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Written by: Harry Johnson // @harryjjourno // @hazzaj1407
That’s a wrap for X Games 2020. The results are in, but which riders championed the podiums this year? That bit we know but how well did they do? We’re left in the dark there because X Games 2020 decided to ride with a new format.
“We’re left in the dark there because X Games 2020 decided to ride with a new format”
This year the competition decided to shake things up. Instead of your standard snowboard competition with the repetitive runs and gymnastic style tricks, the biggest extreme festival in the world threw away all scoring in the freestyle comps and instead instated a leader board with a jam style format. Much like what we’ve seen in Big Air in the past, the jam format was comprised of a countdown clock that encouraged riders to lay down different tricks in the time limit.
Sounds interesting? Well, it certainly was from an audience’s point of view. The new format made room for creativity. It allowed riders to change up runs and throw tricks that aren’t usually on their comp list. If only we knew what the judges were actually judging? Every time a new rider finished, we were left wondering if they would take the top spot. I say wondering, guessing I think is the right word to use. Next they’ll have the audience voting online for the winner.
“The new format made room for creativity. It allowed riders to change up runs and throw tricks that aren’t usually on their comp list”
Compare this to past Open events where we are told a score for every hit. Instead, we don’t know which tricks were actually taken into account and which were ignored. What’s worse is that they thought the format could work across all disciplines.
