There is this weird belief that one can’t really enjoy different sports during winter, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. The annual Winter X Games boasts a range of winter sports you’ll absolutely have to see! And what’s more, you’ll have the opportunity to see amazing athletes bust it out and compete at the Winter X Games while having loads of fun. Now, we’ve got the lowdown on the top picks for this year’s Winter X games, what to look out for and what’s going to be the most entertaining. Check out our list below.
Snowboard Slopestyle
We can guess that nearly everyone knows what snowboarding is, but what is snowboard slopestyle? This interesting sport is part of the freestyle discipline where athletes compete on a snowboard and ride a course consisting of different types of obstacles and are judged by technique. With slopestyle, the objective is more focused on the technical aspects rather than speed – sounds fun! How cool is it to watch someone twist and turn around on the slopes? So cool. Here we will also see the obstacles such as rails and jumps. There are also several rail types with the most common consisting of straight rail, rainbow rail, up-flat-down rail, flat-down handrail, and flat-down-flat-down handrail. Some of the tricks you can expect from the athletes include spins, flips, grinds, and grabs.
Schedule:
- Friday 21 January at 10:30 am – Jeep Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle
- Saturday 22 January at 12:00 pm – Jeep Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle
Big Ski Air
Probably one of the most exciting winter sports, Big Ski Air is a freestyle snowboarding event. How does it work? Instead of trying to reach the highest point in the sky, athletes must land mind-blowing tricks to win! Fun fact, Big Air events are also featured in skateboarding and BMX, and it made its debut at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Here are some of the top tricks you can expect from the event:
- Landing in switch stance – Any exit off an obstacle or landing from a jump with your back facing backwards
- 360 – A full rotation performed in the air
- 720 – Two full rotations in the air around the vertical axis
- Cork 360 – A backward thrown 360° off-axis rotation, performed in air
- Dub 10 – Three rotations, combined with two flips. Spin three times around your axis, twice off-axis.
- Bio 720 – A forward thrown off-axis double spin
- Daffy – A trick when you kick one leg out forward and one leg out backward with as much extension as possible
- Backflip – A Salto backward
- Lincoln Loop – A cartwheel where the rider flips to the side in a sideways rotation of 360° over either shoulder
- Double Front Flip – A double Salto forward
Schedule:
- Friday 21 January at 12:30 pm – Women’s Big Ski Air
- Saturday 22 January at 6:45 pm – Men’s Big Ski Air
Knuckle Huck – Snowboard and Ski
The Knuckle Huck events are so exciting, and the objective is simple: do something cool. Here you are going to see the athletes (both snowboarders and skiers) show off some creative and adrenaline-filled trips down the mountain. But how does this event work? While the event features two different sports – ski and snowboard, each group of contestants in either of the sports have 20 minutes to hunch themselves over the bottom knuckle of the hill – this is usually close to the big air section of the competition. Riders are not given a score but rather ranked on overall impression. There are no medals or grand cash prizes; instead, the winner takes home a gold-plated set of brass knuckles – so meta!
Schedule:
- Friday 21 January at 6:00 pm – Wendy’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck
- Sunday 23 January at 5:00 pm – Wendy’s Ski Knuckle Huck
Ski and Snowboard SuperPipe
The SuperPipe at X Games has largely remained unchanged over the years. The SuperPipe stands tall at 22 feet and 66 feet wide; these events are the ones you should most definitely check out. The events feature both skiing and snowboarding which means you are in for a complete feast for the eyes.
Schedule:
- Friday 21 January at 7:00 pm – Women’s Ski SuperPipe
- Friday 21 January at 8:35 pm – Monster Energy Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe
- Saturday 22 January at 6:00 pm – Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe
- Sunday 23 January at 6:30 pm – Men’s Ski SuperPipe
The opening of the Winter X Games will also offer some entertainment in the form of ASAP Mob rapper, A$AP Ferg.