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1 Your web browser (Safari 7) is out of date. For more security, comfort and the best experience on this site: Update your browser Ignore X GAMES For the complete encyclopedic entry with media resources, visit: The X Games is an extreme sports competition that is presented twice a year by ESPN, the sports television network. Athletes from around the world compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals, as well as money and prizes. The X Games consists of two versions: a summer competition and a winter competition. The first summer games were held in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, in The winter competition was added two years later, at Big Bear Lake, California. Currently, the winter games are always held in Aspen, Colorado, and the summer games are always held in Los Angeles, California. X Games events can vary from year to year, but generally consist of skiing, snowboarding, BMX biking, and skateboarding. Many X Games athletes compete in world championships. For example, Sarah Burke, from Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, has been named one of the best freestyle skiers in the world. She is a three-time X Games gold medalist. Other X Games athletes represent their countries in the Olympics. Shaun White, who has won Olympic gold medals in snowboarding, is also an X Games athlete. White, a native of Southern California, has won X Games medals in both snowboarding (at the winter games) and skateboarding (at the summer games). Winter Games The Winter X Games is held in a snowy mountain environment and features winter sports such as snowboarding, skiing, and snowmobiling. Competitors in those sports face off in a variety of different ways. In Skier-X (also called ski cross) and Snowboarder-X (also called boardercross), 1 of 6

2 athletes do not race individually, the way they do in most sports competitions. Athletes in Skier-X and Snowboarder-X race head-to-head, going down the mountain four at a time. The courses feature a variety of terrain, including jumps, moguls, and bank turns. Ski cross was an Olympic sport for the first time in 2010, when the Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In a Winter X Games event called slopestyle, skiers or snowboarders individually choose their own route through a course with many of the same features and obstacles as Skier-X and Snowboarder-X. But instead of trying to get down the course as fast as possible, they use the features to perform tricks and are judged on how well they perform them. There are also competitions to see which athlete can perform the best trick or get the most air, or height, off a jump. Travis Rice, who learned to ski near his home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a snowboarder who competes in slopestyle events. The X Games snowmobiling competitions include Snocross, in which competitors race on snowmobiles around a track with steep jumps and obstacles. Snocross competitions are held outside the X Games, too, with the world championships held in Falun, Sweden. Summer Games The Summer X Games is held in a warm environment and includes competitions in skateboarding, BMX biking, motorcycling, rally car racing, and surfing. Skateboarders compete in the half pipe, a hollow semi-circle made of concrete. Athletes skate up and down two opposing ramps and perform tricks when they reach the top. There is also a competition for the best trick and most air off a jump. In "street" competitions, skateboarders skate around a park of obstacles and perform tricks. Skateboarder Tony Hawk, from San Diego, California, is probably the best-known X Games athlete in the world. In addition to having an outstanding sports career, Hawk has a successful skateboarding video game series. 2 of 6

3 BMX bikers also compete on a half pipe and a street course. They also perform tricks. Anthony Napolitan of Youngstown, Ohio, for example, landed the first double-front flip on a bicycle at Summer X Games 15 in Motorbike riders have similar events, along with a "supercross" race around a dirt obstacle course with steep jumps. Travis Pastrana, from Annapolis, Maryland, is one of the top motor sports athletes and competes for Team Puerto Rico in international competitions. Athletes from around the world compete in the X Games. There have been X Games athletes from such countries as Brazil, Japan, Belgium, Australia, and Italy. In 2003, athletes from six different regions the United States, Europe, Canada, South America, Asia and Australia competed in the X Games Global Championships in winter and summer sports. The United States, Europe, and Australia placed first, second, and third. XGE X Games Environmentality (XGE) is a program to make X Games fans and viewers aware of environmental issues. The program promotes recycling and waste reduction. In addition to promoting recycling at events, X Games organizers use biodegradable cups, plates, and napkins. These materials are made from corn and potato waste. The paper used at the games is made from 100 percent post-consumer waste. The X Games "Get Caught Recycling" program gives fans an added incentive to recycle. At the events, fans who are caught recycling are rewarded with tokens that can be used for goods and services. Vocabulary Term 3 of 6 air layer of gases surrounding Earth.

4 Term bank turn curve in a road or path where the outer edge of the path is raised. biodegradableadjectiveable to decompose naturally. boardercross snowboard competition where racers start at the top of a course at the same time. Also called Boarder-X or BX. ESPN (originally Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) television network dedicated to sports programming. extreme sport non-traditional athletics that are often considered dangerous. freestyle art and sport where athletes compete in acrobatic jumps skiing and over obstacles on skis. generation time between an organism's birth and the time it reproduces. Generation X people born in the United States between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s. people born in the United States between the early Generation Y 1980s and Also called the Millennials and Generation Next. half-pipe hollow semi-circle construction used by skateboarders and snowboarders to take off for jumps and other tricks. head-to-head adjectivedirect competition. incentive offer or encouragement to complete a task. medal metal decoration, often inscribed with words or symbols, worn to honor an event or achievement. mogul small hill or mound of snow that freestyle skiiers must navigate over or around. motorcycle two-wheeled motor vehicle. obstacle something that slows or stops progress. 4 of 6

5 Term Olympics international sports competition divided into summer and winter games held every four years. postconsumer trash or garbage that people throw away. waste rally-car racing motor sport race using specially designed cars. recycle verb to clean or process in order to make suitable for reuse. skateboarding art and sport of riding a short piece of wood or plastic mounted on four wheels. skicross skiing competition where racers start at the top of a course at the same time. Also called Skier-X. skiing art and sport of gliding across snow on long, narrow boards strapped to the bottom of the athlete's feet. slopestyle winter sports competition in which athletes choose their own way through a course. snocross snowmobiling competition in which racers start the course at the same time. art and sport of gliding across snow on a short piece of snowboarding wood and/or fiberglass attached to the bottom of the athlete's foot. snowmobiling art and sport of riding a motorized vehicle made to glide across snow. supercross motorcycle competiton in which athletes race around a track filled with ramps and other obstacles. surfing the sport of riding down a breaking wave on a board. television system in which a single source distributes content to network many television stations. terrain topographic features of an area. 5 of 6

6 Term token material, usually similar to a coin, that may be exchanged for specific goods or services. vary verb to change. waste process of lowering the amount of trash produced by a reduction person or community. X Games annual athletic competition focusing on extreme action sports. Articles & Profiles National Geographic Traveler: Skateboard Wizard National Geographic Adventure: Top 10 Outdoor Sports Rivalries Websites ESPN: Action Sports National Geographic Society. All rights reserved. 6 of 6

ACTIVITY CHALLENGE CANADIAN OLYMPIC FREESTYLE SKIING

ACTIVITY CHALLENGE CANADIAN OLYMPIC FREESTYLE SKIING CANADIAN OLYMPIC ACTIVITY CHALLENGE FREESTYLE SKIING Doing tricks on skis dates back to the early 1900s in Europe. However, the sport really took off when it came to the USA in the 1960s. Freestyle skiing,