X Games

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For the computer game series, see X (game series).
X Games
Most recent season or competition:
Winter X Games XVI
X Games Logo.png
Sport Extreme sports
Founded 1995
TV partner(s) ABC
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPN3
ESPN 3D
Official website XGames.com
Variation of X Games logo, used for Winter X Games

The X Games is an annual sports event, controlled and arranged by U.S. sports broadcaster ESPN (with coverage also shown on sister network ABC), which focuses on action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island.

The Winter X Games are held in January or February (usually in January) and the Summer X Games are usually held in August, both in the United States. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, and prize money. The competition often features new tricks such as Tony Hawk's 900 in skateboarding, Anthony Napolitan with the first double front flip on a bicycle, Travis Pastrana's double backflip in Freestyle Motocross, Heath Frisby's first ever snowmobile front flip in Snowmobile Best Trick, and Torstein Horgmo's first landed triple flip in a Snowboard competition. Concurrent with competition is the "X Fest" sports and music festival, which offers live music, athlete autograph sessions and interactive elements. The location of the Winter X Games is in Aspen, Colorado through 2012, while the location for the Summer X Games is in Los Angeles. The X Games also has international competitions and demos around the world that are held at varying times throughout the year. The games are shown live on television.

The Winter X Games is, as described by ESPN (2008), a competition compiled of the greatest winter action sport athletes from around the world competing on an annual basis. The competition contains day and evening events including skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling. The first Winter X Games took place at Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake, California, in 1997. The following two years, the Games were held at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado. The two years following that, the Games were held in Mount Snow, Vermont. And since 2002 the Winter X Games have been held at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado, and according to ESPN they will continue to be held there through 2012.

Contents

[edit] Events

[edit] Summer X Games

Moto
Rally
Skateboarding
  • Skateboard Vert
  • Skateboard Park
  • Skateboard Street
  • Skateboard Big Air
  • Skateboard Best Trick
BMX
  • BMX Freestyle Vert
  • BMX Freestyle Park
  • BMX Freestyle Street
  • BMX Freestyle Big Air

[edit] Winter X Games

Skiing
Snowboarding
Snowmobile
  • Snowmobile Freestyle
  • Snowmobile Speed & Style
  • Snowmobile Best Trick
  • SnoCross

[edit] Past Events

Inline skating
BMX
  • BMX Freestyle Dirt
  • BMX Freestyle Flatland
  • BMX Downhill
Other
  • Climbing
  • Street Luge
  • X-Venture Race
  • Super Modified Snow Shovel Racing
  • Winter Freestyle Moto X Best Trick
  • Surfing
  • Downhill Skateboarding
  • Moto X Super X
  • Wakeboarding
  • Skysurfing
  • Bungee Jumping
  • Skateboard Vert Doubles
  • BMX Vert Doubles
  • Super Motorcross
  • Barefoot Waterski Jumping
  • UltraCross

[edit] Economics

The X Games gained media exposure due to their big name sponsors, top-tier athletes and consistent fan attendance. As the Journal of Sport Management (2006) explains, Generation X and Generation Y are the two most highly valued by marketers. This creates a broad approach on marketing towards that certain demographic, which is why the X Games marketing and economic outlook is so “out of the box.” According to EXPN (2008); The Winter X Games inaugural year, 1997, was televised to 198 countries and 38,000 spectators attended the four day event. In 1998, the attendance dropped to 25,000 spectators. But just two years later, a record attendance of 83,500 people attended the Winter X Games' East Coast debut. The X Games and Winter X Games continue to grow with the popularity of action sports and the athletes who compete in them.

[edit] The Interactive X Fest Village

The Ior spectators, athlete demos, climbing walls, video game experiences, and the chance to try new and upcoming products that are presented by sponsors. This area exists at both the X Games and Winter X Games.

[edit] Snowskate Park

The Snowskate Park is an actual layout provided by the Winter X Games sponsors in order to provide real-life interaction for all spectators. The Snowskate Park posts a schedule so that fans can enter the park in order to “play” around or show off their skills. The schedule usually includes: Open Park for the Public, Invitational Practices, Special Kids Events, Experienced Snowskate Sessions, and Competitive Sledding.

[edit] Musical performances

As part of the X Games, there have been performances by various rock bands over the years, as well as a DJ being on-site at all events.

[edit] Environmental Impact

The X Games have made it a point since its founding to stage an eco-friendly event. Such measures include using biodiesel fuel in their vehicles and organizing recycling campaigns. Although these efforts do make a difference it is important to understand that it is not environmentally friendly to make as much snow as they do to put on this event.[1][2][3]

[edit] Increasing Popularity

Winter X Games VIII in 2004 marked the first time that an X Games event was televised live and also featured coverage by ESPN's flagship news program, SportsCenter. Viewership across the three networks that carried coverage of the event – ABC Sports, ESPN and ESPN2 – exceeded last year's household average by 30% according to Nielsen Media Research. The event also reached record highs in several demographic categories. To accommodate the first-time live coverage, nighttime competitions were added, resulting in record attendance for the Aspen/Snowmass venue.

[edit] Winter X Games 2002

The 2002 Winter X Games were a huge year for ESPN and the X Games. It was the first year that the games were held in Aspen Colorado at Buttermilk Mountain. The Games continued to add new events including the Ski Slopestyle event and the Ski SuperPipe event. The most memorable incident of the 2002 Games was when the entire 2002 U.S. Olympic Freestyle Snowboarding Team showed up to compete in the Winter X Snowboard SuperPipe event, just weeks prior to the Salt Lake City Olympics. Also in 2002, ESPN announced the establishment of the X Games Global Championship. The Global Championship featured two distinct venues hosting competitions in summer and winter action sports simultaneously. It consisted of six teams of the World’s top athletes, grouped together by their region of origin, to compete in the four day event. The winter sports were held in Whistler Blackcomb Resort in British Columbia, and the events included snowboarding and skiing.

[edit] History

Summarized from EXPN.com [4]

[edit] Summer X Games

    • Jake Brown gets hurt after landing the first 720 in Big Air competition. He fell from 40'+ in the air and landed on his backside and back on the flat. The force of the fall knocked his shoes off. After 8 minutes laying motionless, he walks away with help. Suffered a fractured wrist, bruised lung and liver, whiplash, ruptured spleen, and a concussion.
    • Ricky Carmichael wins the first ever MotoX Racing Circuit.
    • Mat Hoffman returns to competition in BMX Big Air.
    • Simon Tabron does an X Games first, doing back-to-back 900s in BMX Vert.
  • 2008: X Games 14 – Los Angeles, California (July 31 – August 3, 2008 )
    • Danny Way clips his shins on the lip of the quarterpipe after a 20+ foot freefall during the Big Air comp, which the commentators refer to as the "second worst fall ever at the X Games" (the first being Jake Brown's the year prior). After spending a few minutes with paramedics, Way limps back to the ramp and goes on to nail the trick he'd fallen on, coming in second place.
    • Ryan Sheckler Won Gold in Street Skateboarding, making it his second Gold medal at the X games.
    • Kyle Loza won his second gold medal in the Moto X Best Trick competition in two appearances by performing a never-before-seen move named "The Electric Doom."
    • Skateboarder Andy Macdonald won his 15th X Games medal, surpassing Tony Hawk as the all-time leader in skateboarding medals.
    • Rally racer Travis Pastrana reclaimed the gold medal by defeating Tanner Foust in the Rally X final.
    • Jim DeChamp falls while attempting first ever Frontflip on Moto-X bike
    • Tarah Gieger of Puerto Rico won the gold medal in the first-ever women's supercross race.
    • Jeremy Lusk Wins a Gold Medal in the Freestyle MotoCross (FMX) event.
  • 2009: X Games 15 – Los Angeles, California (July 30 – August 2, 2009)
    • Skateboarder Jake Brown wins his first gold medal in the Big Air competition.
    • Danny Way wins the inaugural Big Air Rail Jam, a contest which he created.
    • Paul Rodriguez wins the skateboard street
    • Anthony Napolitan lands the first ever double front flip on a bicycle.
    • Kyle Loza becomes the first person to three-peat gold Moto X Best Trick in controversial fashion by using the same trick he used to win in 2008, The Electric Doom, especially after the judges stating "innovation" will win the gold this year.
    • Ricky Carmichael falls and hurts himself on Moto X Step Up. Due to the circumstances, dual gold medals were awarded to Carmichael and to Ronnie Renner.
    • Blake Williams becomes the first non-American rider to win FMX Gold
    • Jamie Bestwick 3-peats with win in BMX Vert.
    • Pierre-Luc Gagnon wins gold in Skateboard Vert for the second consecutive year.
    • In his first X Games appearance, retired IndyCar champion Kenny Brack wins Rally X gold over defending gold medalist Travis Pastrana.
    • Ashley Fiolek, 18, wins the women's Moto X Super X, becoming the Games' first deaf medalist.
  • 2010: X Games 16 – Staples Center, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum & L.A. Live, Los Angeles, California (July 29 – August 1, 2010)
    • Travis Pastrana competes in 4 events after pulling out of Best Trick at the last minute. He comes back to Freestyle after a 3 year hiatus, and takes gold, pulling yet another Double Backflip, the first one done in X Games Freestyle competition. He has troubles in Rally, costing him gold in Rally Racing and the chance to compete in Super Rally, but comes back on the bike and wins his first gold in Moto X Speed & Style, beating Nate Adams
    • Ashley Fiolek wins the women's Moto X Super X for the second year in a row, becoming the only rider to do so.
    • Matt Buyten wins gold in Moto X Step Up, beating former champion, Ronnie Renner.
    • Jamie Bestwick becomes the first person to 4-peats with a win in BMX Vert.
    • Pierre-Luc Gagnon becomes the first athlete to 3-peat in Skateboard Vert, beating silver medalist, Shaun White.
    • Garrett Reynolds becomes the first athlete to 3-peat in BMX Street.
    • Cam Sinclair did what some call the greatest comeback in action sports history, winning his first X Games gold medal in Best Trick by pulling a Double Backflip, the trick that bit him hard in Red Bull X Fighters only 8 months ago, leaving him in a coma for 7 days, and having him retrain his body, learning how to walk and, eventually, to ride again.
    • Ryan Sheckler wins the X games gold medal in Skateboarding Street seeking redemption after his X Games XV mishap.

[6]

[edit] Winter X Games

  • 1997: Winter X Games 1, Big Bear Lake, California (January 30 – February 2, 1997)
    • 38,000 in Attendance
  • 1998: Winter X Games 2, Crested Butte, Colorado
    • 25,000 in Attendance
  • 1999: Winter X Games 3, Crested Butte, Colorado
    • 30,000+ in Attendance
  • 2000: Winter X Games 4, Mount Snow, Vermont (February 3–6, 2000)
    • 83,500 in Attendance
  • 2001: Winter X Games 5, Mount Snow, Vermont
    • 85,100 in Attendance
  • 2002: Winter X Games 6, Aspen, Colorado (February 1–5, 2002)
  • 2003: Winter X Games 7, Aspen, Colorado (January 30 – February 5, 2003)
  • 2004: Winter X Games 8, Aspen, Colorado (January 22–25, 2004)
  • 2005: Winter X Games 9, Aspen, Colorado (January 29 – February 1, 2005)
  • 2006: Winter X Games 10, Aspen, Colorado (January 28–31, 2006)
    • Jeaux Hall lands the 1080 in half-pipe contest after 17 attempts
    • ESPN has signed a contract with the Aspen Skiing Company to keep the Winter X Games in Colorado through 2012
  • 2007: Winter X Games 11, Aspen, Colorado (January 25–28, 2007)
    • Peter Olenick lands first double-flip (The Whiskey Flip) in halfpipe competition history, starting a revolution and setting a new standard in superpipe tricks.
  • 2008: Winter X Games 12, Aspen, Colorado (January 24–27, 2008)'
  • 2009: Winter X Games 13, Aspen, Colorado (January 22–25, 2009)
    • Levi LaVallee attempts the first double backflip on a snowmobile
    • Shaun White wins first back to back golds in Snowboard superpipe
  • 2010: Winter X Games 14, Aspen, Colorado (January 28–31, 2010)
    • Eero Ettala won the gold medal. He reached the finals with a staggering 93.33 points. Runner up Eric Willet reached only 86.33 points.
  • 2011: Winter X Games 15, Aspen, Colorado (January 27 – 30, 2011)
    • Kelly Clark lands first 1080 by a woman in competition, in Women's Superpipe .
    • Torstein Horgmo lands first triple cork in competition, in Men's Snowboard Big Air
    • Shaun White becomes first to win 4 peat in the Super Pipe in X games history
    • Sebastian Toutant wins multiple gold as a rookie
    • During Snowmobile Best Trick brothers, Colton and Caleb Moore, successfully landed a two-man backflip but were disqualified because judges ruled the event as an individual sport. Daniel Bodin would later go on to take gold for the event.
  • 2012: Winter X Games 16, Aspen, Colorado (January 26 – 29, 2012)
    • Games dedicated to renowned freestyle skier Sarah Burke, who passed away on January 19, 2012
    • Shaun White wins Snowboard SuperPipe for the fifth year in a row, with a first ever perfect score of 100.00
    • Heath Frisby lands first ever front flip of a snowmobile, in Snowmobile Best Trick.

[edit] X Games Venues

Year Summer Winter Asia Europe
1995 United States Newport & Mount Snow None held None held None held
1996 United States Providence & Newport
1997 United States San Diego United States Big Bear Lake
1998 United States San Diego United States Crested Butte Thailand Phuket
1999 United States San Francisco United States Crested Butte Thailand Phuket
2000 United States San Francisco United States Mount Snow Thailand Phuket
2001 United States Philadelphia United States Mount Snow Thailand Phuket
2002 United States Philadelphia United States Aspen Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
2003 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
2004 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
2005 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen South Korea Seoul
2006 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
2007 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen China Shanghai
2008 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen China Shanghai
2009 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen China Shanghai
2010 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen China Shanghai France Tignes
2011 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen China Shanghai France Tignes
2012 United States Los Angeles United States Aspen China Shanghai France Tignes

[edit] X Games Global Championships

Main article: X Games Global Championships

From May 16 up until May 18, 2003, the X Games held a special event called the Global Championships, where 5 continents (2 countries in North America) competed in 11 disciplines. The event was held in two locations, the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas (where 7 of the events, including In-line skating, Skateboarding, BMX and Freestyle Motocross, were held), as well as in Whistler, British Columbia (where the Superpipe events for Snowboarding and skiing took place).

The final team results were:

Position Team/Continent Overall Points
1 USA 196
2 Europe 167
3 Australia 142
4 Canada 132
5 Asia 122
6 South America 70
  • It was also here at the Global Championships where Jamie Bestwick performed the first ever Tailwhip Flair in the BMX Vert event.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://disney.go.com/environmentality/xgames/summerxgames13/thedirt092507.html
  2. ^ Green to the Extreme
  3. ^ http://disney.go.com/environmentality/xgames/summerxgames13/trashed.html
  4. ^ "About International X Games". Archived from the original on 2007. http://www.23mag.com/events/xg/xg.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-03. 
  5. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20010522192042/http://expn.go.com/xgames/sxg/2000/s/010822_skateresults.html
  6. ^ http://espn.go.com/action/xgames/news/story?page=x-games-16-downtown-la
  7. ^ http://espn.go.com/action/xgames/blog/_/post/6034293/x-games-17-announces-2011-dates
  8. ^ http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/07/britains-doran-leaps-to-x-games-gold-medal/

[edit] External links

X Games
Summer X Games
I 1995 · II 1996 · III 1997 · IV 19981 · V 1999 · VI 2000 · VII 2001 · VIII 2002 · IX 2003 · X 2004 · XI 2005 · XII 2006 · XIII 2007 · XIV 2008 · XV 2009 · XVI 2010 · XVII 2011 · XVIII 2012
Winter X Games
I 1997 · II 1998 · III 1999 · IV 2000 · V 2001 · VI 2002 · VII 2003 · VIII 2004 · IX 2005 · X 2006 · XI 2007 · XII 2008 · XIII 2009 · XIV 2010 · XV 2011 · XVI 2012
Winter X Games Europe
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