Snowboarding has, at least for the most part, escaped the fallout from the economic turmoil that’s been ever present over the past few years. Obviously visitors to snowy climes declined in the subsequent aftermath of 2008 and overall spend in resort has been reported as being down – certainly in the first year or so after the initial crash. However, punters want their snow fix and nothing will keep them from getting it, hence why even in the face of such adversity, snowboarding has remained relatively unscathed.

Unfortunately snowboarding was dealt a massive uppercut blow today with the announcement from ESPN that X Games Tignes is going to be cancelled for the foreseeable future.

No more X Games Tignes

There obviously would have been concerns for the coming season with another certain high prestige event taking place (Winter Olympics for those not paying attention – keep up at the back!) but there seems to be other factors at play here as ESPN have no plans to carry on with any European X Games after 2014 – although this is to be confirmed. In fact the company have pulled out of six other cities leaving only Aspen, Colorado and newcomer Austin, Texas remaining. They even admitted that the current programme was unsustainable which suggests a rethink in terms of the company’s financial strategy.

Without X Games Tignes, a massive void will be left on the snowboarding calendar and it’s to be hoped that someone else will step up to the plate, after all there’s a massive opportunity for a new kid to now take the reins.

The statement from ESPN reads as follows:

ESPN today announced it will not continue with X Games events in Barcelona, Munich, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil and Tignes, France.  We are proud to have run world-class competitions for both the athletes and spectators; however the overall economics of these events do not provide a sustainable future path.  The company remains fully committed to the X Games brand and its full-scale competitions in Aspen, Colorado and Austin, Texas – its newest host city – and we will continue to distribute these premier events around the world.