Another X Games has come and gone…. this one was truly incredible. It seems that each year, the athletes are progressing at the speed of light. Tricks that were once thought impossible are now part of each rider’s repertoire. The one thing that did stand out during this X Games more so than years past was the youth. No longer was it just the marquee veterans who dominate each sport, but a new breed of kids (yes, Kids!) who are taking hold and moving forward. These are the same kids who grew up watching their idols on TV at past X Games, and emulated their style & tricks. On the men’s side, names like Shaun White, skateboarding’s Rob Lorifice, Nyjah Huston and BMX’s Scotty Crammer are taking the youth banner and waving it proudly.
With the women, it’s even stronger. At the skateboarding street finals, the crowd was wowed by the likes of 17 year old & silver medalist Lauren Perkins, 14 year old & Bronze medalist Lacey Baker and 12-year-old Elizabeth Nitu. 
These girls showed abilities and skills beyond their older fellow riders (who’s average age is 17!). We remember first meeting Elizabeth Nitu and her family during GLTR’s “Girls Only” Weekend at Woodward West a few year’s ago. She was quite & shy, never speaking a word. But once she got on a skateboard, her actions spoke loud & strong. The pros that were in attendance like Amy Caron, Vanessa Torres, Cara-beth Burnside and others just watched with open mouths. They saw the future of their sport & were blown away. For every “Elizabeth”, there are other girls out there who are dreaming to one day be able to travel the world, skate with their friends and wear a medal around their neck. As 6 year old Zoey Rose asked her dad last week “dad, do you think I can win pretty medals too if I skate?” His reply was “If you put your heart and effort into it, you most definitely can.”
Also we want to congratulate the women of The Alliance. Skateboarders like Cara-Beth Burnside, Jen O’Brien and Mimi Knoop, with the support of other female skateboarders, band together to make a positive change. They help create a movement that will forever change the face of women’s action sports and the future for the youth.
We hope you enjoy GLTR’s coverage of X Games. Big thank you to Jenny Kim for reporting and showing us why we love these sports!
