MORE X-ALTED STATURE; MAINSTREAM HAS EMBRACED GAMES.Byline: Patrick Hipes Daily News Staff Writer If the alleged slackers and baggy-pants wearing, punk-music listening and establishment-shunning teens which introduced the public to extreme sports extreme sports Sports events characterized by high speed or high risk. Such sports include aggressive inline skating, wakeboarding, street luge, skateboarding, and freestyle bicycle events (wherein tricks such as back flips are performed on a bicycle). could've foreseen this, they might have thought otherwise. What began as mountaintop moun·tain·top n. The summit of a mountain. tom-foolery has become an institution, with sports like snowboarding, freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing began in the 1930s, when Norwegian skiers began performing acrobatics during alpine and cross-country training. Later, non-competitive professional skiing exhibitions in the United States featured performances of what would later be called freestyle. and skiboarding slowly becoming accessible to more than just Generation Xers - and potentially profitable to all involved. At the head of the line is ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network , which is televising 17 hours of its own creation, the second annual Winter X-Games beginning today at Crested Butte Butte, city, United States Butte (by  t), city (1990 pop. 33,336), seat of Silver Bow co., SW Mont.; inc. 1879. It is a trade, ranching, and industrial center. , Colo. The five-day, six-event competition has become a showcase for the world's top athletes in sports that are known to some, head-scratching to others. ``If it was baseball, basketball or football, I could talk to you like a proud papa,'' said Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. resident Pat Campbell, whose son Pat Jr. - nicknamed Pony Boy - is competing in the free skiing competition. ``He said he was going to be a skier and now is competing with Olympic-type skiers. It's exciting, but you'd laugh if you saw me on the slopes.'' Campbell, a Westlake High graduate, is one of two San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. athletes competing in the X-Games, which debuted last year at Snow Summit after the success of the summer version. Joe Lawwill of Woodland Hills is in the snowboarding competition. Jarett Perelmutter of Calabasas, the top-rated skiboarder in the world, had qualified for Saturday's final before injuring his knee nearly two months ago while ``going big'' on a jump during a photo shoot. Instead, he is helping ESPN with the coverage of skiboarding, a relatively new sport that can be best described as in-line skaters strapped to two mini-snowboards speeding down a ski course. The inside track couldn't hurt - Perelmutter, along with his brother Kary and father Dan own Groove, Inc., a fast-growing Canoga Park skiboard and snowboard manufacturer that is poised to reap the benefits of the post X-Games exposure. ``I started doing this five years ago, and back then people said we were crazy,'' said Perelmutter, 22. ``Nowadays people are biting their tongues.'' Or twisting them. This weekend, viewers will be exposed to moves like Ho-Hos, Fakies, Goofyfoots, Helicopters, Yodas and Whoop-De-Doos, all to influence judges looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. skill, difficulty and lunacy lunacy: see insanity. . It is the perfect recipe for ESPN. The fast-action clips, colorful competitors and edgy events were a big draw, especially on the hipper ESPN2. The network even has an accompanying CD soundtrack. ``ESPN is all about the action of it,'' Perelmutter said. ``They're going all out for it, and we're looking for (skiboarding) to get popular and be big.'' Groove, Inc. started in a little shop in Calabasas Park when Jarett, then a member of the University of Colorado University of Colorado may refer to:
``Four years ago, there was no business,'' said father Dan, who owned several insurance companies. ``In the beginning, they were old-fashioned skis that were cut in half for kids to learn on. Traditionally, when you get better, you get longer skis. We don't believe that at all.'' Since then, Groove has bought two companies, consolidated its base in Canoga Park and thrived. Dan expects to make 40,000 snowboards and 80,000 pair of skiboards in the next year. They are leading the way in manufacturing, competing with huge names like Solomon and Dynastar. In the Winter X-Games, the company is sponsoring a team that included son Jarett (before his injury), college roommate Jeff Lestitian and Trace Worthington, a two-time Olympian and the biggest name in freestyle skiing. ``It's going to get bigger and bigger, and it's already gone beyond my expectations,'' Dan said. ``It's incredible that we've gotten to this point this fast.'' And it's bound to get better. ``However we place in the X-Games, the impact that Groove will have on the pros and the media will be invaluable.'' The television exposure and corporate dealings may be a far cry from a couple of kids doing tricks on the snow, but it is the '90s. ``The fear of the corporate image is with some of the snowboarders, the grunge grunge - /gruhnj/ 1. That which is grungy, or that which makes it so. 2. [Cambridge] Code which is inaccessible due to changes in other parts of the program. The preferred term in North America is dead code. rock guys,'' Jarett said. ``But it is what it is if you want to make money in this business.'' WINTER X-GAMES When: Today through Sunday. Where: Crested Butte, Colo. Events: Snowboarding, ice climbing ice climbing Sports medicine An 'extreme sport' in which participants climb ice formations with pickaxes, often without ropes Injury risk Hypothermia, death. See Extreme sports, Novelty seeking behavior. , snow mountain bike racing The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the sport of mountain bike racing relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Purgatory, Colorado. The first mountain biking world cup series took place in 1991. , free skiing, skiboarding, snowmobile snocross. TV: Today - ESPN, 5:30 p.m. (live), 9:30 p.m. (tape), ESPN2, 11 p.m. (same-day); Saturday - ESPN, 9:30 p.m. (same-day), ESPN2, 1:30 p.m. (live), 5:30 p.m. (live); Sunday - ESPN, 5 p.m. (live), 9:30 p.m. (same-day), ESPN2, 7-9 a.m. (tape), 6 p.m. (live) CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: Dan Perelmutter and his son Kary own Groove, Inc., which makes skiboards and snowboards. Myung J. Chun / Daily News Box: WINTER X-GAMES (See Text) |
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