The History of the Winter X Games

The Winter X Games have been held in Aspen, Colorado, since 2002.

The first Winter X Games took place in 1997 after the success of the X Games, or the Extreme Games as they were known, two years prior. As of 2010, 14 Winter X Games have taken place in such locations as California, Vermont, and Colorado. The Winter X Games feature snowboarding, skiing, and snowmobile events with gold, silver, and bronze medals awarded to the winners. In 2010, a version of the Winter X Games was held in Europe, marking the first time such an event was held outside of the United States.

Early History

The first Winter X Games were held in Big Bear Lake, California.

On Jan. 30, 1997, the Snow Summit Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake, California, became the first official site of the Winter X Games. The event lasted for four days, ending on Feb. 2 of that year. The first Winter X Games were televised in 21 different languages throughout 198 different countries and territories. In 2002, the games were moved to Aspen, Colorado, where they have taken place ever since.

Events

Snowboarding is one event held during the Winter X Games.

Early events for the Winter X Games included ice-climbing, snowboarding, and snow mountain bike racing. In 1998, during the second Winter X Games, Freeskiing, Snowmobile SnoCross, and Skiboarding were added as events. Skiboarding is a combination of snowboarding, skiing, and skating. In 2000, an event known as the Snowboard SuperPipe, which featured a half pipe built for snowboarders, was featured. In 2007, big air skiing and big air snowboarding were introduced.

Athletes and Records

In 2010, during the 14th Winter X Games, multiple records were set. Shaun White became the first athlete ever to win three straight times in the Snowboarding SuperPipe competition. Nate Holland won for the fifth straight time in the Snowboarding X competition, and Tucker Hibbert became the first athlete to win the Snowmobile SnoCross competition four years in a row. Ophelie David also set a record by winning the Women's Skier X competition for the fourth straight year.

Coverage

The Winter X Games became the most watched event for ESPN.

In 1997, 38,000 spectators witnessed the first ever Winter X Games in Big Bear, California. This also marked the first time ABC broadcast an X Games event. In 2000, when the event was moved to Mount Snow, Vermont, 83,500 spectators showed up. When the competition was moved to Aspen for the first time in 2002, 36,300 spectators arrived. Between the years 2008 and 2010, the Winter X Games became the highest rated and watched show for both ESPN and ESPN2. Just over 84,000 spectators arrived to watch the 14th Winter X Games, the largest number of spectators to watch such an event to date.

Europe

France hosted the first Winter X Games outside of the United States.

On March 10, 2010, the first ever Winter X Games outside of the United States was held. Taking place in France, the competition lasted for three days, with 150 athletes invited to partake. Eight different competitions were held, including both the ski and snowboarding SuperPipe. The event was held at the Tignes Ski and Snowboard Resort. More than 66,000 spectators arrived to watch the event, and ESPN aired more than 875 hours of coverage. Jen Hudak, Tom Wallisch, Eric Willett, and Kaitlyn Farrington all won gold medals for the United States.

References

• Time: A Brief History Of The X Games
• Bleacher Report: X Games History: 1995-1997 The Early Years
• ESPN Event Wrap Ups: Winter X Games Thirteen
• ESPN: Winter X Games 14 Set Records
• Tignes: First Winter X Games Europe in Tignes

Resources

• Catalogs: The history of extreme sports
• CPH Wolfpack: Records Broken At 2010 Winter X Games