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St. Cloud State University
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Diversions
'Crashed Course' tests speed, agility
By Adam Johnson
Published:
Thursday, February 6, 2003
Winter sports fans need not rely on the National Hockey Center for entertainment this weekend. Even if you crave nothing more than the thrill of seeing a pair of skates knifing across a rink, shedding streaks of powder in their wake, satisfaction is still within your grasp.
This Saturday, SCSU students are invited to witness and participate in "Crashed Course," a speed skating competition that will take place at the Lake George skating rink.
The event, sponsored by Red Bull, is open to all college students with the desire and the talent to skate competitively against others their age.
The competition will consist of a challenging obstacle course, through which skaters must navigate as quickly as possible.
All interested skaters are welcome to show up at the competition Saturday morning, where they can register for the free event between 8:00a.m. and 10:30a.m. Skaters will then be briefed on the specifics of the race and allowed to practice until the actual start time of 1:00 p.m.
Kristi Michelson, media liaison for Red Bull, was bursting with excitement regarding the upcoming event.
"This is the very first time we've put on (this type of race) as a college event, so this is pretty cool," Michelson said.
This event is only the preliminary round for the larger "Red Bull Crashed Ice" competition. The two fastest skaters this weekend will face off at the end of the day in a series of final heats. The lone winner in the rivalry will go on to compete in "Crashed Ice," which will be held at Spirit Mountain, Duluth.
Crashed Ice is a downhill speed skating event that began in Stockholm, Sweden in 2000. In 2001, the competition was held in Klagenfurt, Austria, and this year it is debuting in the United States.
The winner of the local "Crashed Course" competition will be directly facing off against college-age winners from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, University of Minnesota Duluth and Mankato State University, as well as 100 other speed skaters from around the country. The 100 skaters have already been selected and are made up of skilled amateurs looking for their share of the $5,000 purse.
The first place winner of the competition will receive $2,000, a pair of custom-made skates and an all-expense paid trip to the NHL game of his/her choice. Lesser cash prizes will be awarded to several runners-up.
Even if St. Cloud's representative doesn't end up winning, there may still be more to gain from the event than just the privilege of competing.
The event features a brief shot at fame for any of the participating skaters, as "Crashed Ice" will be the subject of a television series entitled "Re: Evolution of Sports," which should air on cable later this year.
Construction at Spirit Mountain is currently underway for the intense Crashed Ice downhill ice course, built by the same course designers that worked on the X- Games.
Matthew Brooks, one of the orchestraters of the event, described the course as "an intricate...course, featuring whoops, bermed turns and narrow chutes."
Promoters are hoping this event will eventually draw the kind of attention the X-Games have enjoyed in the past few years. In the meantime, the event just might turn out to be Minnesota's best-kept secret.
"There will be some great bands, great food and great competition," Michelson said. "Anyone can make a weekend of it."
More information can be found at www.redbullcrashedice.com
