Austin, Texas is a unique city. Since the 1800’s, Austin has
been the capital of Texas and home to one of the largest public universities in
the nation. In recent years, Austin has also become a center for business and
technology, causing it to quickly grow into the 11th largest city in
the United States. And yet, despite all of this growth, our city still strives
to hold on to the small-town friendly feel of our past. One way we have kept this
friendly atmosphere alive is through the endless number of fun activities we participate
in. No matter the time of year, citizens of and visitors to our fair city can attend
any number of special events celebrating one thing or another. I guess you can
say Austin loves to throw a party and invite the rest of the world to join in
on the fun.
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| Downtown Austin as seen from Auditorium Shores Park across from the Long Center |
Three areas Austinites especially love to celebrate are music,
sports, and the great outdoors, so what could be better than becoming the new
home of an event that brings all three of these loves together into one giant party.
That’s just what happened June 5th through 8th as “The Live Music Capital of
The World” took on a whole new energy when many of the world’s top extreme
sports athletes brought their “A-Game” to town for the first annual X Games
Austin held at the 1,500 acre Formula One race facility, Circuit of The
Americas.
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| Welcome to the Circuit of the Americas complex, the home of X Games Austin 2014 |
When most people hear the term “extreme sports” they think
of crazy kids doing even crazier stunts on skateboards and bikes, but, as
Austinites soon found out, the X Games are so much more than that. We did see
our fair share of kids doing unbelievable tricks on skateboards and BMX bikes,
as well as many other incredible feats during the four days of competition, but
we also witnessed many more seasoned athletes, some in their 40’s, showing the
kids how it'is all done. We saw a 40-something BMX rider capture his 9th consecutive X Games
gold medal. We witnessed an experienced NASCAR driver competing in the Stadium
Super Trucks event while being challenged by a 14 year old kid who had to have
his mother drive him to the race track because he wasn’t old enough to obtain a
regular driver’s license. We saw an experienced four time gold medalist fail to
reach the podium in his “normal” event of Skateboard Vert, yet finish second in
his new challenge event, Rally Car Racing. And these are only a sampling of the
World Class talents vying for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze at the X Games
Austin.
While the X Games brought a little bit of everything extreme
to COTA, sporting events were not the only draw for these games. Keeping with
Austin’s love for all things music, three stages were filled daily with both
local and world renowned musical acts. Participants and attendees alike were
treated to performances from Slightly Stoopid, Leopold and His Fiction, Black
and White Years, Bad Religion, My Jerusalem, and Gary Clark Jr, to name a few. Headlining
on Friday night was Pretty Lights. Saturday saw Kanye West take over the Austin
360 Amphitheater stage. Closing out the entire X Games festival, in true “Keep Austin
Weird” style, Wayne Coyne and The Flaming Lips. In keeping with the spirit of competition
during this weekend, a fan-voted band competition also took place, with the
winning band receiving a $25,000 prize.
The four days of fun and jaw-dropping events started on
Thursday evening in downtown Austin where several major city thoroughfares had
been shut down and a gigantic half pipe was built in front of the state capitol
building for a free to the public event. Tony Hawk, yes that Tony Hawk, the
only name most people know in the world of skateboarding, and some of his
friends, were first up to show Austin, and the world, what the X Games are all
about. A crowd of approximately 12,000 enthusiastic fans showed up to cheer
everyone on.
DAY ONE
Tony Hawk and Friends Demo
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Riders practice for the Vert competition on a specially built half pipe built on Congress Avenue
in front of the state capitol building
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Tony Hawk shows off some skills during the Tony Hawk and Friends Demo
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Neil Hendrix performs as part of the Tony Hawk and Friends Demo before
taking his place at the judges table |
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| Kevin Staab demonstrates his skateboard skills for the appreciative crowd of onlookers |
After Tony and his friends demonstrated a few moves, it was
time for the first competitions of the games, the Skateboard Vert and BMX Vert.
The competitors had some great moves, but I’m not sure all of them were prepared
for the summer-like mid 90 degree temperatures Central Texas was experiencing that
day or our extremely high humidity. No, we are not sunny L.A., and we
like it that way.
Skateboard and BMX Vert Competitions
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Competitors prepare for the Skateboard Vert competition staged in downtown Austin near
the state capitol building
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Gold Medalist, Jimmy Wilkins, the youngest X Games competitor to win Skateboard Vert,
flies high above the half pipe in front of the state capitol |
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Sandro Dias, Silver Medalist in the Skateboard Vert competition, performs
on Day 1 of X Games Austin |
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Bronze Medalist, 17 yr old Mitchie Brusco, shows his skateboarding skills in the
Skateboard Vert competition
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40 Yr old Simon Tabron flies high above the half pipe as he brings home
the Silver Medal during the BMX Vert Competition |
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47 yr old Dennis McCoy demonstrates the moves that earned him
the Bronze Medal during BMX Vert |
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Jamie Bestwick, 42 yrs old, soars into the Austin evening sky as he earns
his 9th X Games Gold Medal during Day one of X Games Austin 2014 |
On Friday, all of the action moved out to the spacious
grounds of the Circuit of The Americas. After weeks of preparation, the state of the art Formula 1 race
track had been transformed into an array of elaborate venues ready to host
each competition. Friday’s events included BMX Street, Men’s Skateboard Street,
Men’s and Women’s Moto X Endurance, and Skateboard Big Air competitions.
DAY TWO
Skateboard Street Men's Elimination
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| Competitors warm up before the Monster Energy Men's Street elimination event gets underway |
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| Nyjah Huston competes for a spot in Round One of the Skateboard Street event |
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| Curren Caples shows his skills during the elimination round at Street Skate |
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| Torey Pudwill flies high during the elimination round at X Games Austin |
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| Riley Hawk, son of tony Hawk, participates in his first X Games competition |
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Long time X Game participant, Ryan Sheckler, demonstrates his moves that
made him a legend in Skateboarding during the elimination rounds |
Saturday brought huge crowds to witness the BMX Dirt,
RallyCross, Skateboard Park, Moto X Speed and Style, and BMX Big Air
competitions. Sadly, the Moto X Freestyle competition had to be canceled for
safety reasons due to high winds.
DAY THREE
BMX Dirt
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| T J Ellis flies high during the first round of the BMX Dirt competition |
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| One of the moves that helped Brandon Dosh capture the Bronze Medal for BMX Dirt |
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Kyle Baldock was twisting and soaring his way to the Gold Medal for BMX Dirt
at X Games Austin 2104 |
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| Chris Doyle comes in for a landing during the BMX Dirt Competition at X Games Austin |
Rally Cross
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| #77, Scott Speed, lands following a jump during the Rally Cross event during X Games Austin |
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| Bucky Lasek gets some air as he vies for a medal during the Rally Cross on Day 3 of X Games |
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| Scott Speed and Bucky Lasek race around a turn on the race track portion of the Rally Cross |
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| Nelson Piquet Jr races towards the finish line during the RallyCross event at X Games Austin |
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Gold Medalist, Scott Speed, celebrates as Silver Medalist Bucky Lasek, and Bronze Medalist
Nelson Piquet Jr look on from there cars |
Moto X Speed and Style
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| Mike Mason and two competitors show off their skills during a jump in Moto X Speed and Style |
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| Mike Mason waits for results during the Moto X Speed and Style Finals |
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| A competitor advances through the course during the Moto X Speed and Style event |
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| Mike Mason shows why he is the Gold medalist in the Moto X Speed and Style competition |
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| A track official looks on as two competitors hope to complete a jump during Moto X Speed and Style |
BMX Big Air
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The Big Air Ramp at Circuit Of The Americas track during the X Games Austin 2014
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| Competitor waiting to drop in during the GoPro BMX Big Air competition |
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A competitor shows off his high flying skills during the GoPro BMX Big Air
at X Games Austin |
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Texan Morgan Wade proudly displays a Texas flag on his shirt as he earns the Silver Medal
in the GoPro BMX Big Air competition |
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| A competitor travels down the 60 foot wall at the beginning of his run in the BMX Big Air event |
Sunday might have been the final day of competition, but it
was in no way short on excitement. Events included the BMX Park competition (won by a local boy),
the first ever X Games Stadium Super Trucks race, and the finals of both the
Men’s and Women’s Skateboard Street competition.
DAY FOUR
BMX Park
Stadium Super Trucks
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| And their off and running in the first ever X Games Stadium Super Trucks competition |
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#7, Robby Gordon, gets some series air as he races around the track in the Stadium Super Trucks
event on his way to a third place finish |
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#74, Sheldon Creed, races to a second place finish and the Silver Medal in the first ever
X Games Stadium Super Trucks competition |
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Gold medalist, # 19 Apdaly Lopez, exits a ramp during the Stadium Super Trucks race at the 2014
X Games Austin |
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| Competitors fly around the track during the first X Games Stadium Super Trucks event |
Women's Skateboard Street
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| Gold Medalist, Lacey Baker, competes during Women's Skateboard Street |
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| Lacey Baker completes a trick during the X Games Austin |
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| 2013 Silver Medalist, Alana Smith competes in the Women's Skateboard Street event |
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Bronze Medalist, Leticia Bufoni, prepares to land a trick during the
Women's Skateboard Street event |
Men's Skateboard Street
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| Tony Hawk surveys the course before the start of the Men's Skateboard Street competition |
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Tony Hawk
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| Silver Medalist, Luan Oliveira, skates during the event finals at X Games Austin |
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Nyjah Huston shows what made him the Gold Medalist in the Men's Skateboard Street
at X Games Austin |
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| Crowd favorite, Ryan Sheckler participates in the Men's Skateboard Street competition |
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| Bronze medalist, Alec Majerus, pulls off a trick during the finals of Men's Skateboard Street |
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| Torey Pudwill competes in the finals of the Men's skateboard Street competition |
The 160,000 plus attendees for the four days of sports and
entertainment were also treated to many other family friendly activities in the
festival villages which included a playground, next-generation skate park, a shopping
galleria, a gaming tournament, go-cart racing, a Texas themed area, and special
displays from the X Games sponsors, including my favorite, America’s Navy.
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| Monster, one of the X Games sponsors, displays a Stadium Super Truck for attendees to inspect |
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Traxxas shows off their remote control cars as well as their full size racing vehicles at
X Games Austin |
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Attendees had a chance to purchase new skateboard decks and have them
autographed by their favorites |
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America's Navy, One of the X Games' sponsors, had family friendly displays
for attendees to check out. Here sailors help a young boy attempt pull ups. |
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| One of the U S Navy's Special Forces vehicles on display for the public to view at X Games Austin |
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| The Navy SWCC watercraft on display in the family friendly festival area during X Games Austin |
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| A Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman was on hand to speak to interested attendees |
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| Festival goers took time out of the hectic event schedule to rest from the 90 plus degree temperatures at COTA |
Despite the warm temperatures, everyone seemed to have a
great experience at the first X Games Austin. X Games has signed to return to
Austin for at least three more years, through 2017, so if you didn't have the
opportunity to see these high-flying, death defying, and a little bit crazy,
but extremely talented, athletes compete this year, keep a look out for the
dates for X Games Austin 2015. And if extreme sports aren't your thing, remember,
Austin is still the “Live Music Capital of The World.”
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