SKBSG

Vert's dead. Again. It's just that this time, it's the X Games that say so.On April 3, ESPN announced the biggest event shakeup since the inception of the X Games. As of this summer, vert, the oldest discipline in the Games, is out, and a new "SuperPark"-type discipline is in for the 14th year of competition. "It's time. It's been time. ESPN's always a little slow on the uptake. It's no secret that the vert field has stayed the same for the last decade. It's no secret that there aren't any vert ramps for kids to ride outside Southern California. If you want a vert career, you have to move there," says X Games General Manager Chris Stiepock. Vert's TV ratings on ESPN have diminished every year for the last four years. Quiksilver, Red Bull USA and Vans have all moved away from pure vert to events favoring different kinds of transition skating (Mini Mania, Bowlriders Series, Pro-Tec Pool Party, to name a few).The depth of the talent pool has diminished, too. 70 per cent of last year's field was 30 or older, and over a third of these skateboarders have been competing since '95.