It’s described as the fastest sport on skates.
Skaters, dressed in hockey gear, race down a 400 metre track with twists, turns, jumps, and a 40 to 50 metre drop from start to finish. They’ve been known to reach speeds of over 80 kilometres an hour.
“If you do mistakes, the track will take care of punishing you somehow,” says former competitor Christian Papillon.
Welcome to the wild sport of ice cross downhill or, as many people know it, Red Bull Crashed Ice.
The extreme sport is popular across parts of North America and Europe. In Quebec City, where it’s been running for 10 years, it is now described as the largest single outdoor event.
And next year, for the first time ever, ice cross is coming to Ottawa.
On Thursday organizers unveiled plans to bring the 2017 Ice Cross World Championship to Ottawa as part of the city’s celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary. The event will take place in March, with exact dates to be announced.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson estimates the event will inject around $10 million into the local economy. “It’s going to be spectacular for the athletes, but even better for the spectators and the visitors coming to Ottawa in 2017,” he says.
Red Bull Crashed Ice is known for building its tracks in spectacular settings, and Ottawa will be no exception. Organizers are designing a track for the Ottawa Locks on the Rideau Canal, right next to Parliament Hill.
Christian Papillon, who is now Sports Director for Red Bull Crashed Ice, says the features of the UNESCO World Heritage Site will uniquely influence the Ottawa track. “We can create something really interesting for (the) sport and for (the) show side as well,” he says. “It will be a tremendous track, definitely.”
