Oh how far they have come. The Nitro Circus crew has become much more than just a group of friends that to do crazy stunts together for the hell of it. They still do that, but with a cult-like following across the country that attend their massive live shows. Yet it can still get bigger, as we saw this weekend with the second annual Nitro World Games.
The Nitro World Games has become the pinnacle for insane freestyle stunts, ranging from FMX to skateboards. Run by Nitro Circus’s fearless leader Travis Pastrana, the World Games host the most talented daredevils currently participating in action sports. The event focuses on 4 main categories; FMX, BMX, Skate, and scooter. Skate and scooters go for the biggest and best tricks while BMX and FMX are broken down into two subcategories. First, BMX goes for the ‘Triple Hit’ competition. Utilizing the ‘TRIGANTA’ ramp the competitors have to hit 3 jumps in succession doing massive tricks in between. Then for ‘Best Trick’ competition they get 5 attempts at glory, with the biggest and baddest trick taking home the prize.
While the other events are fun it’s obvious that the real draw is Freestyle Motocross. The standard FMX competition has evolved substantially since its inception, now featuring a much more structured approach. Riders must complete eight tricks from different freestyle trick categories in a single run for which they are judged. The list of mandatory tricks is as follows:
1. RIGHT WAY UP – NO VARIALS
2. WHIP / TURNDOWN
3. INNOVATION / VARIAL – RIGHT WAY UP (ANY TRICK)
4. 120-FOOT JUMP (ANY TRICK)
5. FLIP – NO COMBO
6. FLIP COMBO
7. FLIP INNOVATION / ANY FLIP TRICK
8. INNOVATION: RIDER’S CHOICE
Having a set rhythm like this makes the competition much more enjoyable as you can see how each rider differs from strengths to weaknesses. This will crown the overall most rounded FMX’er, but it doesn’t mean you are the best. To be the best you must push the envelope, and the only place for that is absolutely in the FMX ‘Best Trick’ event.
The FMX Best Trick is the grand finale for the action packed Nitro World Games, and boy does it deliver. The competitors are given two runs to give it their best go, with judges scoring in real time. The judges will be looking for the degree of difficulty, extension, length of hold, landing spot, landing execution, and height. The competitors overall best run will count, and the person with the highest score wins.
Whenever you have a bunch of the best in the world at any certain thing, all in one room, you are in for a massive treat, and the Nitro World Games is just that. The event went off with a bang, solidifying its place as one of the most fun events for all action sports. If you happened to miss it here is the video of the entire event. Be ready to be blown away.
For those that just want highlights check this out: