X Games

The X Games are a sporting event held every year by ESPN. It is considered an extreme action sport. The Winter X Games are usually held in January with the Summer X Games held in August. Winning contestants are given bronze, silver and gold medals along with prize money. Contestants often work on new tricks for the games.http://www.23mag.com/events/xg/xg.htm

The first X Games event called the Extreme Games, was in 1995 and were held in the cities of Newport, Providence and Middletow in Rhode Island and Mount Snow, Vermont. The original nine categories included windsurfing, bungee jumping, skateboarding, roller blading, sky surfing, street luging and mountain biking. In 1997 The Winter X Games were added with events for skiers and snowboarders.

While the X Games were not taken seriously by all in the beginning, there is no doubt that they have become quite successful over time. The games have also helped sports like skateboarding and snowboarding become mainstream across the United States.http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1873166,00.html

The 2010 Summer X Games are being held in Los Angeles , California from July 29 to August 1, 2010. The major locations where events will be held are the Staples Center, Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles Coliseum and L.A. LIVE.

• Staples Center will have the Moto X Speed and Style, Moto X Step Up, Moto X Best Whip and Moto X Best Trick events.
• L.A. LIVE events include BMX and Skateboard Park, BMX and Skateboard Street, Skateboard Park Legends and Women’s Skateboard Street.
• The Nokia Theatre will hold the BMX Vert, Skateboard Vert and Skateboard Vert Best Trick.
• Los Angeles Coliseum will have the Moto X Freestyle, Super X, BMX and Skateboard Big Air, Skateboard Big Air Rail Jam and Rally Car Racing.http://www.examiner.com/x-42782-LA-Sports-Examiner~y2010m4d27-2010-X-Games-event-list-and-venues-all-in-downtown-LA-this-year

The events will be aired live on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN International, ESPN.com/action, ESPN Classic, ESPN3.com and SportsCenter.http://www.chiff.com/recreation/sports/x-games.htm

The 2010 Winter X Games were held in Aspen, Colorado on January 28-31. This is the ninth year the winter games have been held. The games included nightly concerts with performances by music artist. Live coverage was on ESPN and ABC TV. Winners at the 2010 Winter X Games included Eero Ettala, Jenny Jones, Halldor Helgason, Shaun White and Gretchen Bleiler.

• Summer:
  • Skateboarding
  • Surfing
  • Rally car racing
  • BMX biking
  • Motocross
• Winter:
  • Snowboarding
  • Snowmobiling
  • Skiing
  • Snowskating

• 1995: First annual Summer Extreme Games held

• 1997: First annual Winter X Games held

• 1999: Tony Hawk lands a 900-degree spin ("the 900"), winning the Best Trick competition.

• 2002: Mat Hoffman lands the no handed 900-degree spin.

• 2005: ESPN signs contract to keep the X Games in Los Angeles through 2009

• 2006: Travis Pastrana wins the inaugural X-Games Rally beating former World Rally Champion Colin McRae

• 2006: Jeaux Hall lands the 1080 in half-pipe contest after 17 attempts

• 2006: ESPN signs contract with the Aspen Skiing Company to keep the Winter X Games in Colorado through 2010