The sixth annual Summer X Games kicked off Thursday with guys in tights with boards strapped to their feet jumping out of airplanes. Skysurfing is one of the pre-event events designed to showcase rippers using boards, wheels, or both. Wired News delivered to your inbox or hand-held device. The Summer X Games, ESPN 's extreme sports competition that officially begins Aug. 17 and runs through Aug. 22 on San Francisco's waterfront, will feature professional athletes competing in extreme sports such as skateboarding, inline skating, motocross, sport climbing, and the street luge. Talent and daring are required.
Tattoos are optional.
The all-sports network brings some new features to its X Games website, aptly named EXPN . For the street luge, the POV cameras attach to the front of the sleds. ESPN will have four digital production trucks at the event coordinating coverage, the most it's had to date. ESPN also will stick microphones on the athletes so TV viewers can listen to various grunting noises emitted during competition. ESPN has constructed a hefty command center to take care of webcasts and TV feeds being sent to its headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.