While hanging out inside the Xperience, the interactive area next to the competitive arena, Wilcox won a Tony Hawk Birdhouse skateboard that he valued at $50 or more.

"I'm bringing this back and gettin' this signed," Wilcox said gleefully. "You know how much that'd be worth?"

Wilcox said he loved the X Trials.

"I think it's awesome," Wilcox said. "I'm comin' every day. This is like the best thing to come to Bristol in awhile."

Organizers for ESPN and Lake Compounce hope many thousands of area residents agree.

Katie Moses, a spokeswoman for ESPN, said she expects 30,000 people to attend over the course of the weekend.

The X Trials are a qualifying event for the X Games, which will be held in Philadelphia in August. The event, which began Friday and continues today and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., is free and open to the public.

Parking is $5 on-site, but free for those who park at Superior Electric or The Hartford on Route 229. Shuttle buses will run from both satellite lots throughout the day.

Lake Compounce is offering free general admission during the X Trials, which includes use of the train, trolley and beach. A ride-all-day pass that includes all rides costs about $26 for adults and $18 for children and seniors.

Besides watching athletes flip, spin, jump and otherwise amaze with skateboards, bikes and inline skates, there is the Xperience, with its sponsor booths and three ESPN attractions -- a bungee trampoline, a rock-climbing wall and a mini skate park -- there is a section of the X Trials devoted to raising money for the V Foundation, which supports cancer research.

Geremy Ruest, an Ivy Drive Elementary School second-grader, attended Friday with his dad and had an X Trials logo airbrushed onto his leg.

"It feels funny," Ruest said. "Kinda cold."

Wilcox made the most of Friday, not only winning a new skateboard but also taking a turn on the bungee trampoline.

"It was fun," Wilcox said, adding that he did flips while bouncing. "It's crazy."

But Wilcox said operators allowed him to sign his own release form -- despite the fact that he is underage. He said he showed them his driver's license.

"I don't think the guy can count, or something like that," Wilcox said with a laugh.

He wasn't the only one who slipped past operator scrutiny.

Brian Wentworth, 14, of Colchester, said he came to the park with a friend and the friend's mother. His friend's mom signed a release for him, Wentworth said, which is against the policy outlined by Xperience overseers earlier this week.

Kathy Tadysak, who works with the Xperience, said anyone under 18 must have a parent sign a release form.

"They have to bring their own parent," she said. But she said there's nothing ESPN can do if people lie.

Wentworth, who said he watches extreme sports "all the time" and especially loves skateboarding, said he took to the mini skate park.

"It was pretty cool," he said.