Latest news with #XGamesAspen
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The X Games Team With Google On AI Judging System For Ski And Snowboard Events
The X Games, after striking a streaming rights deal with Roku, is taking another leap into the digital future by partnering with Google on a new AI judging technology. Ski and snowboard competitions at the 'superpipe,' the competition's signature, 20-foot-tall freestyle course feature, will have a computers evaluating their moves instead of humans as part of a pilot program. While AI and digital technology more broadly have upended the sports world, the introduction of the new setup is unusual for sports based on judges, points to intriguing future scenarios for sports like figure skating, diving or gymnastics. More from Deadline Apple Ceases AI News Alerts After High-Profile Mistakes YouTube And Google Contribute $15M To L.A. Wildfire Relief Hollywood Labor Leaders At CES Discuss How Their AI Negotiating Strategy Will Ease Members' "Fear Of Replacement" And The Importance Of Sticking Together Superpipe, according to the X Games website, is 'judged on combinations, flow, difficulty, amplitude, and execution.' Those judgments will be rendered by a new experimental AI technology developed in collaboration with Google Cloud. The X Games (x for 'extreme') were founded by ESPN programmers in the mid-1990s as a way to bring sports like snowboarding, freestyle skiing, skateboarding and motocross to wider audiences. MSP Capital acquired the X Games in 2022. The AI system will debut during this year's X Games Aspen. The announcement of the new system said it aims to 'explore the potential for enhancing objectivity in judged sports, increasing fan engagement, and providing athletes with additional insights into their performances.' X Games AI uses Google Cloud's tools, including Vertex AI and advanced large language models, to analyze video footage and capture data on metrics such as airtime, trick difficulty, and execution. The system is designed to provide deeper analysis of each run. The tech was developed with input from X Games judges, athletes, and analysts to ensure alignment with the competition's needs. 'When we acquired X Games, our goal was to reimagine unique fan experiences and increase access to the world's premiere athletes,' said Jeff Moorad, CEO of MSP Sports Capital. 'The X Games partnership with Google is a great example of how we intend to use technology to enhance that experience.' The Roku streaming rights deal was announced in December as part of a broader push into technology by MSP and the X Games. 'This is just the beginning,' said Jeremy Bloom, CEO of X Games. 'AI is still in its early development when applied to action sports, but I'm blown away by what our model can already do. Aspen will allow us to test its capabilities and explore how it might enhance transparency, fairness, and engagement for fans and athletes alike.' Best of Deadline 'Back In Action' Soundtrack: All The Needle Drops In The Netflix Film 2025 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Spirits, Grammys, Tonys, Guilds & More 'Severance' Cast Through Seasons 1 And 2: Innies, Outies, Severed and Unsevered
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chloe Kim wins 8th X Games snowboard halfpipe title, breaks record
Chloe Kim won her seventh X Games Aspen women's snowboard halfpipe title (and eighth title across all X Games sites), breaking her tie with Kelly Clark for the most in history. Kim, the two-time Olympic gold medalist, scored 93.33 points in her first of two final runs. It included the first double cork in X Games women's halfpipe history, and it held up as the best score through both rounds. She also landed the same cab double cork 1080 in her second run — a victory lap with the win already assured — before falling on her next trick, getting up quickly and smiling as she rode to the bottom of the pipe. "I am having so much fun," Kim said on the broadcast. "I have to be honest, I was in a bit of a rut. I really did not enjoy snowboarding for a couple of years. I think this year I really wanted to change that and just do runs that felt good to me, do tricks that felt good to me. It kind of has been working out, no complaints." Fellow American Maddie Mastro took second with an 89.66-point run that included her signature double crippler (two backflips). Kim is now one title shy of Shaun White's overall record of eight X Games Aspen halfpipe golds. Kim has seven titles at the annual event in Aspen, plus one from an X Games competition in Oslo in 2016. After repeating as Olympic gold medalist in 2022, Kim took one season off from competing. She returned last season and became the first woman to land a 1260 in competition. Then last Saturday, she and Mastro became the first women to land a double cork at any competition in going one-two at the Laax Open in Switzerland. In 2026, Kim can become the first snowboarder to win gold at three consecutive Olympics. QUEEN CHLOE!With #XGamesAspen 2025 gold, @ChloeKim just tied Shaun White for the most SuperPipe gold medals in X Games history. They both own 8, one ahead of Chloe's mentor Kelly Clark and Thursday night's Men's SuperPipe champ Scotty James. Chloe owns 10 medals overall: She's… — X Games (@XGames) January 26, 2025 Also Saturday, Nick Goepper led a U.S. men's ski halfpipe podium sweep with Alex Ferreira and Hunter Hess. Goepper, a three-time Olympic slopestyle medalist, spent 10 months retired in 2023, then switched to halfpipe. American Red Gerard repeated as X Games men's snowboard slopestyle champion, adding to his 2018 Olympic gold medal. Gerard's winning run included a switch backside triple cork 1620 and a backside 1800, according to the broadcast. Canadian Mark McMorris was second for his 24th career Winter X medal across all sites and 20th in Aspen, both outright records. The world's top snowboarders and freeskiers stay in Aspen for the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix next weekend, airing on NBC Sports. Mark McMorris' snowboard career has been record breaking and unbreakable Mark McMorris targets more Olympic glory in 2026 after a medal at the last three Games. Nick Zaccardi, Nick Zaccardi,
