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Sport | Extreme sports |
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Founded | April 12, 1994 [1] |
First season | 1995 |
TV partner(s) | ESPN ESPN2 ESPN3 (live stream) Atmosphere TV ABC Eurosport ESPN Latin America ESPN Brasil Star+ NET. (2014) Trans7 CTV TSN RDS |
Official website | XGames.com |
The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc.. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad. [2] As of early 2024, MSP Sports Capital has overseen four major X Games events as well as other related activations. More are on the way.
The X Games have been held all over the world and typically include sports such as skateboarding, BMX, freestyle motorcross, skiing and snowboarding. Participants compete to win bronze, silver, and gold medals, in addition to prize money. X Games events also feature music and culture elements like live music performances, athlete autograph sessions, and interactive, family-friendly exhibitions. X Games California 2023 returned the property to southern California -- the center of the action sports world -- after a 10-year absence from the region. [3] On April 3rd, 2024, X Games announced the 2024 summer edition would again be held in California and be titled X Games Ventura. [4]
The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport in Rhode Island. 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 freestyle motocross, 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.
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 Millennials 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.
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. [5]
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. [6] [7] [8]
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. [9]
X Games Asia have been held annually since 1998.
In May 2003, the X Games held the Global Championships, a special event where athletes from five continents competed across 11 disciplines. The event was held in two locations: the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and Whistler, British Columbia. [10] [11] 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. [12] In May 2012, the selected cities were announced: Barcelona, Spain; Munich, Germany; and Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. [13] The two European cities have hosted the Summer Olympic Games in the past, whereas Brazil has provided several X Games competitors. [14] [15] [16] 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. [17]
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Summarized from ESPN.com [19]
Year | Summer | Winter | Asia (Summer) | Asia (Winter) | Europe (Summer) | Europe (Winter) | Latin America | Oceania | ||||
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1995 | Newport, Rhode Island | Stowe, Vermont | ||||||||||
1996 | Newport, Rhode Island | Stowe, Vermont | ||||||||||
1997 | San Diego, California | Big Bear Lake, California | ||||||||||
1998 | San Diego, California | Crested Butte, Colorado | Phuket | |||||||||
1999 | San Francisco, California | Crested Butte, Colorado | Phuket | |||||||||
2000 | San Francisco, California | Mount Snow, Vermont | Phuket | |||||||||
2001 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Mount Snow, Vermont | Phuket | |||||||||
2002 | Philadelphia | Aspen | Kuala Lumpur | |||||||||
2003 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Kuala Lumpur | |||||||||
2004 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Kuala Lumpur | |||||||||
2005 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Seoul | |||||||||
2006 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Kuala Lumpur | |||||||||
2007 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Shanghai | Mexico City | ||||||||
2008 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Shanghai | Mexico City | ||||||||
2009 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Shanghai | |||||||||
2010 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Shanghai | Tignes | ||||||||
2011 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Shanghai | Tignes | ||||||||
2012 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Shanghai | Tignes | ||||||||
2013 | Los Angeles | Aspen | Shanghai | Barcelona Munich | Tignes | Foz do Iguaçu | ||||||
2014 | Austin, Texas | Aspen | Shanghai | |||||||||
2015 | Austin | Aspen | Shanghai | |||||||||
2016 | Austin | Aspen | Oslo [30] | |||||||||
2017 | Minneapolis | Aspen | Hafjell [31] | |||||||||
2018 | Minneapolis | Aspen | Oslo [32] | Sydney | ||||||||
2019 | Minneapolis | Aspen | Shanghai | Oslo [33] | ||||||||
2020 | | Aspen | | Hafjell [36] | ||||||||
2021 | Southern California | Aspen | ||||||||||
2022 | Ventura, California | Aspen | Chiba | |||||||||
2023 | Ventura, California | Aspen | Chiba | |||||||||
2024 | Ventura, California | |||||||||||
Two movies were filmed at the X Games. Ultimate X: The Movie was filmed at the 2001 X Games in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and X Games 3D: The Movie was filmed at the 2008 X Games and Winter X Games in Los Angeles, California and Aspen, Colorado.
ESPN X Games Skateboarding was released for the PlayStation 2 & Game Boy Advance in North America on August 13, 2001, and September 12, 2001. The park course featured in the game was based on the one used at the 2000 X Games in San Francisco, California. The Xbox version of the 2004 video game MTX Mototrax had the 2003 X Games Freestyle Motocross course as one of the Freestyle levels. The Winter X Games level featured in the game ESPN Winter X-Games Snowboarding (released on October 26, 2000, in North America for the PlayStation 2) was based on the courses at Mount Snow, Vermont. ESPN X Games Snocross is a snocross racing video game from ESPN and 2XL Games that was released on January 18, 2010, for iOS which is now named 2XL Snocross. It was the first game demoed on the Apple iPad on stage January 27, 2010 by Scott Forstall. [37] [38]
Robert Dean Silva Burnquist is a Brazilian-American professional skateboarder who competed for Brazil throughout his career. In 2010, he became the first skateboarder to land a "fakie 900", making Burnquist the fifth person in history to successfully complete the 900 trick.
The Gravity Games was a multi-sport competition originating in Providence, Rhode Island that was broken down into Winter and Summer adaptations. The competition featured a variety of extreme sports such as aggressive inline skating, skateboarding, freestyle motocross, BMX freestyle and snowboarding.
Travis Alan Pastrana is an American professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several disciplines, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, rally racing and offshore powerboat racing. He runs a show called Nitro Circus and the rallycross racing series Nitrocross.
The 900 is a 2½-revolution aerial spin performed on a skateboard ramp. While airborne, the skateboarder makes two-and-a-half turns about their longitudinal axis, thereby facing down when coming down. It is considered one of skateboarding's most technically demanding tricks.
Freestyle motocross is a variation on the sport of motocross in which motorcycle riders attempt to impress judges with jumps and stunts.
X Games XIII (13) took place from August 2–5, 2007 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center and the Home Depot Center. It was broadcast on the ESPN networks, EXPN.com and ABC.
X Games XV was the fifteenth annual X Games extreme sports event. It took place from July 30 – August 2, 2009, in Los Angeles, California, at the Staples Center and the Home Depot Center. It was broadcast on ESPN networks, ABC, and EXPN.com.
Winter X Games XII were held from January 24 to January 27, 2008, in Aspen, Colorado. They were the 7th consecutive Winter X Games to be held in Aspen. Television coverage of Winter X Games XII was broadcast on ESPN and ABC, primarily hosted by Sal Masekela and Todd Harris. Final attendance for the four-day event was 72,500.
Winter X Games XIV were held from January 28 to January 31, 2010, in Aspen, Colorado. They were the 9th consecutive Winter X Games to be held in Aspen. The events were broadcast on ESPN.
Halldór Helgason is an Icelandic snowboarder. Halldór was born in Akureyri, Iceland. He is the younger brother of Eirikur "Eiki" Helgason. Halldór owns Lobster Snowboards, atrip apparel, 7/9/13 Belts, Switchback Bindings and Hoppipolla Headwear, alongside his brother Eiki. Halldor started Lobster snowboards with Kristoffer Hansson and the owners of Bataleon, after Halldor left his board sponsor, DC Shoes Co. In 2016 he founded another company atrip apparel in collaboration with Stigma Distribution.
X Games XVI was an action sporting event which took place from July 29 – August 1, 2010 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center, L.A. Live and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The games featured the sports of Motocross, skateboarding, BMX, and rallying.
X Games XVII was an action sporting event which took place from July 28 – 31, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. Venues for the event include the Staples Center, Nokia Theater, and other areas of L.A. Live. The games featured the sports of motocross, skateboarding, BMX, and rallying. X Games 17 was also the first ever X Games to feature Enduro X, which replaced Super X.
Winter X Games XVI were held from January 26 to January 29, 2012, in Aspen, Colorado. They were the 11th consecutive Winter X Games to be held in Aspen. The events were broadcast on ESPN. The following year, the Winter X Games were held in two international cities: Aspen, Colorado and Tignes, France.
X Games XVIII was an action sporting event which took place from June 28 – July 1, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Venues for the event included the Staples Center, Nokia Theater and the streets near L.A. Live. The games featured the sports of Moto X, skateboarding, BMX, and RallyCross. Last year's X Games 17 was the first ever X Games to feature Enduro X, which replaced Super X. In 2013, the Summer X Games will be held in four international cities in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil ; Barcelona, Spain ; Munich, Germany ; and Los Angeles, California.
Caleb Moore was an American professional snowmobile racer, a quad freestyle motocross rider, and the only person to date to die as a result of injuries sustained during the X Games. During his X Games career, Moore claimed four medals.
Thomas Pagès is a French freestyle motocross rider famous for his unique tricks and his style that has mostly excluded backflips for the past few years. The biggest achievements of his career were becoming the champion of the 2013 Red Bull X-Fighters world tour and winning the gold medal at X Games Austin 2015 in the Toyota Moto X QuarterPipe competition for his Bike Flip.
X Games Austin 2015 was an action sporting event that took place June 4–7, 2015, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Winter X Games XXI were held from January 26 to January 29, 2017, in Aspen, Colorado. Thomas Wilson won his 16th consecutive Winter X Games held in Aspen. The events were broadcast on ESPN.
X Games Minneapolis 2017 is an action sporting event that took place July 13–16, 2017, at U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Ethen Godrey Roberts, is a professional freeride mountain bike and FMX rider known for his participation with the extreme sports show Nitro Circus. He's the first to land a triple backflip on a mountain bike and has since become a pioneer of big mountain bike tricks, like a tsunami double backflip (2013) and triple backflip (2014). He's a pioneer athlete in the Snow Bike Winter X Games event, eventually winning a bronze medal in the 2019 Snow-Bike Best Trick event. He's also the nephew of the action sports pioneer Gregg Godfrey who is the co-founder of Nitro Circus.
Let me go ahead and launch a game here this comes from ESPN and it's called X Games Snocross