It was the first time a Winter X event was held indoors -- at Rafters, a popular local hangout overlooking the slopes -- and the first time medals were awarded to competitors who didn't have to get cold and wet to earn them.

But most of all, it allowed 10-year-old Mike Ziegler to take his first airplane ride and his first snowboard lessons. And it also gave him the opportunity to become the youngest gold-medalist in X Games history.

	Reporter Sal Masekela interviews Boarder X champion Mike Ziegler.

Ziegler, of Poylestown, Pa., routed a field of seven other amateur qualifiers in the inaugural Pro Boarder video game event, then waxed snowboarder Neal Lyons in the championship round to take the gold medal.

"It was a real great experience," Ziegler said. "I'll always remember it."

Pro Boarder, a top-of-the-line video game developed by Electronic Arts, features realistic animation of eight world-class snowboarders, including Peter Line, Terje Haakonsen, Tina Basich, Todd Richards and Shannon Dunn. Each professional spent hours with the game's developers, fine-tuning both their animated alter-egos and the tricks those characters perform in the game.

In Friday's contest, Ziegler was joined by seven other amateurs from around the United States. All eight had qualified in December at game stations set up in local malls.

Ziegler, who competed throughout the tournament as Line, almost got to face Line himself in the final. But Lyons knocked off Line to survive a field of other professional boarders in the opposite bracket. In the consolation match, amateur Jeremy Camp, a 19-year-old from Dallas, handed Line another defeat to win the bronze medal.

	Mike Ziegler had never played Boarder X before qualifying with nearly 6,000 points.

For the title match, Lyons chose the animated Daniel Franck for his two-minute run through the halfpipe. Going first, Lyons racked up 6,624 points. However, anybody who had seen the red-hot Ziegler in the earlier rounds knew it wouldn't be enought. The diminutive Ziegler hopped up on the stool, logged in as Line and went to work.

Within the first minute is was clear he was going for the gold. In fact, he was so dominant that he passed Lyons' score with 41 seconds still on the clock and spent the rest of the time showing off. He finished with 9,067 points. So while Line couldn't beat Lyons, Ziegler manipulated the animated Line to victory. Why Line?

"I was fooling around with the characters and trying out them all out," Ziegler said, "and I tried some of his moves. He has some really good moves, like the 1080-flip."

In the bronze-medal match, Line played as himself and scored 6,201 points, while Camp logged in as Morgan LaFonte, who is well known for winning competitions while wearing lingerie, and scored 7,629 points for the victory. Why LaFonte?

"We all had to be Todd Richards in Dallas, so everyone had a fair shot," Camp explained, "but I got to play some yesterday, and I found Morgan. She does the best spins, and you can rack up a lot of points. Plus she's wearing a bra."

In the first round, Ziegler defeated 13-year-old Martis Johnson of Chicago, while Camp knocked off 9-year-old Mario Vega of Houston, Texas. In other matchups, J.D. Grimes beat 14-year-old Billy Caruso of Plymouth, Mass., and Matt Forsythe, at 21 the oldest entrant on the amateur side, beat Chris Howard, a 13-year-old from Burbank, Calif.

In the pro bracket, Line knocked off Luke Wynen, Haakonsen beat Basich, Richards beat Dunn and Lyons eliminated J.P. Walker. Line, Haakonsen, Basich, Richards and Dunn were able to play the game as themselves, manipulating animated versions of themseles.

In the second round, Ziegler took out Grimes, who elected to play as the legendary Haakonsen, 9,401 to 6,372. Camp advanced by beating Forsythe.

In the pro bracket, Line knocked off Haakenson, and Lyons -- the only one of the four semifinalists not featured in the game -- took out Richards.