LOS ANGELES, CA – Action sports legend Travis Pastrana and Nitro Circus have announced the initial list of athletes who will take part in the inaugural Nitro World Games. Coming to Salt Lake City, Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium on July 16 and airing in primetime in the U.S. on NBC, the Nitro World Games will feature the best in extreme and action sports’ most exciting disciplines including FMX, BMX, skate, scooter and inline. In all, more than 100 of the most skilled riders on the planet will vie for a chance to step onto the podium.
“After all of the planning and preparation, I’m so excited to announce this awesome list of athletes,” says Pastrana. “All of the guys are psyched about the event and totally committed to the progression that is at the heart of it. Fans are going to be blown away.”
“To see such a deep list of riders, including all of the big names in the world from each discipline, sign on for an all-new event is unheard of,” says Michael Porra, CEO and creative director for Nitro Circus. “It speaks to the need for bold, innovative thinking in action sports competition.”
Nitro Circus assembled an independent panel of industry leaders and former elite riders who decided on the invitation list for the semi-final round in FMX, BMX and skate. In FMX, 10 athletes, including 2016 X-Games medalists Josh Sheehan, Clinton Moore and Rob Adelberg, have been invited to the semi-finals, taking place July 15 at Rice-Eccles Stadium - the day before the epic Nitro World Games. In addition, more riders will battle it out in pre-qualifying events later this month for the remaining six spots in the semi-final.
In BMX Best Tricks and BMX Triple Hit, the Top 10 lists of athletes selected to go directly to the semi-finals features Pat Casey, James Foster and Colton Satterfield. More BMX athletes have also been invited to participate in pre-qualification. Out of this pool, only six more athletes in both BMX Best Tricks and in BMX Triple Hit will move on to the semi-finals to compete against the Top 10 riders in each event.
In Skate Best Tricks, 14 athletes, including Elliot Sloan, Jake Brown and Mitchie Brusco, were invited to the semi-finals. Two more riders will be selected to round out the semi-final field.
Only the eight best athletes in Skate Best Tricks, BMX Best Tricks, BMX Triple Hit and FMX will advance to the July 16 Nitro World Games.
The finalists for Scooter Best Tricks and Inline Best Tricks have also been announced. Scooter contenders include Ryan “R Willy” Williams, and the Funk Brothers: Corey and Capron Funk. The inline field includes Roman Abrate, Chris Haffey and Dave Lang. These athletes will compete in the July 16 Nitro World Games. There will be no qualifying events for these disciplines.
A full, current list of athletes participating in the Nitro World Games is below. Note: the competitors for FMX Best Trick will be announced at a later date.
FMX
Top 10 athletes selected to go directly to July 15 semi-finals:
Rob Adelberg
Taka Higashino
Adam Jones
Maikel Melero
Clinton Moore
Libor Podmol
David Rinaldo
Josh Sheehan
Levi Sherwood
Dany Torres
Additional athletes invited to pre-qualifying for a chance to earn one of the last six semi-final spots
FMX BEST TRICKS
Competitors to be announced
BMX TRIPLE HIT
Top 10 athletes selected to go directly to July 15 semi-finals:
Nick Bruce
Pat Casey
Kurtis Downs
James Foster
Logan Martin
Daniel Sandoval
Colton Satterfield
Ben Voyles
Colton Walker
Zack Warden
Additional athletes invited to pre-qualifying for a chance to earn one of the last six semi-final spots
BMX BEST TRICKS
Top 10 athletes selected to go directly to July 15 semi-finals:
Pat Casey
Kurtis Downs
James Foster
Brandon Loupos
Todd Meyn
Colton Satterfield
Jaie Toohey
Zack Warden
Matty Whyatt
Ryan Williams
Additional athletes invited to pre-qualifying for a chance to earn one of the last six semi-final spots
SKATE BEST TRICKS
16 athletes selected to go directly to July 15 semi-finals:
(* Riders for final two spots to be announced)
Marcelo Bastos
Jake Brown
Mitchie Brusco
Evan Doherty
Jagger Eaton
Beaver Fleming
Rony Gomes
Clay Kreiner
Andy Macdonald
Italo Penarrubia
Edgard Pereira
Jono Schwan
Elliot Sloan
Trey Wood
*TBA
*TBA
INLINE BEST TRICK
Invited to July 16 Nitro World Games
Roman Abrate
Chris Haffey
Dave Lang
Wake Shepman
CJ Wellsmore
SCOOTER BEST TRICK
Invited to July 16 Nitro World Games
Jordan Clark
Corey Funk
Capron Funk
Dakota Schuetz
Ryan Williams
Nitro Circus, NBC Sports, Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert and the Utah Sports Commission rocked the sports world in December 2015 when they announced the inaugural Nitro World Games. Created by Michael Porra and Travis Pastrana, this complete reinvention of action sports competition will feature new formats and never before seen tricks. Each event will be a final round with everything on the line, creating intensity on the track, energy in the stadium and must-see television for viewers. "With Utah's long history hosting both summer and winter action sports, we are thrilled to be welcoming and being a key partner of this year's most premier action sport event in the world," said Jeff Robbins, president and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission. "This event will bring significant economic impact and image building to Utah, The State of Sport."
Nitro World Games is the next phase of Nitro Circus’ multi-year partnership with NBC Sports Ventures. NBC Sports will present three hours of coverage airing in primetime on NBC in the United States. For fans outside of the U.S. and Canada, more TV broadcast details will be announced soon (NBCUniversal International Distribution is handling the international linear and digital sales for Nitro World Games). In addition to NBC’s televised coverage, fans can also watch the July 16 final on Nitro Circus’ worldwide webcast.
The Nitro World Games is also a marquee destination event. Fans who want to experience the excitement in person can purchase tickets to the July 16 final. The Nitro Club VIP package is the next best thing to an all access pass at $79 per person (plus applicable service fees). These exclusive passes include the best seats in the house as well as a pre-event track walk. Nitro Club pass holders will also receive a souvenir lanyard.
To purchase tickets and for more information go to nitroworldgames.com. Fans can also follow Nitro Circus on Twitter: @nitrocircus and Facebook: www.facebook.com/NitroCircus.
