Aggressive In-Line Skating (with separate men's and women's disciplines for each event). More Info

• Street -- Skaters negotiate obstacles, ramps, etc. during a timed routine.
• Vert -- Skaters perform tricks in the half pipe during a timed routine.

Barefoot Waterski Jumping More Info

• Competitors speed toward a ramp performing tricks before flying up to 100 feet.

Bicycle Stunt Riding More Info

• Dirt Jumping -- Bikers perform high-flying maneuvers after launching from a dirt ramp.
• Street -- Bikers negotiate obstacles, ramps, etc. as part of a timed routine.
• Vert -- Bikers perform tricks in the half pipe during a timed routine. Flatland -- Bikers perform difficult and technical tricks as part of a timed routine on flat land.

Downhill In-Line Skating (with separate men's and women's disciplines) More Info

• Skaters race down streets at top speeds.

Skateboarding More Info

• Street -- Skateboarders negotiate obstacles, ramps, etc. during a timed routine.
• Vert -- Skateboarders perform tricks in the half pipe during a timed routine.
• Vert Doubles -- Skateboarders perform half pipe tricks in teams of two.

Skysurfing Surfer and camera flyer jump together and combine efforts for an overall team score. More Info

Snowboarding (with separate men's and women's disciplines) More Info

• Big Air -- Boarders are scored on the difficulty, execution and height/length of jumps on a man-made jump 100 feet high and 300 feet long.

Sport Climbing (with separate men's and women's disciplines for each event) More Info

• Difficulty -- Climbers attempt to negotiate a difficult route in a time-limited opportunity.
• Speed -- Climbers ascend the wall at top speeds in a head-to-head race format.

Street Luge Racing More Info

• Dual -- Racers on sleds with wheels travel at 60 miles per hour in a head-to-head format.
• Mass -- Racers compete in groups of four.
• Super Mass -- Racers compete in groups of six.

Wakeboarding (with separate men's and women's disciplines) More Info

• Boarders perform tricks in the water while being pulled by a motor-powered boat.

X-Venture Race Teams compete in this multi-sport, five-stage endurance race. More Info

Aggressive In-Line Skating

• Consists of 2 events: The Vert, in which competitors take 60 seconds to perform their best tricks while skating up and down a U shaped wall; The Street where skaters jump over ramps, rails and boxes on a street surface.
• Hot Performers: Arlo Eisenberg, the "king of the street"; Josh Petty of San Diego won the X trials competition; Fabiola DeSilva of Brazil won the women's Vert in 1996.
• Some Terms: To "grind" is to slide on an obstacle or coping; a "Misty Flip" is a front somersault witha 540-degree spin; a "spine ramp" is when 2 half pipes are placed back to back forming a double "UU" shape.

Barefoot Waterski Jumping

• Contestants are judged both on the distance of the jump, and on tricks performed as they approach the ramp. While the distance is an objective score, the tricks are scored by judges - making the outcome somewhat objective.
• Hot Performers; Ron Scarpa, defending world champ who has won 12 National titles; Jon Kretchman won X Games silver in '96.
• Some Terms: "Ramp Pizza" is what you are if you fall on the ramp; "Table" is the flat area of water directly behind a barefoot boat; "Footer" is slang for a barefooter.

Bicycle Stunt Riding

• There are 4 events: Dirt Jumping - bicyclists do airborne tricks after speeding down a ramp and 2 dirt hills; Flatland -Just the rider and his cycle on a flat platform; Street - Executing tricks while jumping over boxes, rails, and pipes; Vert - tricks performed on a U shaped wall.
• Hot Performers: Matt Hoffman has won the gold in the last 2 X Games in the Vert competition; Dennis McCoy, 30, won the overall stunt title from '86 to '96. Is he too old now? Dave Mirra won the gold last year in the Street.
• Some Terms: "Cooking fish sticks" is doing any easy trick; "Burly" is the same as gnarly - a big trick, Curbed" is when a rider crashes hard, or when you're drunk, or when a girl shoots you down.

Downhill In-Line Skating

• Skaters will be sweeping down a 6/10 mile course. First one to the bottom wins.
• Hot Performers: Iowa's Dante Muse has earned more Olympic Festival golds than anyone in the sport; Debbie Rice - says she'll be so padded she will look like the Michelin Man!
• "Black Ice" refers to a smooth, recently paved street perfect for in-line skating; ""domestique" is one who gives up their own win or body to help a teammate win. ""Drafting" is when a skater follows close behind another - thus expending 30% less energy than the one being followed.

Skateboarding

Skysurfing

• A team consists of two parachutists - the skysurfer and the camea flyer. The skysurfer executes tricks while riding a skyboard - sliding, twisting, spinning, etc. The camera flyer uses a camcorder attached to a helmet. Using his or her own artistry the camera flyer contributes to the overall performance. The performance is 60 seconds long.
• Hot Performers: Cliff Burch won the gold in '96. Sean MacCormack - artist, actor, ballet dance, martial artist, wrestler. Gary Haas and Amy Baylie Haas - the only husband-wife team in the competition.
• Some Terms: "Barrel Roll" when a skysufer flips from an upright position. "Punching a Cloud" is when the parachutist goes through a cloud bank in free fall. "Whuffo" - a non-parachutist. A farmer supposedly once asked wha' fo you want to go jump outta them perfectly good airplanes?

Snowboarding

• Snowboarders fly down a 300 foot-long, 100 foot high ramp packed with man-made snow, soar into the air and perform amazing feats. It's Rad!
• Hot Performers: Barret Christy who won the gold at Winter X Games; Jimmy Halopoff took the men's gold.
• Some Terms: "Bonk" is hitting an object with the snowboard; "Fat" describes how rad something is; "Huckers" are snowboarders who throw themselves wildly through the air and don't land on their feet.

Sport Climbing

• Consists of two events (Speed and Difficulty) with 20 men and 20 women in each event. In Speed 2 climbers race to the top of a 60 foot climbing wall specially built for the games. Loser is out. Climbs continue until only a single winner is left; In Difficulty the wall is 40 feet high witha a 20 foot overhang. Climbers are judged for the distance they scale and the difficulty of the path they choose.
• Hot Performers: 16 year-old Katie Brown from Georgia won the women's Difficulty in '96. California's Chris Sharma (also 16) is the first person ever to climb the Necessary Evil - the most difficult ascent in the U.S.
• Some Terms: A "Whipper" is a fall - a big fall is a "Screamer". To "Crank" is to power through a hold. The "Elvis syndrome" is when a climber is in a tough position so long that his legs begin to shake uncontrollably.

Street Luge Racing

• There are 2 events: Dual. which is one-on-one. First one down the hill wins; Mass features 4 sledders with plenty of bumping and grinding as sledders jockey for position. Speeds will hit 6-70 mph!
• Hot Performers: Germany's Stefan Wagner is a 2 time X Games silver medal winner. Dennis Derammelaere earned bronze in Dual and Mass last year. Biker Sherlock is defending his gold in Mass.
• Some Terms: "Bacon" refers to very rough and hazardous road conditions; "Amped" is to be filled with an adrenaline rush; "Road rash" are the body burns suffered when crashing on bacon; "Puke a wheel" is to blow up or liquify a wheel because of the heat generated when traveling at high speeds.

Wakeboarding

• Wakeboarders are strapped onto boards that resemble surfboards, towed by boats that hit 18-22 mph. They execute stunts, rolling, dipping, and soaring through the air. Most stunts are performed in the boat's wake.
• Hot Performers: Shane and Parks Bonifay (brothers). Parks won last years X Games gold, and Shane won the boys world chamionshop last year. Sonja Scheffler is the women's favorite.
• Fact: 18 of the 22 entrants are from Florida. Wonder why?

X-Venture Race

• Three person (2 men, 1 woman) teams navigate rugged terrain. The race will begin in Baja California and finish at Bonita Cove in San Diego. The race includes horseback riding, mountain biking, swimming, power hiking, and tecnical climbing. The race is scheduled to take 5 days.
• Hot Performers: Adrian Crane's resume includes; a 2,000 mile run throught the Himalayas in 101 days; a 23,000 foot descent in a record-breaking 24 hours; climbing 27 mountains of 14,000 feet or over in 8 days.
• Some Terms: "Crank" is to climb hard; "Peel-off" is to fall; "Toasted" is when a climber is exhuasted.