FIND YOUR RESOLUTION: REGISTRATION FOR RED BULL CRASHED ICE OPENS ON JANUARY
1ST
- Starting on January 1, 2011, intrepid male and female hockey players and adrenaline junkies from across Canada can register for the chance to compete against the world's top ice cross downhill skaters in Quebec City -
QUEBEC CITY, Dec. 14 /CNW/ - If your New Year resolutions include amazing thrills, unbelievable travel, and racing on skates at 60km/hr, what better way to start 2011 than entering for a chance to race the world's most exciting ice track? For the sixth year in a row, the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship returns to its roots in Quebec for the season finale on March 19, 2011. From January 1 until January 14 @ 11:59pm EST, male and female hockey players from across the country will be able to register online at www.redbullcrashedice.com, for the chance to participate in one of the 12 qualifying events taking place in Canada. A lottery will randomly select 200 men and 20 women (per qualifying city) to participate in each qualifying event, which will consist of individual speed trials on a traditional ice-hockey surface. The top participants from each qualifying event who demonstrates the best skating skill, agility, and strength will earn a spot to the main event in Quebec City.
First Stop: Munich, Germany
A combination of hockey, downhill skiing, and boardercross, Red Bull Crashed Ice features urban ice tracks built with massive drops, hairpin turns, big-air jumps, step-ups, drop-offs, and gaps at speeds of more than 60km/h. The 2011 Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship will feature four races in total that are set to take the sport of ice cross downhill to a new level.
On January 15, the world elite will return to Munich's Olympic Park for the season opener, which attracted over 50,000 fans in 2010, followed by the series debut of Valkenburg (NED) on February 5. The frozen party then moves to Moscow (RUS) on Feb. 26, where huge crowds and temperatures well below zero are guaranteed. Finally, the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship returns to Quebec City for the traditional season finale on March 19, a city where huge courses through its historic old town have annually attracted over 100,000 fans on-site and millions of broadcast viewers worldwide.
The Contenders
Battling for the glory and representing Canada is the National Contingent for Munich: Kyle Croxall (Kingston, ON) - 2010 champion in Quebec City and second place in the 2010 standings; Gabriel Andre (Edmonton, AB) - second place finisher in Munich 2010 and third place in overall standings; and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin (Blainville, QC) - 11th place in overall standings and fourth place finisher in Quebec City 2010.
With his training for the Canadian Forces almost over, Kyle Croxall will take up his post at a fire station on the Vancouver Island in December. The 22-year-old can't wait for the start of the championship and is determined to repeat last year's impressive victory and earn a ticket to each of the four races, with the third stop in Moscow, Russia, the one he is looking forward to the most. "My biggest challenge this year will be living up to my 1st place of last year." Martin Niefnecker, 2010 World Champion, is looking forward to start training: skiing, skating down a bobsleigh track, using his usual balance, and training his balance in the gym. "I want to defend my title and help other German racers to get better."
Making the Cut - Quebec City
Each stop will feature an elimination round for National and International athletes. In Quebec, the National Shoot Out, with Canadian athletes only, and an International Shoot Out, with international athletes only, will take place on March 17 and 18 respectively. The fastest 64 Canadian and 64 international athletes from each Shoot Out will advance to Friday night's Elimination Round, where they'll be seeded into brackets of four, with the fastest two skaters advancing to the Finals on Saturday, March 19. Saturday night is when the alchemy of fire on ice happens, as the bracket format will narrow the field down from the top 64 qualifiers to a final four in the men's division, and from the top 16 qualifiers to the final four in the women's division.
The World Championship final rankings will be determined based on the points accumulated over the four stops. The top four finishers in both the men's and women's categories will skate away with not only bragging rights, but also a share of the prize purse totalling $15,150 for both divisions.
New in 2011: A Sportive Director
Former ice cross downhill athlete, Christian Papillon from Quebec City, Quebec, has competed in several Red Bull Crashed Ice races in the past five years. The sport's hometown hero has been appointed to the newly created position of Sportive Director for the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship 2011. His role in the event preparation and execution on site will include developing the rules for the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship 2011 and new obstacles in the design of the tracks, in collaboration with the course builder.
Red Bull Content: Free for Editorial Use
The Red Bull Crashed Ice Newsroom is a free-of-charge media service providing news stories, high-resolution photographs, and clips for TV, web and radio as well as race results and background information about the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship. For more news and content including media accreditation, please visit the newsroom via the link at: www.redbullcrashedice.com or directly at www.redbullcrashedicenewsroom.com. Media accreditation closes one week prior to the Quebec City race. All media must register by then at: www.redbullcrashedice.com.
The Red Bull Content Pool is a free-of-charge worldwide content portfolio that enables users to access, search, preview and order moving images from the Red Bull archive. This media service provides users with clips for TV and web in the categories; people, athletes/projects, sports and culture. Please go to: www.redbullcontentpool.com
The Red Bull Photofiles is the biggest worldwide free sports and extreme sports photo library online since 1997 - with amazing images free of charge for editorial use. Visit: www.redbull-photofiles.com
For further information:
For media outside of Quebec City, please contact:
Josée Laperrière
Red Bull Canada
416-542-7485
[email protected]
For media in Quebec City, please contact:
Marie-Claire D'Aoust
Gestev
418-802-6275
[email protected]
Share this article