Winter X Games Competition Schedule and Additions

Winter X Games 12:  January 24-27, 2008; Live Coverage on ESPN and ABC

LOS ANGELES –  Winter X Games 12 – to be held January 24-27, 2008 in Aspen/Snowmass, Colo., and aired live on ESPN and ABC– will feature new events, a new stage and enhanced coverage across ESPN platforms.  Three new disciplines will make their debut – Snowmobile Speed & Style, Skiing Big Air, and Snowboard Big Air.  Fifteen hours of live programming on ESPN and ABC will be offered as well as Winter X Games 12 coverage on ESPN International, EXPN.com, ESPN360, SportsCenter and ESPN2’s X Center.

Modeled after Winter X mainstays Snowmobile SnoCross and Snowmobile Freestyle, Snowmobile Speed & Style combines the air of Freestyle and the speed of SnoCross in to one discipline. Competitors will go head to head around the course hitting multiple jumps and obstacles.  Final scores will be based on difficulty of tricks pulled and amount of time racers take to ride around the full track.

Big Air contests have also been added to the Winter X pillars of Skiing and Snowboard.  Featuring only four competitors in each contest, the scoring of every run will be fan interactive: 50% of each competitor's score will come from live fan text voting and the second half will be judged by the analysts calling the competitions live on TV. 

“As the Winter X Games always looks to follow the athletes in the progression of their sports, we are excited to introduce these new disciplines to our prime time telecasts this year and look forward to building on the interactive text voting success we had with skateboarding at the X Games” said Ron Semiao, senior vice president, ESPN content development.

With the addition of the three new disciplines to the competition schedule, all events will be held at the base of Buttermilk Mountain. No spectator events will be held in downtown Aspen or Wagner Park.  'It is always our goal to present our viewers and spectators with the best event and experience possible.” said Rick Alessandri, senior vice president, ESPN consumer products and X Games managing director. “The concert venue at Wagner Park has been a great location and we hope to possibly return to the venue in the future.  However, this year we have decided to move all of our events and our music stage to one venue.  We invite all spectators, fans, and the Aspen community to join us at Buttermilk Mountain.' 

The annual Winter X Games is the premier winter action sports event in the world and showcases more than 250 of the world’s top athletes.  Buttermilk Mountain at Aspen/Snowmass will continue to host the Winter X Games through 2010.  Winter X Games 12 is free to the public.

COMPETITION SCHEDULE BY DAY All times listed are Mountain Time (MT).

Thursday, January 24, 2008
8:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Women’s Practice
8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.            Snowboarder X Men’s & Women’s Practice
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.            Snowboard Slopestyle Men’s & Women’s Practice
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.            Snowmobile Speed & Style Practice
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Women’s Elimination
11:15 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.            Skiing Skier X Men’s & Women’s Practice
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.            Snowmobile SnoCross Practice
12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.            Skiing Slopestyle Men’s Practice
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.            Mono Skier X Qualifying
4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.            Skiing SuperPipe Women’s Practice
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.            Snowmobile Speed & Style Practice
5:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.            Skiing SuperPipe Men’s Practice
7:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.             Snowmobile Speed & Style Final
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.            Snowboard Big Air Practice
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.            Skiing Big Air Practice
7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.            Skiing SuperPipe Men’s Final

Friday, January 25, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.            Snowboard Snowboarder X Men’s & Women’s Practice
8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.            Snowboard Slopestyle Women’s Practice
8:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.            Skiing Slopestyle Men’s & Women’s Practice
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Men’s & Women’s Practice
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.            Snowboarder X Men’s & Women’s Qualifying*
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.            Snowboard Slopestyle Women’s Elimination
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.             Skiing Skier X Men’s & Women’s Practice
11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.            Snowboard Slopestyle Women’s Practice
12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.            Snowboard Slopestyle Men’s Practice
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.            Snowmobile SnoCross Practice
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.            Snowboard Slopestyle Men’s Elimination
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.            Skiing Skier X Men’s & Women’s Qualifying**
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.            Mono Skier X Semis & Consolation
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.            Skiing Slopestyle Men’s Practice
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.            Skiing SuperPipe Women’s Practice
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.            Snowmobile SnoCross Practice
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.            Skiing SuperPipe Women’s Final
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Women’s Practice
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.            Snowboard Big Air Practice
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.            Skiing Big Air Practice
7:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.            Snowmobile SnoCross (Round 1)
7:45 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Women’s Final
8:45 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.            Skiing Big Air Final

Saturday, January 26, 2008
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Men’s Practice
8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.            Snowmobile Freestyle Practice
10:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.            Snowboarder X Men’s & Women’s Practice
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.            Snowmobile SnoCross Rd. 2 Practice
12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.            Snowboard Slopestyle Women’s Final
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.            Snowboarder X Men’s & Women’s Final***
1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.            Snowboard Slopestyle Practice
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.            Mono Skier X Practice
2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.            Snowmobile SnoCross (Round 2)
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.            Snowboard Slopestyle Men’s Final
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Men’s Practice
6:15 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Men’s Elimination
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.            Snowboard Big Air Practice
7:45 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.            Snowmobile SnoCross Final
8:15 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.            Snowboard Big Air Final

Sunday, January 27, 2008
9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.            Skiing Slopestyle Men’s & Women’s Practice
9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.            Snowmobile Freestyle Practice
9:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.            Skiing Skier X Men’s & Women’s Practice
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.            Skiing Slopestyle Elimination
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.            Skiing Skier X Men’s & Women’s Final****
12:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.            Snowmobile Freestyle Elimination
1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.            Skiing Slopestyle Practice
2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.            Mono Skier X Final
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.            Skiing Slopestyle Final
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.            Snowmobile Freestyle Practice
5:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Men’s Practice
7:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.            Snowmobile Freestyle Final
7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.            Snowboard SuperPipe Men’s Final

* - exhibition events.
                                               
Bold denotes events that are aired live on ESPN or ABC.

This schedule is subject to change.

ESPN, ABC AND ESPN INTERNATIONAL TO TELEVISE EVENT LIVE
ESPN and ABC will feature 15 hours of live programming January 24 – January 27.  ESPN2 will present daily late- night highlight programs January 25 – January 28, resulting in 19 total hours of original programming for Winter X Games 12.  Additionally, the Winter X Games will also be televised on ESPN’s International networks to more than 121 countries and territories in Latin America, the Pacific Rim, Middle East, Africa and Israel. SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship daily news program, will report from Aspen/Snowmass starting Thursday, January 24 through Sunday, January 27. Each of those nights, the 11 p.m. ET SportsCenter will contain event coverage from Winter X Games 12.

ABOUT THE ESPN X GAMES FRANCHISE
ESPN, The Worldwide Leader in Action Sports, first developed its X Games franchise in 1995.  Part of ESPN Content Development, X Games, Winter X Games and All Access are just some of the original action sports programming currently shown on ESPN and ESPN2. The brand has also grown to include international X Games events, EXPN.com, X Games skateparks and various X Games-branded retail products.

About ASC
Aspen Skiing Company operates four destination mountains – Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk – and is the home of the ESPN Winter X Games through 2010. Aspen/Snowmass also offers unparalleled nightlife and off-slope activities as well as four award-winning Ski & Snowboard Schools. Aspen/Snowmass is accessible by two of the most convenient airports in the mountains – Aspen Sardy Field (3 miles from Aspen) and Eagle County Airport (70 miles from Aspen). For more information on Aspen/Snowmass, please call 800/525-6200 or 970/925-1220, or visit the company’s website at www.aspensnowmass.com.