The X Games have become a hallmark of action sports, consistently pushing the boundaries of athletic achievement and captivating audiences worldwide. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport in Rhode Island. From skateboarding to freestyle motocross, the X Games have showcased groundbreaking talent and have been held all over the world.
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. The competition often features new tricks.
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".
Let's delve into the exciting history of X Games Big Air Snowboard, highlighting key moments, winning tricks, and the evolution of the sport.
The Early Years and Evolution
In 1993 ESPN was really starting to recognize the importance of action sports and its potential. The concept of organizing a "gathering of action sports athletes" was talked about, and the idea to allocate resources in order to make something happen got the wheels turning.
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The following year, a press conference was held at Planet Hollywood in New York City announcing the first Extreme Games in Middletown, Rhode Island and Mount Snow, Vermont over the summer of 1995. The Extreme Games was shortened to the X Games in early 1996 to encourage better branding opportunities and simpler translation for foreign audiences.
During the 1996 Summer X Games, ESPN announced the first Winter X Games at Snow Summit in Big Bear. The event would showcase snowboarding, ice climbing, snow mountain bike racing, super-modified shovel racing and more.
In January 1997, the first Winter X Games was televised in 198 countries. There were more than 38,000 spectators. Some standout moments include Barrett Christy winning gold in both women's slopestyle and big air. Shaun Palmer took snowboarder X gold and Norway's Daniel Frank won gold in men's slope and silver in halfpipe. Note the halfpipe was literally half the size it is now, 12 feet tall.
Mount Snow, Vermont hosts Winter X in 2000 and 2001. With more than 83,500 spectators in attendance, the crowd is the largest to date. In 2002 Aspen, Colorado takes on a new persona as the venue site for the Games. The hype is big with the onslaught on the first halfpipe event at the Olympics just weeks following in Salt Lake City, Utah. Aspen takes on the honors of hosting the Games every year since.
In 2003, The number of spectators rose 12,000 from the year prior, totaling 48,700- a new record in Winter X history. 2003 - Travis Rice Riding Superpipe? Yep.
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Fifteen years of Winter X Games has come and gone. The 15 year milestone is quite remarkable and exciting considering the infancy of the sport in 1996. The X Games has no doubt been an integral part of the sports growth and world-wide recognition, thanks to the support of ESPN. Throughout the years, the X Games has grown into the biggest snowboard event of the season, showcasing talent from across the globe in one of the grandest arenas on earth.
Snowboarding is the only sport that has been a part of Winter X since the beginning.
Big Air Winning Tricks Timeline
The progression of tricks in X Games Big Air Snowboard reflects the rapid advancement of the sport. Here's a timeline of the winning tricks:
- 1999 - JF Cusson // switch right 720. Although the event was actually called "best trick" I'm still going to add it to the timeline.
- 2006 - TJ Schiller // switch 1080 high mute.
- 2008 - Jon Olsson // double flat 900 japan (more commonly known as the Kangaroo Flip).
- 2010 - Bobby Brown // switch double misty 1440 mute and switch double misty 1260 mute.
This year may have been the most historical yet with Shaun White taking his fourth consecutive gold in Superpipe, Torstein Horgmo landing the first triple in the Big Air and Kelly Clark landing the first 1080 in a women's pipe event.
Other notables of 2011 include the addition of Snowboard Street and Best Method with Candian Nic Suave taking his first Winter gold in street and Lago winning his first gold with his mouth wired shut for best method. On the slopestyle end, rookies swept the men's podium and a rookie beat out two seasoned pros on the women's end as well. Viewership was also its largest yet and Buttermilk Mountain held its biggest crowd to date.
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The Canadian star last competed at the X Games in 2021, finishing second, and last won in 2019. "Out of control. I can't even describe how special it is. My mom is over there crying, calling my day," Sharpe said after winning her career's third X Games title.
The Canadian freeskier scored a winning 88.33 points on her first run to finish ahead of the People Republic of China's Li Fanghui and fellow Canadian Amy Fraser.
Reigning Olympic and X Games halfpipe champion Eileen Gu pulled out of the halfpipe event after getting injured during the women's street style final earlier in the day. Gu's absence opened the door for two-time Youth Olympic Games champion Flora Tabanelli who staged an upset in the Big Air event, finishing first ahead of senior skiers Grace Henderson and Tess Ledeux.
USA's Henderson put in a strong effort in her second run, but still fell short of Tabanelli with 87.33 on the board.
In San Francisco, Tony Hawk landed the first-ever 900 on a skateboard during the X Games. The early 2000s saw action sports reach new levels. In 2004, Travis Pastrana cemented himself as a legend by landing groundbreaking Moto X tricks, including the first backflip in Best Trick.
This moment expanded X Games beyond skate and BMX into motorsports, showing that progression across disciplines was core to the brand. 2006 brought Shaun White’s Rise in Snowboarding.
Shaun White’s dominance in Snowboard SuperPipe and Slopestyle during the mid-2000s helped push winter X Games into the mainstream.
In 2013, X Games expanded internationally like never before, staging events in Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil), Munich (Germany), Tignes (France), and Barcelona (Spain). In a landmark moment, MSP Sports Capital acquired X Games from ESPN, bringing new investment, vision, and momentum. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC.
Other Notable X Games Moments
The X Games have produced numerous memorable moments across various disciplines. Here are a few highlights:
- 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".
- Travis Pastrana won the first-ever Moto X Freestyle event at the X Games, after dislocating his spine the previous spring.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- Ricky Carmichael fell and hurt himself on Moto X Step Up.
In his first X Games appearance, the retired IndyCar champion Kenny Brack won Rally X gold over the defending gold medalist Travis Pastrana.
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Travis Pastrana competed in four events after pulling out of Best Trick at the last minute. He came back to freestyle after a 3-year break and took gold, pulling yet another double backflip, the first in Moto X freestyle competition. Travis Pastrana fell while attempting a rodeo 720, or as he called it "The Toilet Paper Roll", in Moto X Best Trick, breaking bones in his foot and ankle.
Sébastien Loeb (Citroën DS3), by then eight consecutive times World Rally Championship winner since 2004, claimed gold on his debut in the X Games' RallyCross event.
Mitchie Brusco landed the first 1080 in Skateboard Big Air, earning the silver. Elliot Sloan won his first gold medal in Skateboard Big Air, defeating Bob Burnquist, who earned his 26th X Games medal (bronze).
Vicki Golden won her third consecutive gold medal in Women's Moto X Racing, defeating Meghan Rutledge, after Rutledge crashed across the gap.
Vince Byron landed the first 540 double tail whip in BMX Big Air, earning the silver. Jamie Bestwick won his ninth straight gold medal in BMX Vert. Newcomer Jimmy Wilkins won the gold medal in Skateboard Vert.
Colton Satterfield becomes the second person to land a double flair in competition and the first to land it on the Big Air ramp. Jackson Strong landed a frontflip in Moto X Best Trick and took the gold.
Second Summer X Games to be held at professional or private training facilities, without an in-person audience. C.R.
Eero Ettala won the gold medal in Men's Snowboard Slopestyle. He reached the finals with a staggering 93.33 points.
During the Snowmobile Best Trick, the brothers Colten and Caleb Moore successfully landed a two-man backflip but were disqualified because judges ruled the event as an individual sport.
The first triple corks were landed in the Ski Big Air competition. American snowmobiler Caleb Moore became the first X Games participant to die from injuries sustained at the event.
Two movies were filmed at the X Games. In An Extremely Goofy Movie, the X Games play a key role in the plot. Max Goof participates in his college’s version of the X Games with P.J.
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.
The first Winter X Games took place at Snow Summit ski resort in Big Bear Lake, California, in 1997. The following two years, X Games was held at Crested Butte Mountain Resort in Colorado. The two years following that, Mount Snow, Vermont, hosted X Games.
The X Games Aspen 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. 2002 was the first time X Games was held in Aspen at Buttermilk Mountain. X Games has been held in Aspen every winter since 2002.
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.
During X Games Aspen 2015, ESPN used camera drones to capture aerial views of the athlete's runs.
In May 2003, the X Games held the Global Championships, a special event where athletes from five continents competed across 11 disciplines.
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.