Crashed Ice skater with downtown St. Paul, Minnesota
Crashed Ice (Red Bull Crashed Ice) is a world tour in the winter extreme sporting event, ice cross downhill (or downhill ice cross), which involves downhill skating in an urban environment, on a track which includes steep turns and high vertical drops. The series was created and is managed by energy drinks company Red Bull. It is similar to ski cross and snowboard cross, except with ice skates on an ice track, instead of skis or snowboards on a snow track.[1]
Competitors, having advanced from one of the tryouts in the prior months, race in heats of four skaters, with the top two advancing from each heat. Racers, typically ice hockey players, outfitted as such, speed down the course’s turns, berms, and jumps.
Single event winners
Date |
Location |
Champion |
2001 |
Stockholm, Sweden |
Jasper Felder, Sweden |
2002 |
Klagenfurt, Austria |
Jasper Felder, Sweden |
2003 |
Duluth, Minnesota, United States |
Jasper Felder, Sweden |
2004 |
Moscow, Russia |
Jasper Felder, Sweden |
2004 |
Duluth, Minnesota, United States |
Jasper Felder, Sweden |
2005 |
Prague, Czech Republic |
Jasper Felder, Sweden |
2006 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Gabriel Andre, Canada |
2007 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Kevin Olson, Canada |
2007 |
Helsinki, Finland |
Kevin Olson, Canada |
2008 |
Davos, Switzerland |
Miikka Jouhkimainen, Finland |
2008 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Arttu Pihlainen, Finland |
2009 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Arttu Pihlainen, Finland |
2009 |
Lausanne, Switzerland |
Jasper Felder, Sweden |
2009 |
Prague, Czech Republic |
World championship era
From 2010 onwards a points system was introduced. After the season, the skater with the most points is crowned the world champion. Points are awarded to the top 100 racers. Points are awarded starting with 1000 for the winner, after that 800, 600, 500 and decreasing to 0.5 for place 100.
For the 2015 season, the Riders Cup events were instituted. The events were designed to make the sport more accessible to more skaters. For these events, skaters can earn up to 25% of the points that the main events are awarded, with percentages decreasing with each placing. Meaning that the winner receives 250 points, which is 25% of the main event 1000 points and it decreases to 1% of the main event points for the 64th finisher, who receives 2.5 points. Any placings 65th and beyond do not score any points.
As well, a new wrinkle was added to the overall championship called the "throw out" rule. If a competitor competes in all of the stops, up to a maximum of 12 events in future years, the lowest main event score and the lowest Riders Cup score will be thrown out. This will give the skater an adjusted score for the overall championship. Thus, meaning that it is in the skater's best interest to compete in all events.
Individual Competition
2010 World Championship
Date |
Location |
Champion |
January 16 |
Munich, Germany |
Martin Niefnecker, Germany |
March 21 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Kyle Croxall, Canada |
2010 |
World Champion |
Martin Niefnecker, Germany |
2011 World Championship
Date |
Location |
Champion |
January 15 |
Munich, Germany |
Kyle Croxall, Canada |
February 5 |
Valkenburg, Netherlands |
Arttu Pihlainen, Finland |
February 26 |
Moscow, Russia |
Arttu Pihlainen, Finland |
March 19 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Arttu Pihlainen, Finland |
2011 |
World Champion |
Arttu Pihlainen, Finland |
2012 World Championship
Date |
Location |
Champion |
January 14 |
St. Paul, Minnesota, United States |
Kyle Croxall, Canada |
February 4 |
Valkenburg, Netherlands |
Kyle Croxall, Canada |
February 18 |
Åre, Sweden |
Adam Horst, Canada |
March 17 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Arttu Pihlainen, Finland |
2012 |
World Champion |
Kyle Croxall, Canada |
2013 World Championship
Date |
Location |
Champion |
December 1 |
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada |
Kyle Croxall, Canada |
January 26 |
St. Paul, Minnesota, United States |
Kyle Croxall, Canada |
February 9 |
Landgraaf, Netherlands |
Derek Wedge, Switzerland |
March 2 |
Lausanne, Switzerland |
Cameron Naasz, United States |
March 16 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Arttu Pihlainen, Finland |
2013 |
World Champion |
Derek Wedge, Switzerland |
2014 World Championship
Date |
Location |
Champion |
February 1 |
Helsinki, Finland |
Marco Dallago, Austria |
February 22 |
St. Paul, Minnesota, United States |
Marco Dallago, Austria |
March 8 |
Moscow, Russia |
Cameron Naasz, United States |
March 22 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Marco Dallago, Austria |
2014 |
World Champion |
Marco Dallago, Austria |
2015 World Championship
Date |
Location |
Champion |
January 18 - Riders Cup |
Afton Alps/Hastings, Minnesota, United States |
Cameron Naasz, United States |
January 24 |
St. Paul, Minnesota, United States |
Kyle Croxall, Canada |
January 31 - Riders Cup |
Wagrain-Kleinarl, Austria |
Marco Dallago, Austria |
February 7 |
Helsinki, Finland |
Scott Croxall, Canada |
February 14 - Riders Cup |
Jyväskylä, Finland |
Scott Croxall, Canada |
February 21 |
Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Scott Croxall, Canada |
March 7 - Riders Cup |
Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada |
Dylan Moriarty, Canada |
March 14 |
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
Cameron Naasz, United States |
2015 |
World Champion |
Scott Croxall, Canada |
2016 World Championship
Date |
Location |
Champion |
November 28, 2015 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Cameron Naasz, United States |
January 9, 2016 |
Munich, Germany |
Cameron Naasz, United States |
January 30, 2016 |
Jyväskylä, Finland |
Scott Croxall, Canada |
|
St. Paul, United States |
Cameron Naasz, United States |
Team Competition
2013 Team Challenge World Championship
2014 Team Challenge World Championship
2015 Team Challenge World Championship
Women's competition
Date |
Location |
Champion |
2010 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Kerri Muri, Canada |
2011 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Salla Kyhälä, Finland |
2012 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Fannie Desforges,[2] Canada |
2013 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Dominique Thibault,[3] Canada |
2014 |
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
Salla Kyhälä, Finland |
2015 Women's World Championship
Gallery
Start of a race in 2008
A turn in the track in Quebec, 2007
4 racers in Quebec, 2008
Close racing, Quebec, 2008
4 racers in Quebec, 2008
References
- Red Bull’s Headlong Frozen Dash Is a Crash Course in Marketing, By Matt Higgins, New York Times, March 3, 2007
- Red Bull Crashed Ice returns to Quebec City, by Melissa Halarides, The Concordian, March 7, 2007
- A Downhill Ice Course, Full Hockey Gear and the Need for Speed, Market Wire, August 2006
- Crashed Ice: Le parcours de l'an dernier gonflé aux stéroïdes, by Ian Bussières, Le Soleil, January 25th 2008, P. 8 & 9
External links