X Games facts for kids

The X Games are super exciting events where amazing athletes show off their skills in action sports! Think skateboarding, BMX biking, freestyle motocross, skiing, and snowboarding. These events were started by ESPN Inc. in 1994. In late 2022, a company called MSP Sports Capital took over the X Games.

Athletes from all over the world come to compete for bronze, silver, and gold medals. They also win prize money! But the X Games aren't just about sports. They also have cool music, chances to meet athletes, and fun activities for families. For example, X Games California 2023 brought the event back to Southern California after 10 years! In 2024, the summer X Games will be in Ventura, California.

The very first X Games happened in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island, USA. Over the years, many athletes have made history with incredible new tricks. Some famous ones include Tony Hawk's amazing 900-degree spin in skateboarding and Travis Pastrana's Double Backflip in freestyle motocross.

The X Games became very popular because of their big sponsors, top athletes, and lots of fans. In 1997, the first Winter X Games had 38,000 people watching. Just two years later, a record 83,500 people came to the Winter X Games!

The X Games also feature live music from rock bands and DJs. They try to be eco-friendly too! They use special fuel for their vehicles and organize recycling programs to help the environment.

Quick facts for kids
X Games

Sport	Action Sports
Founded	April 12, 1994; 31 years ago (1994-04-12)
Inaugural season	1995
Owner(s)	1995 - 2022: ESPN 2022 - current: MSP Sports Capital
TV partner(s)	ESPN ESPN2 ABC
Notes
Biggest 2024 events: X Games Aspen X Games Ventura X Games Japan

Winter X Games Events

The Winter X Games logo

The X Games Aspen 2002 was a big deal. It was the first time an X Games event was shown live on TV! ESPN's main news show, SportsCenter, even covered it. More people watched the event on TV than ever before.

To make live TV possible, they added competitions at night. This brought in record numbers of fans to the Aspen/Snowmass area in Colorado. Aspen has hosted the Winter X Games every year since 2002.

The very first Winter X Games happened in Big Bear Lake, California, in 1997. After that, they were held in Crested Butte, Colorado, and then Mount Snow, Vermont, before finding their home in Aspen.

In 2015, ESPN even used camera drones to get amazing aerial views of the athletes! This was a first for them.

X Games Around the World

The X Games have grown to be a global event! X Games Asia has been held every year since 1998.

In 2003, the X Games held a special "Global Championships." Athletes from five different continents competed in 11 different sports. This event took place in two locations: San Antonio, Texas, and Whistler, British Columbia. The United States team won, followed by Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America.

Since 2010, Winter X Games Europe has been held in Tignes, France. They also started holding events in Norway in 2016. In 2018, an event was held in Sydney, Australia. X Games Chiba, the first event in Japan, happened in 2022.

Sports and Competitions

The X Games feature many different sports. Here are some of the main ones you'll see:

Current Summer Sports

• Moto X
  • Moto X Best Whip
  • Moto X Quarterpipe
  • Moto X Best Trick
• Skateboarding
  • Skateboard Vert
  • Men's Skateboard Park
  • Women's Skateboard Park
  • Street League Skateboarding
  • Women's Skateboard Street
  • Skateboard Big Air
• BMX Freestyle
  • BMX Vert
  • BMX Park
  • BMX Street
  • BMX Big Air
  • BMX Dirt

Current Winter Sports

Skiing Events

• Ski Big Air
• Men's Ski Slopestyle
• Women's Ski Slopestyle
• Men's Ski Superpipe
• Women's Ski Superpipe
• Knuckle Huck

Snowboarding Events

• Snowboard Big Air
• Women's Snowboard Slopestyle
• Men's Snowboard Slopestyle
• Men's Snowboard Superpipe
• Women's Snowboard Superpipe
• Knuckle Huck

X Games History Highlights

The X Games have seen many incredible moments and athletes over the years.

Summer X Games Highlights

• 1995: The first X Games! Tony Hawk won gold in Skateboard Vert. Mat Hoffman won his first gold in BMX Vert.
• 1997: Tony Hawk had a "Perfect Run" in Skateboard Vert, scoring 97.50 points. Snowboarding Big-Air made its debut.
• 1999: Tony Hawk finally landed the amazing 900-degree spin after many tries! Travis Pastrana won the first Moto X Freestyle event.
• 2000: Dave Mirra landed the first-ever double backflip in BMX Park. Travis Pastrana won his second gold in Moto X Freestyle.
• 2001: Bob Burnquist had an almost perfect Skateboard Vert run. Travis Pastrana won his third gold in Moto X Freestyle.
• 2002: Mike Metzger landed the first backflip in X Games history.
• 2003: Ryan Sheckler became the youngest X Games gold medalist ever at 13 in Skateboard Park.
• 2006: Travis Pastrana landed the world's first double backflip on a dirt bike. He also won the first X Games Rally event. Nyjah Huston became the youngest athlete to compete at 11 years old.
• 2007: Jake Brown had a big fall in Big Air but walked away with help.
• 2008: The Games were filmed for X Games 3D: The Movie. Andy Macdonald won his 15th X Games medal, more than anyone else in skateboarding.
• 2009: Ashley Fiolek, who is deaf, won the Women's Motocross Super X. She was the first deaf medalist.
• 2010: Travis Pastrana won gold in Moto X freestyle after a 3-year break. Cam Sinclair landed a double backflip in Best Trick after a serious injury.
• 2011: Jackson Strong landed the first frontflip on a dirt bike.
• 2012: Jamie Bestwick won BMX Vert for the 6th time in a row! Sébastien Loeb, a famous rally driver, won gold in RallyCross.
• 2013: Alana Smith became the youngest X Games medalist ever at 12 years old, winning silver in Women's Skateboard Park.
• 2015: Vince Byron landed the first 540 flair on a vert ramp, beating nine-time champion Jamie Bestwick.
• 2017: Bob Burnquist retired from the X Games, having competed every year since 1995.
• 2018: Mitchie Brusco landed his second 1080 and won his first X Games gold medal.
• 2019: Mitchie Brusco landed the first 1260 in Skateboard Big Air. Kokona Hiraki became the youngest X Games medalist ever at 10 years old. Gui Khury became the youngest competitor and the youngest to land a 900.
• 2020: X Games Minneapolis was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 2021: The Summer X Games were held at training facilities without an audience due to the pandemic. Gui Khury landed the first 1080 in a skateboard vert competition.
• 2022: X Games Japan brought back Flatland BMX after 19 years. The Summer X Games were held at private facilities again, but ESPN announced future events would be open to the public.
• 2023: Tony Hawk announced he would compete again in Skateboard Vert Best Trick. The Summer X Games in California were open to the public again for the first time since 2019.

Winter X Games Highlights

• 1997: The first Winter X Games in Big Bear Lake, California.
• 2000: A record 83,500 people attended the Winter X Games in Vermont.
• 2007: Peter Olenick landed the first double-flip in halfpipe history.
• 2009: Shaun White won Snowboard Superpipe two years in a row.
• 2011: Kelly Clark landed the first 1080 by a woman in Superpipe. Torstein Horgmo landed the first triple cork in Snowboard Big Air. Shaun White won Snowboard Superpipe for the fourth time in a row.
• 2012: The Games were dedicated to freestyle skier Sarah Burke, who had passed away. Shaun White won Snowboard Superpipe for the fifth year in a row with a perfect score of 100! Heath Frisby landed the first-ever front flip on a snowmobile.
• 2013: Tucker Hibbert won his sixth gold medal in Snowmobile SnoCross. Shaun White won Snowboard Superpipe for the sixth year in a row. Sadly, snowmobiler Caleb Moore passed away from injuries he got during a crash at the event.
• 2016: Max Parrot landed the first cab triple cork 1800 in Snowboard Big Air.
• 2017: Marcus Kleveland landed the first quadruple cork in competition history in Snowboard Big Air.
• 2020: Mark McMorris won his 19th career medal in Snowboard Big Air, setting a new record for most winter medals.

X Games Host Cities

The X Games have been held in many different cities around the world!

Year	Summer	Winter	Asia (Summer)	Europe (Winter)
1995	Newport, Rhode Island	Stowe, Vermont
1996	Newport, Rhode Island	Stowe, Vermont
1997	San Diego, California	Big Bear Lake, California
1998	San Diego, California	Crested Butte, Colorado	Phuket
1999	San Francisco, California	Crested Butte, Colorado	Phuket
2000	San Francisco, California	Mount Snow, Vermont	Phuket
2001	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Mount Snow, Vermont	Phuket
2002	Philadelphia	Aspen	Kuala Lumpur
2003	Los Angeles	Aspen	Kuala Lumpur
2004	Los Angeles	Aspen	Kuala Lumpur
2005	Los Angeles	Aspen	Seoul
2006	Los Angeles	Aspen	Kuala Lumpur
2007	Los Angeles	Aspen	Shanghai
2008	Los Angeles	Aspen	Shanghai
2009	Los Angeles	Aspen	Shanghai
2010	Los Angeles	Aspen	Shanghai	Tignes
2011	Los Angeles	Aspen	Shanghai	Tignes
2012	Los Angeles	Aspen	Shanghai	Tignes
2013	Los Angeles	Aspen	Shanghai	Tignes
2014	Austin, Texas	Aspen	Shanghai
2015	Austin	Aspen	Shanghai
2016	Austin	Aspen		Oslo
2017	Minneapolis	Aspen		Hafjell
2018	Minneapolis	Aspen		Oslo
2019	Minneapolis	Aspen	Shanghai	Oslo
2020	Minneapolis	Aspen		Hafjell
2021	Southern California	Aspen
2022	Ventura, California	Aspen	Chiba
2023	Ventura, California	Aspen	Chiba
2024	Ventura, California

X Games Movies and Games

The X Games have even inspired movies and video games!

Two movies were filmed at the X Games:

• Ultimate X: The Movie was filmed at the 2001 X Games in Philadelphia.
• X Games 3D: The Movie was filmed at the 2008 X Games and Winter X Games in Los Angeles and Aspen.

There have also been several video games based on the X Games, like:

• ESPN X Games Skateboarding for PlayStation 2.
• MTX Mototrax which featured the 2003 X Games Freestyle Motocross course.
• ESPN Winter X-Games Snowboarding for PlayStation 2.
• ESPN X Games Snocross for iOS devices.

Images for kids

• 

  Brian Deegan competing in Moto X Step Up.

See also

In Spanish: X Games para niños