The Gravity Games was a multi-sport competition originating in Providence, Rhode Island that was broken down into Winter (only held in 2000) and Summer (held from 1999 to 2006) adaptations. The competition featured a variety of extreme sports such as aggressive inline skating, skateboarding, freestyle motocross, BMX freestyle and snowboarding.
The Gravity Games were jointly owned through a strategic partnership between Primedia, Octagon and NBC Sports.[1]
The summer Gravity Games were last held in Perth in Australia in December 2006.
Only one game based on the license, Gravity Games Bike: Street Vert Dirt was released in North America on June 28, 2002 for the PlayStation 2 and on September 4, 2002 for the Xbox and was developed and published by Midway.
Locations[edit]
Summer[edit]
- 1999 – Providence, Rhode Island
- 2000 – Providence, Rhode Island
- 2001 – Providence, Rhode Island
- 2002 – Cleveland, Ohio
- 2003 – Cleveland, Ohio
- 2004 – Cleveland, Ohio
- 2005 – Woodward & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 2006 – Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Winter[edit]
- 2000 – Mammoth Mountain, California
Events[edit]
Summer[edit]
- Skateboarding
- Vert
- Street
- Downhill
- BMX
- Vert
- Street
- Dirt
- Freestyle Moto-X
- Street Luge
- Surfing
- Wakeboarding
Winter[edit]
- Snowboarding
- Park
- Mountain
- Superpipe
- Big Air
- Boarder X
- Snowmobile
- Racing
- Freestyle
- Skiing
- Superpipe
- Park
- Skier X
- Big Air
- Mountain
History[edit]
- 1999 Gravity Games I (Providence, Rhode Island)
- Jamie Bestwick took the gold medal in BMX Vert. In the same event, after Simon Tabron crashed during his run, he went back on his bike and landed a 900 (skateboarding).
- Biker Sherlock took the silver in Downhill Skateboarding while Lee Dansie claimed the gold.
- In Freestyle Motocross, Travis Pastrana takes home the gold. During his two runs, Pastrana landed tricks such as a Cliffhanger, a Lazy Boy and a Rodeo Air.
- Dave Mirra won the gold medal in BMX Park.
- 2000 Gravity Games II (Providence, Rhode Island)
- Carey Hart crashed while attempting to land the first backflip on a dirt bike but did not sustain any injuries.
- Brian Deegan won the gold medal in Freestyle Motocross.
- 2000 Winter Gravity Games I (Mammoth Mountain, California)
- Despite a heavy snowfall, the gold medal in Snowboarding Superpipe went to Ross Powers. Mammoth Mountain native Tommy Czeschin took the silver. In Women’s Superpipe, Shannon Dunn won the gold.
- Shaun Palmer took home the gold medal in Boarder X. Later he switched to skis and won gold in Skier X.
- 2001 Gravity Games III (Providence, Rhode Island)
- This was the last year of Gravity Games competition in Rhode Island.
- Travis Pastrana returns to the Gravity Games and won his third gold medal in Freestyle Motocross.
- 2002 Gravity Games IV (Cleveland, Ohio)
- In Freestyle Motocross, both Travis Pastrana and Mike Metzger pulled off backflips during their runs.
- 2003 Gravity Games V (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Nate Adams won the gold medal in freestyle motocross. In the same event, Travis Pastrana crashed while attempting to do a Seatgrab Backflip.
- 2004 Gravity Games VI (Cleveland, Ohio)
- The 2004 Gravity Games were broadcast on NBCSN
- 2005 Gravity Games VII (Woodward & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Ryan Guettler won BMX Dirt with one of the highest scores ever in dirt, a 97.00. Luke Parslow came in second, and Joey Marks came in third.
- In BMX Vert, Kevin Robinson (BMX rider) tried to land a double flair but bailed upon landing. He would successfully land the trick one year later at X Games XII in Los Angeles.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Half-dozen sponsors falling for NBC's Gravity Games all over again - SportsBusiness Daily | SportsBusiness Journal | SportsBusiness Daily Global". Archived from the original on 2014-04-14. Retrieved 2014-04-13.