AI Judging Makes Its X Games Debut at Aspen 2025

AI judging will debut during the snowboarding SuperPipe competition at this week's X Games Aspen, marking a groundbreaking moment for the sport.

Partnering with Google Cloud, X Games plans to integrate AI to score riders' performances in real time during practice runs and share predictions with TV audiences. For now, human judges will still have the final say on medals, but might this experiment offer a glimpse into the future of judging?

“I would say sometimes humans make mistakes,” said X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom in an interview with The New York Times. “That’s not to say the AI won’t make mistakes, too, especially in this early form, but our goal is to give this tool to judges so they can use it in their booth.”

The AI system will recognize and analyze tricks, rotations, landings, and other performance metrics, providing insights that audiences and commentators can use. 

“Sometimes you get the tricks wrong because they’re spinning so fast,” said Bloom. “But this model, because it can watch the video in slow, slow motion, is really accurate in its ability to say, ‘Well, that was a cab 1400.’”

The idea of AI in snowsports was born last December when Bloom, a U.S. Ski Hall of Famer and former NFL player, began brainstorming with Google co-founder Sergey Brin. A team of Google engineers developed the tool specifically for this year's X Games.

This move aligns with broader trends in sports, where organizations are exploring AI to reduce human bias in judging, enhance performance analysis, and even identify emerging talent. A report by the International Olympic Committee last year highlighted the potential of AI to revolutionize refereeing and judging in competitive sports.

AI judging is just one piece of X Games' larger transformation. The event is gearing up for the debut of the X Games League (XGL) in 2026, which will bring a team-based format to skiing and snowboarding, complete with drafts, athlete salaries, and year-round competition—similar to Formula One or LIV Golf. 

X Games is currently pitching and selling teams to private equity groups and "high net worth individuals," said Bloom.

“We will have real ownership groups of these teams, and we'll have an action sports draft at the end of this year. And so if you own a winter team, you'll be able to draft ten players, five women and five men,” Bloom said. “And what's the goal? Pretty simple. Draft the athletes that have the highest on podium percentage. That's how you score points. We want to make it dead simple, like, if you're on a podium, you're scored a point for your team.”

Add to that the recent news of X Games sports betting, and it’s clear the event is embracing innovation across the board.

While these changes spark debate among purists, Bloom remains confident in the X Games’ vision. “Are we worried about people disliking some of these things? Not really,” Bloom told Snowboarder. 

With AI judging set to take its first spin at X Games Aspen 2025, the future of snowsports is looking as unpredictable as it is exciting.