The Gravity Games was a

multi-sport A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

competition originating in Providence,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

that was broken down into Winter and Summer adaptations. The competition featured a variety of

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

such as

aggressive inline skating Aggressive inline skating (referred to by participants as rollerblading, blading, skating, street skating, rolling, roller freestyle or freestyle rolling) is a sub-discipline of inline skating in the action sports canon. Aggressive inline skates ...

, skateboarding,

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: *Big air (also known as "best trick"), in whi ...

BMX freestyle Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of five disciplines: street, park, vert, trails, and flatland. In June 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced t ...

and snowboarding. The Gravity Games were jointly owned through a strategic partnership between

Primedia Primedia is a South African media group, headquartered in Sandton, Johannesburg. History Primedia was established in 1994 and its listing on the JSE Securities Exchange was completed in April 1995. Primedia remained listed on the JSE until 1 O ...

, Octagon and NBC Sports. The summer Gravity Games were last held in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

in Australia in December 2006.

Locations

Summer

*1999 – Providence,

*2000 – Providence,

*2001 – Providence,

*2002 –

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

*2003 –

*2004 –

*2005 – Woodward &

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

*2006 –

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Australia

Winter

*2000 –

Mammoth Mountain Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located within the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera and Mono Counties. It is home to a large ski area primarily on the Mono County side. Mammoth Mount ...

, California

Events

Summer

;Skateboarding * Vert * Street * Downhill ;BMX * Vert * Street * Dirt ;Freestyle Moto-X ;Street Luge ;Surfing ;Wakeboarding

Winter

;Snowboarding * Park * Mountain * Superpipe * Big Air * Boarder X ;Snowmobile * Racing * Freestyle ;Skiing * Superpipe * Park * Skier X * Big Air * Mountain

History

;1999 Gravity Games I (

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

) *

Jamie Bestwick Jamie Bestwick (born 8 July 1971 in Nottingham, United Kingdom) is a British BMX rider. He won 13 gold medals in the BMX Vert event at the X Games, and one gold medal for Vert Best Trick. He started riding BMX with his friends at 10 years ol ...

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) The 900 is a 2½-revolution (900 degrees) aerial spin performed on a skateboard ramp. While airborne, the skateboarder makes two-and-a-half turns about their longitudinal axis, thereby facing down when coming down. It is considered one of skatebo ...

. * Biker Sherlock took the silver in Downhill Skateboarding while Lee Dansie claimed the gold. * In

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: *Big air (also known as "best trick"), in whi ...

Travis Pastrana Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several disciplines, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, a ...

takes home the gold. During his two runs, Pastrana landed tricks such as a Cliffhanger, a Lazy Boy and a Rodeo Air. *

Dave Mirra David Michael Mirra (April 4, 1974 – February 4, 2016) was an American BMX rider who also competed in rallycross racing. He set the record for most medals in BMX Freestyle at the X Games (later tied by Scotty Cranmer) and earned at least one ...

won the gold medal in BMX Park. ;2000 Gravity Games II (

) * 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 (

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

) * Despite a heavy snowfall, the gold medal in Snowboarding Superpipe went to

Ross Powers Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

. 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 (

) * This was the last year of Gravity Games competition in Rhode Island. ;2002 Gravity Games IV ( Cleveland, Ohio) * In Freestyle Motocross, both

and

Mike Metzger Michael Metzger is an American freestyle motocross (FMX) rider. Life and career In the 2002 X Games, Metzger won the Freestyle and Big Air events and got second place in Step Up, earning him an estimated $100,000 in three days. In 2003 he also ...

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,

crashed while attempting to do a Seatgrab Backflip. ;2004 Gravity Games VI ( Cleveland, Ohio) ;2005 Gravity Games VII ( Woodward &

) * 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) Kevin Robinson (December 19, 1971 – December 9, 2017) nicknamed K-Rob was a professional freestyle BMX rider. Widely recognized as one of the best riders of all time, Robinson was integral in creating Megaramp disciplines for BMX. Aside from this ...

tried to land a double flair but bailed upon landing. He would successfully land the trick one year later at

X Games XII X Games XII (12) took place on August 3–6, 2006 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center, Home Depot Center and Long Beach Marine Stadium. It was broadcast on the ESPN networks and ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin s ...

in Los Angeles.

References

{{reflist

External links

Gravity Games website
Multi-sport events in the United States Sports in Cleveland Sports in Pennsylvania Centre County, Pennsylvania Sports in Philadelphia Sport in Perth, Western Australia Sports in Providence, Rhode Island Multi-sport events in Australia 1999 establishments in Rhode Island Recurring sporting events established in 1999 Freestyle motocross

Locations

Summer

Winter

Events

Summer

Winter

History

See also

References

External links