Fans Feel the Force of Gravity After the Inaugural Gravity Games; Over 200,000 Spectators Descend Upon Providence.PROVIDENCE, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 1999-- The inaugural Gravity Games Gravity Games is a multi-sport competition originating from Providence, Rhode Island that is broken down into Winter and Summer adaptations. These feature a variety of extreme sports such as , skateboarding, Freestyle Motocross, BMX freestyle (during the summer) and snowboarding (TM), the new alternative sports and lifestyle festival presented by NBC Sports NBC Sports is a division of NBC, responsible for the televising of many sports events on the network. The NBC Sports broadcast lineup includes: The Olympic Games (through 2012), the NFL, the NHL, Notre Dame Football, the PGA Tour, the USGA Championships, Wimbledon, the French and EMAP EMAP Emergency Management Accreditation Program EMAP Electronic Materials and Packaging EMAP Electronic Mapping EMAP Environmental Mapping and Assessment Program EMAP Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Programme Petersen, Inc., concluded a week of intense competition in Providence, R.I. on September 12. From over 200,000 spectators to athletes who were blown away by the quality of the event and amount of prize money, the Gravity Games was an enormous success. Over 230 leading athletes from around the world showed up to compete for a piece of the $800,000 purse, record prize money in each of seventeen events, and claim one of the 51 medals awarded (see attached list of Gravity Games medallists). The Gravity Games also delivered on its promise to provide the ultimate sports festival experience of the future to the athletes and fans. In addition to captivating cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. competition, the engaging interactive festival village offered fans of all ages the opportunity to scale a climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, used for climbing. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material used is a thick multiplex board with holes drilled into it. , sink into a dive tank, gear up on a dirt and street course, and more. Fans were also invited to test their skills on the U.S. Marine Corps obstacle course obstacle course n. 1. A training course filled with obstacles, such as ditches and walls, that must be negotiated speedily by troops undergoing training or participants in an obstacle race. 2. , sample Atari Action titles at the Hasbro Interactive Hasbro Interactive was a video game production and publishing subsidiary of Hasbro, the large game and toy company. Hasbro Interactive was formed late in 1995 in order to compete in the computer and video game arena. tent, try free samples of Speed Stick Ultimate, play the Toyota wheel of fortune, see the talents of graffiti, painting, photography and video artists at the UNIONBAY booth, and visit the Mountain Dew mountain dew n. Illegally distilled corn liquor. & Doritos Loud Lounge. "We're absolutely thrilled with the inaugural Gravity Games. The athletes provided compelling competition, fans came out in droves, and everyone working on the Gravity Games, including over 500 volunteers, did a superb job. We're already working to make the Winter Gravity Games and next summer's Gravity Games in Providence even bigger and better!" said Jim Dunning, Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , EMAP Petersen. "The Gravity Games is expected to boost the state's economy by $75 to100 million over the three-year period," commented Congressmen Patrick Kennedy
Patrick Kennedy (c. 1823 – November 22, 1858) was the father of Patrick Joseph Kennedy and great grandfather to former United States President John F. (D-RI). "Not only did we have exciting sports competition, music, food and entertainment in this inaugural year, but our beautiful city and state will be televised and promoted worldwide on NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. and on the pages of many EMAP Petersen publications." Alternative sports meets network television in October when NBC airs the Gravity Games over five consecutive Sundays from 4-6 p.m. NBC's coverage of the Gravity Games was the largest remote operation for the network in 1999 and is expected to attract over 200 million viewers in over 100 countries. The Gravity Games features seven alternative sports including various bike, aggressive inline Aggressive Inline is an inline skating video game released in 2002. The game features professional inline skaters, including Chris Edwards, Eito Yasutoko, Franky Morales, and Taïg Khris. skating, downhill skateboarding skateboarding Form of recreation, popular among youths, in which a person rides standing balanced on a small board mounted on wheels. The skateboard first appeared in the early 1960s on paved areas along California beaches as a makeshift diversion for surfers when the ocean , skateboarding, street luge Street luge is an extreme gravity-powered activity that involves riding a streetluge board (sometimes referred to as a sled) down a paved road or course. Street luge is also known as land luge or road luge. Like skateboarding, street luge is often done for sport and for recreation. , wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water behind a boat. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques. and freestyle motocross Freestyle Motocross (also known as FMX) is a variation on the sport of motocross in which motorcycle riders attempt to impress judges with jumps and stunts. The two main types of freestyle events are: The Gravity Games is a joint venture between EMAP Petersen, Inc. and NBC Sports and will take place in Providence for two more years. EMAP Petersen, Inc. is the largest special interest publisher in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. with more than 160 publications. The Gravity Games was conceptualized from Petersen's "Raw Sport Group" of publications which delivers 18 million readers through magazine titles such as SPORT, SLAM, BOX, SKATEBOARDER, SURFER and GRAVITY MAGAZINE among others. The inaugural Winter Gravity Games debuts January 20-23, 2000 at Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a large lava dome complex[1] that lies to the west of the town of Mammoth Lakes, California in the Inyo National Forest. Mammoth Mountain is home to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area which is notable in that it gets an unusually large amount of , Calif. and airs on NBC in February 2000. For more information, visit the Gravity Games web site at www.gravitygames.com. -0-
Gravity Games
1999 Medallists
Aggressive Inline Skating
Men's Vert
First Taig Khris Paris, France $18,000
Second Shane Yost Melbourne, Australia $10,000
Third Cesar Mora Sydney, Australia $7,000
Women's Vert
First Fabiola da Silva Sao Paolo, Brazil $10,000
Second Merce Borrull Barcelona, Spain $5,500
Third Maki Komori Fukouka, Japan $4,000
Men's Street
First Sven Boekhorst Den Bosch, Holland $18,000
Second Louie Zamora San Diego, Calif. $10,000
Third Mike Budnik Irvine, Calif. $7,000
Women's Street
First Fabiola da Silva Sao Paolo, Brazil $10,000
Second Anneke Winter Weil am Rhein, Germany $5,500
Third Kelly Matthews Hoboken, N.J. $4,000
Bike
Street
First Dave Mirra Wilmington, N.C. $18,000
Second Ryan Nyquist Gilroy, Calif. $10,000
Third Jay Miron Thunder Bay, Canada $7,000
Dirt
First Ryan Nyquist Gilroy, Calif. $18,000
Second Tony Walkowiak Pittsburgh, Pa. $10,000
Third TJ Lavin Las Vegas, Nev. $7,000
Vert
First Jamie Bestwick Heanor, England $18,000
Second Jay Miron Thunder Bay, Canada $10,000
Third John Parker Mesa, Ariz. $7,000
Downhill Skateboarding
2-Man
First Lee Dansie Reigate, England $6,000
Second Biker Sherlock San Diego, Calif. $4,500
Third Dane von Bommel San Diego, Calif. $3,000
4-Man
First Biker Sherlock San Diego, Calif. $6,000
Second Dane von Bommel San Diego, Calif. $4,500
Third Emanuel Antuna Carros, France $3,000
Freestyle Motocross
First Travis Pastrana Annapolis, Md. $18,000
Second Brian Deegan Canyon Lake, Calif. $10,000
Third Carey Hart Corona, Calif. $7,000
Team Freestyle
First Travis Pastrana Annapolis, Md. $18,000
Kenny Bartram Stillwater, Okla.
Second Kris Rourke Santee, Calif. $10,000
Ronnie Faisst Corona, Calif.
Third Adam Pierce Bakersfield, Calif. $7,000
Brian Ferrell Bakersfield, Calif.
Skateboarding
Vert
First Bob Burnquist Rio de Janiero, France $18,000
Second Bucky Lasek Baltimore, Md. $10,000
Third Andy Macdonald San Diego, Calif. $7,000
Street
First Brian Anderson Groton, Conn. $18,000
Second Rodil Araujo Jr. Wenceskau, Brazil $10,000
Third Eric Koston Los Angeles, Calif. $7,000
Street Luge
6-Man
First Biker Sherlock San Diego, Calif. $15,000
Second Sean Slate Cardiff, Calif. $10,000
Third Wade Sokol Huntington Beach, Calif. $7,500
4-Man
First Sean Mallard Fullerton, Calif. $15,000
Second Biker Sherlock San Diego, Calif. $10,000
Third George Orton Huntington Beach, Calif. $7,500
Wakeboarding
Men's
First Shaun Murray Orlando, Fla. $18,000
Second Parks Bonifay Lake Alfred, Fla. $10,000
Third Rob Struharik Boardman, Ohio $7,500
Women's
First Andrea Gaytan Mexico City, Mexico $13,000
Second Tara Hamilton Lantana, Fla. $7,000
Third Christy Lee Smith N. Little Rock, Ark. $4,500
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