creative still action shots will
also be judged on the site, with Panasonic Lumix Digital Still Cameras as
prizes.

The
program is backed by five different 30 second TV spots created to highlight the
synergy of Panasonic products with the action sports lifestyle. Airing nationally
from June to October, the spots feature key athletes demonstrating
gravity-defying freestyle motocross and skateboarding.