Months out from Sacramento arrival, X Games sponsors local skate event
MATHER — With every ollie, flip, and grind, local athletes are showing that Sacramento is a skateboard town. And there's growing excitement about the X Games coming to the capital city for the first time this summer.
The extreme sports competition is happening at Cal Expo for the next three years, with more than $1 million in prize money up for grabs.
The tour is already making contributions to the community. The X Games helped sponsor a fundraising event at Mather Skate Park in Rancho Cordova.
"This is kind of our chance to show the X Games on a national level," said Sean LaTour-Jarquin, founder of Project Lifelong. "Sacramento has a community of skateboarders, and we're ready for them to come."
The skate night is supporting Project Lifelong, a nonprofit that helps introduce skating and other outdoor sports to local kids.
"We're trying to raise enough money to unleash our first ever mobile skate park, and what that's going to look like is our ability to go to K-6 schools and bring board sports culture into the classroom," LaTour-Jarquin said.
X Games even donated the first-ever Sacramento tickets for the organization's fundraiser. It's a gnarly way to kick off the X Games' grand arrival as these skater boys and girls count down to the competition.
"We've never ever had it out here before," skateboarder Terran Harlow said. "It's going to be a good time."
The X Games begin at Cal Expo on August 22 and will be the 30th anniversary of the extreme sports showcase.
"It's a big deal. Dreams are made true at the X Games," LaTour-Jarquin said. "The kids out in Sacramento getting to see some of the most famous best skateboarders in the world."
