BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) — The Winter X Games will keep the snowmobiling freestyle event as part of its program, adding extra safety precautions following Caleb Moore’s death from injuries he sustained in a crash last January in Aspen.
ESPN, which sanctions and televises the X Games, announced Wednesday that one of the new requirements will be that riders wear body vests. Moore’s 450-pound sled roll over him after a trick gone wrong.
The snowmobiles also must now be equipped with “ski springs,” which keep the ski tips facing upward to allow greater ground clearance.
There will be added perimeter protection for fans after a snowmobiler in the best trick competition fell off his machine with the throttle stuck in January, sending it veering into the crowd. That event has been eliminated.
