The Winter X Games offer a look at snow sports and tricks that you may not see in your everyday life. If you're interested in watching the games on television, or attending them, you may need a little guidance as to what each competition really is. Without going into depth as to the number of qualifying heats, racers and scoring, the following is a brief explanation of each event.
SnoCross- Snowmobile racing on a newly designed course to test the riders skill, endurance, speed and aerial maneuvers. The final race consists of twenty laps.
Skier X and Snowboarder X- Riders compete on a 3,500-foot long downhill course filled with tabletop jumps, banked turns, rollers and gaps. The "X" events (Snowboard X, Skier X) are described as a "fusion of motocross and downhill racing"
Skiing SuperPipe and Snowboarding SuperPipe- Athletes use the 500-foot long, 16-foot deep SuperPipe to demonstrate some of the most progressive aerial maneuvers ever performed.
Skiing Slopestyle and Snowboarding Slopestyle- Tests a rider's ability to combine a downhill course and freestyle riding on varied terrain with rails, tabletops and jumps.
Event Changes for Winter X Eleven:
- Moto X- Will not be in winter games this year but will remain in both the summer and international X Games.
- Mono-Skier X- A new event. The first medaled event for disabled athletes in the Winter X Games. Mono-Skier X is modeled after Snowboarder and Skier X with one key difference: that the event features the top disabled mono-skiers in the world.
- Snowboarding Best Trick Showdown- A new event. The top snowboarders compete in two runs to show off the best tricks they can pull.
- Snowmobile freestyle- A new event. Riders will compete on a course that includes jumps ranging from 45' to more than 100' long will be judged on a variety of skills including tricks, riding and style.
