ESPN have announced that Winter X Games IX will return to Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado for an unprecedented fourth year. The event is scheduled for Saturday, January 29th through to Tuesday, February 1st, 2005.

The annual Winter X Games is the premier winter action sports event in the world, featuring athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in the following sports: Moto X, Ski, Snowboard and Snowmobile. Winter X Games IX will feature nighttime events and will be telecast live in the US on ESPN and ABC.

Winter X Games VIII (January 2004) marked the first time that an X Games event was televised live and also featured coverage by ESPN's flagship news program SportsCenter. Viewership across the three networks that carried coverage of the event - ABC Sports, ESPN and ESPN2 - exceeded last year's household average by 30% according to Nielsen Media Research. The event also reached record highs in several major demographic categories. To accommodate the first-time live coverage, nighttime competitions were added, resulting in record attendance for the three-year run in Aspen/Snowmass.

Announced earlier this year, Winter X Games will remain in Aspen/Snowmass through Winter X Games XI in 2007.

Forthcoming details on Winter X Games can be found on www.expn.com