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X Games cuts Skier X, Snowboarder X and Mono Skier X

Snowmobile events back in the line-up instead
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ESPN has announced that it is cutting Snowboarder X, Skier X and Mono Skier X from the Winter Games in Aspen this coming January.

"These decisions are never easy, obviously," said Tim Reed, senior director of content strategy for ESPN X Games told reporter Devon O'Neil for ESPN.

"We understand the ramifications these things bring. We come up with what we believe are the best events to showcase to our fans on-site and obviously the networks, too.

"There wasn't one single factor that led to this decision. It just comes down to filling the schedule with how much we believe we need to make the event enjoyable to the fans and deliver on what we need from a product standpoint."

Snowboarder X has taken place every year since the Winter X Games debuted in 1997, along with Snowboard Superpipe and Slopestyle. Skier X started in 1998 and Mono Skier X in 2007.

Returning to the X-Games are Snowmobile SnoCross and Speed and Style. SnoCross had been featured for 14 straight years before it was omitted from X Games Aspen 2012.

The news hit the ski and snowboard communities hard.

"It's a devastating blow to our sport and skiercross, too, because X Games has been our Super Bowl for years," said Nate Holland, who has won six of the past seven gold medals in Snowboarder X.