Winter X Games X

The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, as well as prize money.

The competition often features new tricks such as Tony Hawk's 900 in skateboarding, Shaun White's Double McTwist 1260 in snowboard, Dave Mirra’s Double Backflip in BMX, Travis Pastrana's Double Backflip in freestyle motocross, Heath Frisby's first snowmobile frontflip, Chuck Carothers's first body varial in Moto X Best Trick, Henrik Harlaut's first nose-butter triple cork in Ski Big Air, Gus Kenworthy's first switch triple rodeo in a ski slopestyle competition and Torstein Horgmo's first landed triple cork 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 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 demographics 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 a 2008 report by ESPN, in 1997, the Winter X Games inaugural year, 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.

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. 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.

The X Games has never carried out drug tests on competitors, a position which has been criticized by the World Anti-Doping Agency director general David Howman and the International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.

Winter X Games

The Winter X Games VIII in 2002 was the first time an X Games event was televised live and also had 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 2001'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 in Colorado.

The 2002 Winter X Games was a significant year for ESPN and the X Games. It was the first year that the games were held in Aspen at Buttermilk Mountain. The Games continued to add new events including the ski slopestyle event, ski superpipe event, snowboarding, skateboarding etc. 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 before the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. 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.

The Winter X Games are mostly held in the United States in January, but can happen in February, while the Summer X Games are usually held in August. The location of the Winter X Games is in Aspen, Colorado, through 2019, while the location for the Summer X Games has been in Los Angeles, changing to Austin, Texas, in June 2014. 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 are, 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 has day and evening events including skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling. The first Winter X Games took place at Snow Summit ski 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. Since 2002, the Winter X Games have been held at Aspen's Buttermilk Mountain and will continue to be until 2024, according to ESPN.

During 2015's Winter X Games, ESPN used camera drones to capture aerial views of the athlete's runs. This was a first for ESPN.

Global expansion

X Games Asia have been held annually since 1998.

In May 2003, the X Games held the Global Championships, a special event where five continents competed in 11 disciplines. The event was held in two locations: the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and Whistler, British Columbia. The final team results, in order, were the United States, Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America.

In May 2011, ESPN held a bid to select three host cities in addition to Los Angeles, Aspen, and Tignes, France, to form a six-event calendar for the next three years beginning in 2013. In May 2012, the selected cities were announced: Barcelona, Spain; Munich, Germany; and Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. The two European cities have hosted the Summer Olympic Games in the past, whereas Brazil has provided several X Games competitors. Since 2010, Winter X Games Europe has been held in Tignes and also began holding events in Norway in 2016. An event in Sydney, Australia was held in 2018 and winter and summer events were also planned for 2019 and 2020 in China and a return trip to Norway in 2020.

X Games Chiba, the first edition to take place in Japan, was introduced in 2022.

Events

Current Summer

;Moto X

*Moto X Best Whip
*Moto X Freestyle
*Moto X Quarterpipe
*Moto X Best Trick
*Moto X 110


;Skateboarding
* Skateboard Vert
*Men's Skateboard Park
*Women's Skateboard Park
*Street League Skateboarding
*SLS Select Series
*Women's Skateboard Street
*Skateboard Big Air


;BMX Freestyle
*BMX Vert
*BMX Park
*BMX Street
*BMX Big Air
*BMX Dirt

;Real Video Series
*Real Street
*Real BMX
*Real Moto
*Real MTB
*Real Women


;Red Bull Phenom
*Skateboard Street
*BMX Street


;Esports
* MLG ''Call of Duty''
*RLCS '' Rocket League''
*MLG '' Counter Strike: Global Offensive''

Current Winter

Skiing

*Ski Big Air
*Men's Ski Slopestyle
*Women's Ski Slopestyle
*Men's Ski Superpipe
*Women's Ski Superpipe

Snowboarding

*Snowboard Big Air
*Women's Snowboard Slopestyle
*Men's Snowboard Slopestyle
*Men's Snowboard Superpipe
*Women's Snowboard Superpipe
*Knuckle Huck

Real Video Series

*Real Snow
*Real Snow Backcountry
*Real Ski Backcountry

Past Summer

;Surfing
*Surf
*SRF The Game (East vs West)
*Real Surf
*Big Wave

;BMX
*BMX Flatland
*BMX Downhill
*BMX Vert Doubles
*BMX Vert Best Trick

;Rally & Off-Road Truck
*Rallycross Lites Racing
*Rallycross SuperCar Racing
*Rally Super Special
*Gymkhana Grid
* Stadium Super Trucks

;Mountain Bike
*Mountain Bike Slopestyle
*Mountain Bike Trials
*Mountain Bike Slalom
*Mountain Bike Giant Slalom
*Red Bull Phenom MTB

;Skateboarding
*Skateboard Big Air Rail Jam
*Downhill Skateboarding
*Skateboard Vert Doubles
*Women's Skateboard Vert
*Skateboard Vert Best Trick
*Skateboard Game of SK8

;Other
* Climbing
* Street luge
* X-venture race
* Windsurfing
* Wakeboarding
*Skysurfing
*Bungee jumping
*Barefoot Waterski Jumping

; Aggressive inline skating
* Vert Skating
* Vert Skating Triples
* Vert Skating Best Trick
*Street Skating
*Park Skating

;Moto X
*Moto X Step Up
*Men's Moto X racing
*Women's Moto X racing
*Moto X speed and style
*Moto X adaptive racing
*Men's Moto X Endurocross
*Women's Moto X Endurocross
*Moto X SuperMoto
*Moto X Flat Track
*Moto X Hooligan Flat Track
*Moto X Doubles (intended to be a medal event at X Games Sydney 2018 but was replaced by a demo due to thunderstorms)

Past Winter

*Super Modified Snow Shovel Racing
*Snow Mountain Bike Racing
* Skiboarding
* Skicross
* Ice climbing
*Ultracross
*Snowskating
*Hillcross
*Snowmobile Best Trick
*Men's Skier X
*Women's Skier X
*Mono Skier X
*Men's Snowboard X
*Women's Snowboard X
*Snowmobile Freestyle
*Snowmobile Speed & Style
* Snocross
*Snocross Adaptive
*Snow BikeCross
*Snow Bike Best Trick

History

''Summarized from ESPN.com''

Summer X Games

*1995: Extreme Games – Newport, Rhode Island & Providence, Rhode Island
** Chris Senn wins the gold medal in Skateboard Street beating Tony Hawk who took the silver and Willy Santos who won Bronze.
** Justin Seers wins the gold medal in Barefoot Water Ski Jumping.
** After injuring his right leg during qualifying, Bob Pereyra wins the gold in Street Luge.
** Jay Miron takes the gold in BMX Dirt.
** Tony Hawk takes the gold in Skateboard Vert after Neal Hendrix bails on his final run.
** Mat Hoffman takes his first gold medal in BMX Vert.
** Robert "Fig" Naughton wins gold in Dual Downhill Mountain bike.
** Cheri Elliott wins gold in Dual Downhill Mountain bike.
*1996: X Games II – Providence & Newport
** Dave Mirra wins his first gold medal in BMX Street.
** Rodil de Araujo Jr. takes the gold in Skateboard Street.
** Joey Garcia takes the gold medal in BMX Dirt.
** Mat Hoffman takes his second gold medal in BMX Vert.
*1997: X Games III – Mission Beach, San Diego, California ''(June 20–28, 1997)''
** T.J. Lavin takes the gold medal in BMX Dirt, edging out Brian Foster and Ryan Nyquist.
** Dave Mirra takes his second gold medal in BMX Street.
** In the debut of Skateboard Vert Doubles, Tony Hawk and Andy Macdonald teamed up and took home the gold.
** Snowboarding Big-Air makes its debut at the Summer X Games with Peter Line taking the gold for the men and Tina Dixon taking the gold for the women.
** In Skateboard Vert, Tony Hawk took home the gold with the first of his many history-making moments at the X Games: the "Perfect Run". His score was a 97.50.
** Chris Senn takes home his second gold medal in Skateboard Street.
** Trevor Meyer takes the gold in the debut of Flatland BMX.
*1998: X Games IV – San Diego ''(June 1998)''
** The team of Dennis McCoy and Dave Mirra take the gold in BMX Vert Doubles.
** Brian Foster edges out Ryan Nyquist and Joey Garcia to take gold in BMX Dirt.
** Dave Mirra takes his third gold medal in BMX Street.
** Trevor Meyer claims his second gold medal in Flatland BMX.
** Tony Hawk and Andy MacDonald take home their second gold medal in Skateboard Vert Doubles.
** Rodil de Araujo Jr. takes his second gold medal in Skateboard Street after missing the '97 games with an injury.
*1999: X Games V – Pier 30 & 32, San Francisco ''(June 25 – July 3, 1999)''
** Dennis Derammelaere takes the gold in Dual Street Luge.
** Dave Mirra wins his fourth gold medal in BMX Street.
** Andy MacDonald and Tony Hawk claim their third gold medal in Skateboard Vert Doubles.
** First professional sporting event (full event) broadcast live on the Internet.
** After eleven failed attempts, skateboarder Tony Hawk finally landed a 900-degree spin ( the 900).
** Travis Pastrana won the first-ever Moto X Freestyle event at the X Games, after dislocating his spine the previous spring. He also scored the highest run ever (99.00 points).
*2000: X Games VI – Pier 30 & 32, San Francisco, California ''(August 17–22, 2000)''
** Dave Mirra won BMX Park, landing the first-ever double backflip in competition.
** Dennis Derammelaere wins gold in the inaugural 'King of the Hill' Street Luge event.
** The name of the street event for BMX and Skateboarding is changed to Skateboard Park and Bike Stunt Park.
** Eric Koston wins his first-ever X Games gold medal in Skateboard Park.
** Bob Burnquist wins the gold medal in Skateboard Vert Best Trick with a Fakie 5–0 Kickflip out on the grind bar.
** Travis Pastrana wins his second gold medal in Moto X Freestyle. He also attempted to pull off a backflip but bailed out and broke his foot upon landing.
** Tommy Clowers won the first-ever Moto X Step Up event at a record-breaking height of 35 feet.
** Bucky Lasek scored a 98.50 in Skateboard Vert, the highest in X Games history.
*2001: X Games VII – South Philadelphia Sports Complex, Philadelphia ''(August 17–22, 2001)''
** Bob Burnquist managed an almost perfect Skateboard Vert run with a score of 98.00. This run is considered by many to be the best run ever in the history of skateboard vert, as Burnquist landed several tricks that had never been done before. Tony Hawk, who was commentating, nearly lost his voice while screaming in disbelief.
** Taïg Khris won the In-line Vert event, with the first double backflip in Inline skating history.
** Stephen Murray lands the first double backflip in Bike Stunt Dirt and wins the gold medal with Ryan Nyquist taking the Silver and T.J. Lavin with the Bronze.
** X Games VII filmed for ESPN's Ultimate X: The Movie.
** Travis Pastrana wins his third gold medal in Moto X Freestyle.
** Tommy Clowers wins his second gold in Moto X Step Up, while Travis Pastrana takes the silver.
** Kenny Bartram took gold in the first-ever Moto X Big Air/Best Trick.
**Carey Hart is hospitalized after falling off his bike mid-air attempting a backflip.
** Danny Harf landed a 900-degree spin in wakeboarding.
** Bruce Crisman beats Dave Mirra in BMX Park.
*2002: X Games VIII – First Union Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ''(August 15–19, 2002)''
** Mat Hoffman landed the no handed 900-degree spin on a BMX.
** Mike Metzger landed the first backflip in X Games history. He also pulled off two consecutive flips; one of them over an 80-foot gap, in a competition run for the victory. He became the first person to win the event other than Travis Pastrana.
** Mike Metzger wins his first gold of the competition in the Moto X Big Air/Best Trick with a no foot backflip.
** Carey Hart takes home the silver, finally landing a backflip.
** Pierre-Luc Gagnon won gold in Skateboard Vert Best Trick by landing a Heelflip McTwist.
*2003: X Games IX – Staples Center & LA Coliseum, Los Angeles ''(August 14–17, 2003)''
** Travis Pastrana returns to reclaim his gold medal in Moto X Freestyle.
** Brian Deegan landed the first-ever 360 in Moto X Freestyle, earning him the bronze in Freestyle and gold in Best Trick.
** Danny Harf wins the gold medal in Wakeboarding.
** Jamie Bestwick takes the gold in BMX Vert his first since 2000.
** Ryan Sheckler became the youngest X Games gold medalist ever at the age of 13 in Skateboard Park.
** Bob Burnquist and Bucky Lasek take the gold medal in Skateboard Vert Doubles.
** Tony Hawk wins gold in Skateboard Vert Best Trick by landing the 900 (skateboarding)
** In Skateboard Street, Chad Muska wins the gold medal.
*2004: X Games X – Staples Center, Home Depot Center, Long Beach Marine Stadium, Los Angeles ''(August 5–8, 2004)''
** Nate Adams won and became the first person to defeat Travis Pastrana in the Moto X Freestyle event at the X Games.
** Danny Way wins the inaugural Skateboard Big Air.
** Jeremy McGrath made his first appearance at the X Games, winning gold in Moto X Step Up and bronze in Supermoto.
** Chuck Carothers wins Moto X Best Trick with the first body varial done at X Games.
*2005: X Games XI – Staples Center, Los Angeles ''(August 4–7, 2005)''
**Removal of inline skating from competition following pressure from the skateboarding industry.
** Shaun White failed to land the 1080 in Skate Best Trick after 29 attempts.
** Jamie Bestwick landed the first-ever double tailwhip flair in the BMX Vert Best Trick event.
** Travis Pastrana won his fifth medal in Moto X Freestyle and became the most decorated athlete in motocross.
** ESPN signed a contract to keep the X Games in Los Angeles through 2009.
*2006: X Games 12 – Staples Center, Home Depot Center & Long Beach Marine Stadium, Los Angeles ''(August 3–6, 2006)''
** Travis Pastrana landed the world's first double backflip on a dirt bike, and won Moto X Best Trick with a score of 98.60, the highest current score in best trick. He also claims gold in the Moto X Freestyle event.
** Kevin Robinson landed the double flair for the first time.
** Travis Pastrana won the inaugural X Games Rally, beating the former World Rally Champion, Colin McRae by .52 seconds after the latter rolled his car with two corners to go at the Home Depot Center. It is his third gold of the event.
** Chad Kagy landed the first flatwhip double tailwhip 540.
** Skateboarder Nyjah Huston became the youngest athlete to compete in X Games at 11 years old.
*2007: X Games 13 – Staples Center, Home Depot Center & Long Beach Marine Stadium, Los Angeles ''(August 2–5, 2007)''
** Adam Jones became the fourth person to win the Moto X Freestyle event at the X Games.
** Kyle Loza won on his first gold medal in the Moto X Best Trick competition in his first appearance by performing the "Volt".
** Shaun White won the gold medal in skateboard vert beating Pierre Luc-Gagnon (aka PLG) and Bucky Lasek.
** Jake Brown was hurt after landing the first 720 in Big Air competition. He fell from 40'+ 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 walked away with help. He suffered a fractured wrist, bruised lung and liver, whiplash, ruptured spleen and a concussion.
** Ricky Carmichael won the first-ever motocross racing circuit.
** Mat Hoffman returned to competition in BMX Big Air.
** Simon Tabron made an X Games first, doing back-to-back 900s in BMX Vert.
*2008: X Games XIV – Los Angeles ''(July 31 – August 3, 2008)''
** Danny Way clipped his shins on the lip of the quarterpipe after a 20+ foot freefall during the Big Air competition, which the commentators refer to as the "second worst fall ever at the X Games" (the first being Jake Brown's the year before). After spending a few minutes with paramedics, Way limped back to the ramp and went on to nail the trick he had fallen on, coming in second place, behind Bob Burnquist who scored a 96.00.
** Ryan Sheckler won gold in Skateboard Street, his second gold medal at the X Games.
** Jeremy Lusk won a gold medal in the Moto X Freestyle event.
** 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".
** The Games were filmed for '' X Games 3D: The Movie''.
** 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 fell while attempting the first-ever frontflip on a motocross bike.
** Tarah Gieger

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