Now in their 6th year, the X Games are coming to Taipei this weekend, offering a chance for Taiwan's skaterboarders, BMXers and extreme rollerbladers to qualify for a trip to the Asian X Games, which will be held in Phuket, Thailand in December.
According to local sponsors, the Chinese Extreme Sports Association (中華民國極限運動協會), around 200 to 300 athletes have already registered for the event. In the end, eight of them will advance, three in in-line skating, three in skateboarding, and two in BMX.
When it comes to skateboarding, Taiwan's athletes will only compete in street skating, a free-style event in which skaters pull tricks on a mock street course. Sponsors will not even bother to hold a vert competition, because hardly anyone in Taiwan can skate a half pipe.
The reason Taiwan's kids can't skate vert is simple: lack of opportunity. Until just over a month ago when the Chungshan Extreme Sports Park was designed and built by Adidas, there wasn't a single half pipe in Taipei. Now, there's a thirteen-foot monster.
At present, it's mostly in-line skaters who drop in off the top of the ramp, where they can pull grinds, 360s, 540s, and other tricks. Accordingly, vert is part of their competition. Taiwan's BMX club members, which have a little more history and facilities behind them, will also perform some pretty massive jumps, though off different ramps.
For athletes under 14 years of age, the event also includes a Junior X Games competition. Hou Bo-hung (候柏宏), age 7, is one of the kids who'll enter. On a ramp, he can pull a frontside turn, skate switchfooted and even crack a miniature Ollie. As he skates the half pipe, his mom sits by the side and watches. "He likes it," she says, "and it's okay as long as he stays near the bottom."
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