Ice cross downhill is a winterextreme sporting event which involves direct competitive downhill skating on a walled track featuring sharp turns and high vertical drops. Ice cross downhill is similar to ski cross and boardercross, except with ice skates on an ice track, instead of using skis or snowboards on a snow track.[1]
Events were held under the name Red Bull Crashed Ice from 2001 until 2019, and have been sanctioned by the ATSX since 2019.[2]
Course configurations and equipment
Courses
Contestants race down the course's turns, berms, and jumps. After racing one after another in the time trials, typically there are four racers starting each race.[3]
Racers wear helmets, ice hockey equipment, bandy equipment, ringette equipment, or in some cases equipment from other sports. Ice hockey skates and bandy skates are used. Ice hockey skates have a design whose blade is cut to create two working edges giving downhill skaters control and the ability to make sharp turns and stops. Bandy skates have flatter, longer blades and typically do not have a tendon guard, however they do not have the same turning ability that ice hockey skates do.
In 2015, Sadie Lundquist discussed the ice cross downhill equipment racers were using during an interview:
Sadie uses her regular hockey equipment, and eschews the GoPro, but she says some of the guys will wear slightly sleeker lacrosse shoulder pads, briefs and shin pads, and some use longer, flatter bandy blades rather than curved [ice] hockey blades.
"Bandy blades have twice the surface touching the ice," she explained. "More steel touching the ice is beneficial for stride. You get more push off and they should glide further."[4]
— Sarah Barker, "Hey Boys And Girls: You, Too, Can Skate 40 MPH Downhill Over Jumps", DeadSpin.com
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