ESPN X Games Surfing Competition Held at Puerto Escondido July 3-6 for a Third Consecutive Year
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 11 June, 2007 : - - Los Angeles, Ca -- The surfing competition of ESPN’s X Games will be held for a third consecutive year in Puerto Escondido. Famous for the big powerful waves of Zicatela Beach, the Men’s, Women’s and Local’s competitions are scheduled for July 3-6 at the “Mexican Pipeline.”
This year’s competition will feature two new events, Women’s Surfing and the “USA vs. the World” format replacing the “East Coast vs. West Coast” format in years past. The majority of X Games 13 will be held August 2-5, in Los Angeles.
For the first time, the Men and Women Surfing competitions will be streamed LIVE with real-time scoring and chat on expn.com July 3-6 starting at 8 a.m. ET. Replay capabilities, event highlights on-demand post-event, coverage will also be available. The Surfing Men’s Final will broadcast on ABC Sat., Aug. 5 at 4 p.m. ET and the Surfing Women’s Final will be televised at 9:30 p.m. ET.
“We're very excited to add an incredible women's field this year, and the change to 'USA vs. the World' is going to be electric,” said X Games General Manager Chris Stiepock. “The X Games prides itself on providing the best action sports athletes with the most challenging courses to allow them to display their athleticism and progression, and the 'Mexican Pipeline' at Puerto Escondido does just that."
National Surfing League founder Brad Gerlach said, “It's exciting to change the format and bring the leading surf stars -- men and women -- from around the world to the X Games.”
The invited surfers include U.S. Men’s Rob Machado and Jamie O’Brien, U.S. Women’s Rochelle Ballard and Megan Abubo, World Team Men’s Julian Wilson and Mick Campbell, and World Team Women’s Sofia Mulanovich and Stephanie Gilmore. Former World Champion Lisa Anderson will lead the USA Women’s team and seven-time World Champion Layne Beachly will coach the World team.
X Games added Surfing to the lineup of sports in 2003 with a discipline called The Game™. Developed by pro surfer Brad Gerlach, The Game™ places surfers into opposing teams – USA vs. The World at the X Games – competing for an overall highest score and the team victory. The sport of Surfing is the only sport in which the athletes are selected by each team’s coach, not by a committee.
Puerto Escondido is a traditional Mexican fishing village located 180 miles south of the city of Oaxaca and 70 miles west of Huatulco Bay in an area known as the Emerald Coast for its brilliant jade-green waters. It has long been known as one of the world’s heaviest places to surf.
The area’s wave season is from May through October, making July an optimal time for the X Games to hold its Surfing competition. Its reputation as the ”Mexican Pipeline” derives from the fast hollow waves that break in shallow water allowing surfers to pull in to giant tubes.
ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will provide 14 hours of live programming August 2-5 as well as X Games 13 coverage on ESPN International, EXPN.com, ESPN Classic, ESPN360.com, SportsCenter and ESPN2’s X Center. X Games 13 will be televised on ESPN International to more than 120 countries and territories in Canada, the Pacific Rim, Middle East, Africa, Orbit and Israel.
About ESPN'S X Games Franchise
ESPN, The Worldwide Leader in Action Sports, first developed its X Games franchise in 1995. Part of ESPN Original Entertainment, X Games, Winter X Games and All Access are just some of the original action sports programming currently shown on ESPN and ESPN2.
In addition to the two U.S.-based events, ESPN has held X Games competitions and demonstration events around the world including Dubai, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, Malaysia, China and Spain. The global franchise has also expanded its reach to EXPN.com, the definitive site for action sports fans, and to consumer products such as X Games bikes, protective gear, skateboards and DVDs.
