Though crowds were thinner in the light rain of Sunday morning, nearly everyone was gone by early afternoon, when it became apparent that the steady showers weren't going to let up.

"This is no good," said Lynn Kirchenberg, a representative of Motorola at the company's sponsor tent, as she watched the rain falling.

Kirchenberg, who worked for Motorola at two Winter X Games and one Summer X Games, said she couldn't remember having to close because of rain any other time.

"We did have 70 mile-per-hour winds in San Francisco last year," Kirchenberg recalled.

Inside the inflated plastic tent, Kirchenberg and her co-worker, Mike Sharek, joked that not only was it great for rain, but could be turned upside down into an ark in case of flooding.

Kirchenberg said, "We're going to stay open as long as ESPN stays open."

But a few minutes later, the power failed and the inflated walls began to collapse.

"Everybody out!" they yelled.

The Motorola representativesgot the tent up again, but it wasn't long before they and other sponsors were packing up and leaving.

Kirchenberg said the crowds were close to what the company expected. She said it was "definitely worth it to be here, even if today's a washout. Friday and Saturday were really good."

Because the rain precluded any athletes from competing or even practicing all day Sunday, spectators flocked to the sponsor booths, playing games and trying to win prizes.

Luke Flaherty, 17, of Torrington, waited in line in the rain at the Pacific Sun booth for a chance to win a trinket.

"I came to see bikes," said Flaherty. He said his younger brother attended on Saturday and had fun, so Flaherty decided to check out his favorite competition Sunday.

Paul Scarfo, 12, of Meriden, came to the X Trials Saturday and returned for more on Sunday.

"It was a lot better than today," Scarfo said about Saturday, because he got to see the competition.

ESPN ended up canceling all competition Sunday, including finals in bicycle stunt park, skateboarding vert and aggressive inline park.

Inline skater Matt Lindenmuth said the cancellation was "kind of a relief" because it meant he got a day off.

Lindenmuth, who is sponsored by Rollerblade, has been on the road touring, he said, and there is no break in sight.

Having the X Trials in Bristol, Lindenmuth said, "was cool." He said he was "impressed" with the turnout. Many athletes were nervous about how many people would attend an event in Bristol, he said, and they were happily surprised.

"It was a good contest," Lindenmuth said.

For more stories about the X Trials, visit the Internet site of the award-winning teen journalism group, The Tattoo. The students' work appears in The Bristol Press, and at www.ReadTheTattoo.com.