Next to the competition area where professional bicycle stunt riders, skateboarders and inline skaters will perform their eye-popping tricks is an interactive section called the Xperience that is full of sponsor booths and three attractions that the public can try.

The X Trials, a preliminary contest for ESPN's Summer X Games, begin today in the parking lot at Lake Compounce and run through Sunday. They are free to the public and don't require any ticket. Parking is $5 at Lake Compounce or free for those who use a shuttle bus service from Superior Electric or The Hartford in Southington on Saturday and Sunday.

The three Xperience attractions -- a bungee trampoline that holds up to four people, a miniature skate park and a rock climbing wall -- carry certain safety requirements for participants, according to Ray Boehm, an independent consultant acting as safety director for the X Trials.

Boehm's job is to do everything possible to make sure that staff, volunteers, contractors, athletes and spectators don't get hurt, ESPN doesn't get sued, and to make sure that the event is in compliance with all federal, state and local regulations.

The three attractions open to the public are carefully inspected by Boehm and the operators, he said, but aren't subject to outside scrutiny.

"It's not a carnival," said Boehm, but rather an "interactive village."

Boehm said he looks at springs, matting, the bungee cords, the base of the thing and scans for any visible defects. He said the people who run the tramp, skate park and climbing wall work with him to check for trouble.

"We've developed daily inspections," Boehm said. "We don't have an agency that comes in and looks at it."

The state fire marshal, Boehm said, checks out the entire site for "basic life safety issues" like entrances and exits.

Anyone who wants to jump on the trampoline, climb the rock wall or skate or ride a bike or skateboard in the minipark has to sign a release first assuming all the risk.

"There's nothing that's risk free," Boehm said.

But Boehm said, "We're pretty strict about it. There's no shortcutting."

On the trampoline, Boehm said, everyone wears a body harness fitted to their size.

Travis Tadysak, a contractor helping to oversee the Xperience, said the trampoline is fun.

"You can jump like 20 feet in the air and do flips and stuff," Tadysak said.

The climbing wall has hydraulic fall protection, Boehm said, rather than a person at the bottom holding a rope. Instead of falling if they slip, climbers are mechanically locked into place, he said.

At the mini-skate park, said Boehm, no one can participate without a helmet.

"We don't allow bikes to mix with boards and blades," Tadysak said. He said there is also an advanced course that skilled riders will be allowed to use.

"We try to keep the novice skaters away from it cause you could really kind of hurt yourself," Tadysak said.

Tadysak's wife, Kathy Tadysak, who works with the Xperience as a sponsor liaison, said helmets and some pads are loaned free at the skate park if a rider doesn't have them.

Anyone who wants to use the skate park must register in advance, reserving a 10- to 15-minute time slot, she said.

Participants must be at least 10 years old, she said, and anyone under 18 must have a parent or legal guardian present to sign the release. She said operators are careful not to let minors slip through.

"We'll check IDs and it has to be a driver's license with a picture," Tadysak said.

Boehm, who owns Safety Education Consultants Ltd. in St. Louis, is working the X Trials for Aon Risk Services, the insurance broker for the Walt Disney Co., ESPN's parent corporation.

He said he's been watching out for safety at the X Trials and X Games since they began in 1994.

"Nobody's been injured that I know of," said Boehm, except for athletes. "We're very proud of that record."

Boehm said he's taken part in all the attractions at the X Trials and loves them. He said he allows his children to do so, too.

Boehm said he makes his kids wear helmets and knee and elbow pads whenever they are inline skating, biking or riding a skateboard. ESPN requires athletes to wear helmets in all competition except the flatland bicycle stunt riding, Boehm said.

"That's the ballet on bike," Boehm said.

On site, Boehm said, the stringent standards of the National Fire Protection Association are in place for structures like tents and scaffolding.

Boehm said he makes sure there are no tripping hazards, that employees wear shirts and closed-toe shoes and that aisles are big enough. He also checks to see what kind of things the sponsors are giving away.

"We try to keep away from any type of projectile," Boehm said. With crowds like those expected at the X Trials this weekend, he said, "You've got people that just aren't watchin'."