By: PlantetSKi
August 27, 2012

In a surprise move the Winter X Games 2013 in Aspen will not be holding Ski X and Snowboard X. The organisers believe it doesn’t sit well in the event anymore. The athletes are disappointed and it is not clear exactly why the events have been axed.

The races where competitors battle it out, head to head, down a course featuring bumps, jumps and tight banked turns has long been a feature of the X Games.

Snowboard X was held at the first event back on 1997 and Ski X was introduced the following year.

Snowboard X is now an established Olympic event and Ski X made it into the Winter Olympics in 2010.

Here at PlanetSKI it is a big surprise and to our eyes the official answer doesn’t really answer the question as to why it has been cut.

“These decisions are never easy, obviously. We understand the ramifications these things bring. We come up with what we believe are the best events to showcase to our fans on-site and obviously the networks, too,” said Tim Reed, senior director of content strategy for ESPN X Games.

“There wasn’t one single factor that led to this decision. It just comes down to filling the schedule with how much we believe we need to make the event enjoyable to the fans and deliver on what we need from a product standpoint.”

The X Games is run by ESPN and on its web site there is some disappointment.

Two events that were taken out last year, Snowmobile SnoCross and Speed and Style, and they are back in for 2013.

Six-time and defending SnoCross champion, Tucker Hibbert, knows the sentiment all too well.

“I’m bummed for boardercross and skiercross; I know how those guys feel,” he said. “We’re kind of at the organizers’ mercy in terms of whether we’re in or out, but I’m thankful that SnoCross is back in and I’m going to do my best to make sure we’re in for years to come.”

The athletes themselves are bitterly disappointed.

“It’s a devastating blow to our sport and skiercross, too, because X Games has been our Super Bowl for years,” said Nate Holland, who has won six of the past seven gold medals in Snowboard X.

The course is very expensive to built, but the X Games is a multi-million dollar franchise with deep pockets.

Both events were big successes at the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 with large TV audiences.

Snowboard X is perhaps best known for the loss of gold by Lindsey Jacobellis in the Turin 2006 Olympics when she fell as she celebrated with a showboating jump just before crossing the line. She scrambled over the line into second place.

Read more HERE

By: Shay Williams
Freeskier Magazine
May 1, 2012

ESPN, the leading action sports content provider, and creator of the X Games, will bring the X Games to Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil; Munich, Germany and Barcelona, Spain beginning in 2013. Those cities will join Aspen, Colo.; Los Angeles, Calif. and Tignes, France to host the X Games in an effort to expand globally. With relevance to contemporary youth around the world, this expansion is a transformation from an action sports competition brand into an action sports lifestyle brand that will highlight new locations and enhanced cultural and digital elements around the world.

ESPN conducted a formal bid process starting last May which resulted in significant interest from locations around the world that bid to host one of three new events (which join Los Angeles, Aspen and Tignes).  Beginning today, local organizing committees for Foz do Iguaçu (pronounced Fawz Day Ig wah soo), Munich and Barcelona will collaborate with ESPN for the next three years to bring the premier action sports event to their cities, launching an annual, six-event X Games calendar – four of which will be summer events and two winter.

“ESPN has been committed to the X Games franchise for nearly two decades and is incredibly excited for the future and this new endeavor,” said John Skipper, president, ESPN and Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks. “We are bringing significant focus to this expansion because we believe in the universal appeal of these sports and competitors and want to share the X Games experience with fans around the world.”

Motorsports icon Travis Pastrana, who has 17 X Games medals to his name, supports ESPN’s decision to expand the X Games globally. “ESPN is giving athletes the opportunity to really chase their dreams, and the X Games are the most important and biggest events ever created for our sports,” said Pastrana. “The concept of bringing them to different places around the world is awesome, and I’m excited to see what it will do for action sports.”

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By: Cat Perry
Men’s Fitness
February 6, 2012

Photos and video from the biggest snow sports trade show in the world.

Photo courtesy of SnowSports Industries America

Sunday, January 29, marked the end of 2012 SIA (Snowsports Industries America)—a mega snow sports trade show that goes down in the heart of Denver, Colorado. Sick hardware and exciting outerwear crowded the Denver complex. And more than 18,000 powder hounds streamed into the SIA Snow Show, which played host to some of the absolute best in technical and street outdoor gear and hardware. Now you—the boarder, the skier, the back country big-air guy and the weekend warriors—can get your mitts on exactly the latest gear. Whether you need it so you can hit the pristine powder on your days off or just to look like you do, SIA had it. Look out for gear previews next week.

January 31 was also the final day of the 2012 On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest, where riders who’ve been held captive talking to buyers, retailers and media at the Snow Show, got the chance to get back home—the powder. This time, at Winter Park Resort and Devil’s Thumb Ranch. And they hit it hard, testing skiing, boarding and back country gear that was previewed in Denver.

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