For four days every January, some of the world’s most extreme athletes flock to Aspen, Colorado for the annual Winter X Games. For those of you in the dark, we have the scoop on the coolest event of the year!
Big Names
There will be plenty of household names that will compete in Aspen in 2008. Once again, lovable red-headed snowboarder Shaun White will be the Winter X Games’ headliner. Other big names and past Winter X Games gold medalists include Tanner Hall, Nate Holland, Blair Morgan, Karin Huttari and TJ Schiller. Some new names you should be watching include skiers Sammy Carlson (who is a dude by the way) and PK Hunder. As far as snowboarding goes, watch out for siblings Jack and Luke Mitrani and Lizzy Beerman.
Additions
This year, the Winter X Games debuts a new discipline - Snowmobiles Speed and Style. Typically, snowmobiling is judged on either speed or style, but never both. Riders will be matched up side to side, and will be judged equally on their time as well as flair. After a few year hiatus, the snowboarding Big Air competitions are back for skiing and snowboarding. The best part of this returning event is that 50 percent of the athlete's score is judged by the fans who can submit their score via text message!
Fun Facts
- For the seventh straight year, the Winter X Games will be held in Aspen. The games will continue to go there until the year 2010.
- With most events at night, five generators of electricity are required to light up Buttermilk Mountain.
- In order to get every angle, there are more than 80 cameras posted all over the mountain.
- This year, athletes are going to have even more motivation to get a medal, as the total prize money has exceeded $1 million, which is nearly a 40 percent increase from last year! That's a whole lot of moola!
- At 38 years old, Shaun Palmer will become the oldest snowboarder in the history of the Winter X Games to compete!
The 411 on the Games
The 12th annual Winter X Games head back to beautiful Aspen, Colorado from January 24-27, 2008. You can catch all the action on ESPN and ABC. For more information on event times and news, go to www.expn.com.
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