Ninh explains, the Rules of Ice Cross Downhill.
The object of the game is to be the first across the finish line.
Ice Cross Downhill, is a relatively new sport where contestants race each other on a custom-made
ice track on ice skates.
The most famous event is the Crashed Ice events sponsored by Red Bull.
In general, the rider who crosses the finish line first, wins.
Shortest video ever.
Good bye.
As you can imagine, there’s a lot more to it than that … so let me explain how it
works.
Every track is custom designed with jumps, ramps, dips, gaps, hairpin turns and walls.
No two tracks are the same and tracks can vary in length depending on the location.
The contest starts high on a hill and four riders take to the line.
They’re given a 5 second warning before the gates are released.
Once the gates open, they must try and skate as fast as they can to the finish line.
Contestants wear lightweight versions of ice hockey equipment and skates.
Skaters have to negotiate a myriad of obstacles, turns, dips and gaps and are allowed to make
shoulder to shoulder contact, or bump into the sides of their opponent.
But you’re not allowed to cause them to fall, slow them down intentionally or deliberately
cause them to drift off course.
Doing so will result in your disqualification.
If you fall off your own accord or are taken out by a competitor, you’re still in the
race even if you’ve lost the lead.
Because in this race … anything can happen.
Leaders can fall, trip or be taken out before the finish line, so anything goes and the
race isn’t over until someone crosses the finish line legally.
Ice Cross Downhill is contested in Men’s, Women’s and Juniors categories and is becoming
increasingly popular.
But there’s a few other things you’ll need to know before contesting in, or watching
Ice Cross Downhill.
For example:
Photo Finish.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell who crossed the line first.
If this happens a photo finish will be used to determine the winner.
The video footage will be slowed down and the skater whose front skate crosses the line
first, wins.
Tracks
Tracks vary in speed, elevation and difficulty depending on the track design and inclement
temperature.
They can be made in the middle of a city, in a forest, on a baseball field, virtually
anywhere.
A lot of scaffolding and plywood is used to shape the track, with cooling brine pipes
installed all along the length of the track, just like an ice rink.
Once layers of water have been sprayed on, they freeze in place and hey presto, you have
an ice track.
The longest so far has been 630m in length, but that could easily change.
As mentioned earlier, no two tracks are the same so contestants will be given time to
practice on the track before the actual race.
But not much –they’ll have to plan their route fairly quickly, because everyone else
will be doing the same.
Racecraft Not only to contestants have to read and judge
the track, they also have to do that with their opponents.
They have to know the other skaters’ strengths and weaknesses, where to overtake and when
to let them run.
There’s a lot more to it than racing from A to B and skaters will have already predicted
who will be better or worse at any given part of the track.
It’s up to them to race them accordingly.
This is known as racecraft.
Deterioration.
As riders race on the ice, the ice will deteriorate on the track.
This combined with temperature changes means that in certain sections of the track will
race differently to others and vary from race to race.
It’s down to the skaters racecraft to combat this problem.
Deep cuts in the ice is known as rutted ice.
Training.
Ooooh, Connor McDavid would kill everyone at this.
No - he wouldn’t.
Training for this event is completely different to training for ice hockey.
From off ice tracks through forests, to using adapted indoor skate parks, skaters have to
train not just to be fast, but to be balanced through tight turns and be comfortable in
the air.
Ice hockey players and figure skaters aren’t automatic shoe-ins for this event.
These skaters are different animals.
Red Bull Crashed Ice The most famous event is the Red Bull Crashed
Ice Series.
Races will be held at different locations around the world and groups of skaters will
race, tournament style until there are 4 riders left, who contest the final.
The winner receives the trophy, the prize and a set of points.
The higher you finish during this tournament, the more points you receive.
The skater with the most points at the end of the season when all the races have been
completed is the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Champion.
If you have found this video at all helpful, please be sure to like share and subscribe.
It takes me ages to make one of these things and good karma is very much appreciated.
Follow me on Twitter also and share on Reddit, but in the meantime – enjoy Ice Cross Downhill.
Ninh Ly – www.ninh.co.uk - @NinhLyUK