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.
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