The X games are a competition that shares many similarities with the Olympic games. Well, it is a sporting event that takes place from time to time (to be exact, every year). With the difference that in this event traditional sports are not perceived, but those that fall into the category of extreme sports. Mentioning those that include skateboarding, BMX, in-line skating, and of course, snowboarding. There is also a gala of variants of these sports, so the event makes room for multiple disciplines.
The creators of this event are nothing more and nothing less than the cable sports network ESPN. Back in 1995, as a natural response to the growing popularity of the aforementioned sports. It is important to know that most of these sports originated as a recreational means by which the young people of that time occupied their time. However, the X Games are formed as a competitive place where the practitioners of these sports can time themselves and judge who is the best. Not to mention the existence of a podium where they were awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals, for the first, second and third place respectively. In this way acquiring a similarity to the Olympic games.
The Summer X Game or Summer games.
When the X Games started, there were only the familiar summer games, which included a handful of variations on the main sports. To give you an example, skateboarding has the vert, a variant where athletes are judged for various tricks they perform inside a half-pipe. There is also the Street variant, where athletes are evaluated for performing tricks in a “street” environment. Which is manufactured to replicate hills, rails and ramps.
In BMX, the aforementioned modalities are also added, although the Air variant is also incorporated into this. In this new variant, the athletes climb a huge ramp, to later descend on it and perform a couple of maneuvers when suspended in the air. What will later be judged to deliver a score.
The Winter Game or winter games.
This edition of the X game, which is known as the summer games, consists of carrying out the same event that rewards extreme sports. Only this time focused on those that can be exercised on snow, such as snowboarding or skiing. This competition is created two years later than its summer version, and the sports present here have some variations similar to those mentioned in skateboarding and BMX.
If the Winter X game doesn’t sound like much to you, that’s normal, as it has always been a lesser-known competition than the summer games. The most curious thing is that this competition was the one that motivated the Olympic Games to introduce some extreme sports such as snowboarding in 1998.
Outstanding athletes of the X game.
As with all sports, there will always be athletes who stand out in their ruble. The X games introduced the world to athletes such as Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek and Andy Macdonald, all of whom were very popular and world-renowned skaters. As for BMX riders, Dave Mirra, Mat Hoffman and Jay Miron can be highlighted. And finally, although it is a lesser known sport, there are motocross riders like; Travis Pastrana and Brian Deegan. Finally, for the snowboard sector we have Todd Richards and Barrett Christy.
Frequently asked questions regarding the competition.
Now to close this entry, we want to comment and answer some of the most frequently asked questions that are usually asked regarding the X game:
- When are the X games? The specialists of the sports mentioned, face each other in California, from July 14 to 17. Or at least it was that way in the 2021 edition of the Summer X Games, taking place in three different facilities.
- What is needed to participate in the X Games? As incredible as it may seem, participating in the X game is relatively easy. Obviously, as long as you have the necessary skills to perform correctly in sports. The steps are summarized in: 1) Record a video of yourself of less than 60 seconds showing your skills.
2) Upload the video to YouTube, if you manage to get a lot of attention, it is more likely that you will be signed or taken into account to participate in the competition.
3) Go to the official Red Bull Phenom website and sign up.
In this way we conclude with the writing of this post. We hope that all the shared information has been to your liking and interest.
