Three San Diego-area skateboarders — Tate Carew (San Diego), Bryce Wettstein (Encinitas) and Tom Schaar (Cardiff) — were drafted last month into the inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL), joining 37 other top action sports athletes in the first-ever co-ed, team-based X Games competition.
Wettstein and Carew were both selected by X Games Club New York. Additional franchises are based in Los Angeles, Tokyo and São Paulo. The XGL spans a full season, with each club fielding 10 athletes — five men and five women — chosen through the draft, held March 12 at Cosm in L.A, A free agent pool is also available.
Schaar, selected No. 2 overall by X Games Club Los Angeles, said the league remains familiar.
“It’s still just the X Games, so not much has really changed in the way they’re going to run it —
same contests, same format, same people,” he said. “But while the X Games are happening, the
league points come into play. Most winners will be on teams, and points are awarded based on
placement. At the end, the team with the most points across the three X Games events will be
crowned champion. There’s also a $500,000 bonus for the winning team, which is a pretty sick
incentive.”
He added: “It’s still really new to us. I’m just excited to be a part of it. I really don’t know what
to expect. It’ll be cool getting to have a crossover of sports, working together, and then trying
to win the championship would be pretty sweet, too. I think it’s really cool. We’re going to try
and expand to maybe a new audience — they can understand if it’s team-oriented a little more, maybe.”
Debut in June
The league provides nearly $10 million in salaries and prize money for the 40 athletes.
The Summer 2026 season begins June 26 at the Cal Expo Center in Sacramento, followed by an event in Japan in July, and concludes with the championship at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Teams earn points at each stop, and the club with the highest total is crowned
champion. A winter league is set to debut in 2027.
The XGL arrives amid a broader surge of new and reimagined sports leagues across Southern California.
In San Diego, a SoCal Women’s Pro Flag Football League is set to debut in 2026 with teams across all eight Southern California counties, while UC San Diego has partnered with the World Fencing League, which launches its first events in Los Angeles this month. It also comes during the ramp-up to the 2028 Summer Olympics, with BMX and skateboarding now established Olympic sports.
Mecca for skateboarders
Schaar, 26, made his X Games debut at age 12 and has won medals across Big Air, Vert and
Park. He earned a silver medal in men’s skateboard park at the 2024 Paris Olympics and called San Diego “the mecca” of skateboarding.
“Everyone just ends up here for skating,” he said. “[Legends] Bucky Lasek and Bob Burnquist
live here. They always say when you grow up, don’t meet your heroes. But in skating, I think it’s the opposite. Everyone’s really cool, and they’ve always been really nice to me, taking care of me and whatnot.”
For Schaar, it’s hard to top living down the street from skateboarding royalty and San Diego
native Tony Hawk.
“Tony’s great. He’s always looked out for me and given me opportunities I wouldn’t have had
otherwise,” he said. “Even so, it’s Tony Hawk, so I still have a hard time talking to him like he’s a
normal person, even though I consider him one of my friends. I live about five minutes away
from him, and I skate at a ramp he has in Carlsbad all the time. He’s always been a fan of
skating in general, looking out for the next generation. I think he’s one of the best ambassadors for any sport.”
Schaar, who first got on a skateboard at age four, inspired by his older brother, counts a
shattered shoulder and a broken wrist among his most serious injuries.
“I shattered my shoulder when I was 14. That sucked a lot,” he said. “Besides that, just random
injuries — breaking my wrist or ankles, or even my toe, which was honestly maybe the most
annoying one because you don’t realize how important your toes are until you don’t have one. I had a few bad injuries as a kid, and those definitely stuck with me. There are tricks I tried when I was eight that I’m still scared to do now because I got hurt attempting them, but eventually you have to get over stuff like that.”
Where to go
The best skating in the county for amateurs, Schaar said, is at Poods Skatepark in Encinitas and at Washington Street Skate Park beneath the freeway near Old Town.
“You could go to [Encinitas] any day of the week, and you’ll see someone doing some ridiculous stuff. A lot of kids go there. It’s a good park and always people-friendly,” he said. “Down south, Washington Street — that one’s pretty cool. It’s like a DIY park built 20-something years ago, and people have been keeping it alive. They take care of it and everything.”
About the Author
Discover more from USA NEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
