Coming Soon to an Olympics Near You ...
February 3, 2018 10:17 PM Subscribe
Ice cross downhill is the "fastest sport on skates" and basically involves 4 skaters speed skating down a bobsled course, with jumps. (You will not be surprised to learn it's sponsored by Red Bull.) Videos incoming!
2018 Finland full coverage, aired yesterday
Highlights: 2009/2010 - 2012/2013 - 2014/2015 - 2015/2016
Best crashes
St. Paul 2017 full coverage - men's final
Canada 2017 full coverage
3 vs. 3 Team Ice Cross
POV video Helsinki - POV video Quebec - POV video St. Paul
And for some reason a motorcycle?
2018 Finland full coverage, aired yesterday
Highlights: 2009/2010 - 2012/2013 - 2014/2015 - 2015/2016
Best crashes
St. Paul 2017 full coverage - men's final
Canada 2017 full coverage
3 vs. 3 Team Ice Cross
POV video Helsinki - POV video Quebec - POV video St. Paul
And for some reason a motorcycle?
The vertical walls are a little too decisive, once you hit one you are lucky to get back into contention. If they had berms or transitions like a half pipe they could maintain speed better after a kerfuffle.
What's next for Red Bull's sports-invention lab? I just got lost in a tunnel of ice-blade skateboarders and snow kayaking.
posted by rhizome at 11:26 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
What's next for Red Bull's sports-invention lab? I just got lost in a tunnel of ice-blade skateboarders and snow kayaking.
posted by rhizome at 11:26 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Don't get me wrong... I think its cool, but they don't run ski slalom courses at the same time.
No, but they do run ski cross at the same time? I think snowboarders were doing it first though.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:28 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
No, but they do run ski cross at the same time? I think snowboarders were doing it first though.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 11:28 PM on February 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think we've come full circle from years of sports-inspired or just modeled-on video games ... to video-game inspired sports. Just me? Anyway, I can't help but agree this sport is due for a reckoning along the lines of what happened to various champion luge and bobsled athletes, some at Olympic venues.
posted by dhartung at 11:41 PM on February 3, 2018
posted by dhartung at 11:41 PM on February 3, 2018
Who said they wanted safety?
posted by thelonius at 1:12 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 1:12 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
I grew up near Lake Erie in the heart of the lake-effect snowfall region, one of those places jaded by snowfall so 6-10 inches overnight wasn't enough to close the schools but was enough for the kids to wish it was enough, so almost every winter we had an ice rink in our back yard. That involved tromping down the snow and then spraying water over it, repeating after every snowfall for a couple weeks, interspersed with smoothing it using an improvised ice scraper my dad built out of scrap metal and lumber.
One winter we had a rare overnight rain storm that froze on top of the snow. A little bit of ice is a lot more treacherous than a lot of snow, so that was good for widespread cancellations, so it was a good day to spend on the ice rink, and we eventually discovered that the snow all around the rink was rigid enough to bear up the weight of a kid on ice skates. This opened up the woods on the hillside behind our house, and we started doing downhill runs on a winding bike path through the trees. It was exhilarating and in hindsight probably pretty stupid, since if the trees didn't get us, the toothed toes on our figure skates had fantastic instantaneous stopping power on unpredictably irregular surfaces. But mostly exhilarating.
This weirdly compacted downhill ski run thing doesn't look as much fun as the fun we had, but I still get the appeal.
posted by ardgedee at 2:29 AM on February 4, 2018 [11 favorites]
One winter we had a rare overnight rain storm that froze on top of the snow. A little bit of ice is a lot more treacherous than a lot of snow, so that was good for widespread cancellations, so it was a good day to spend on the ice rink, and we eventually discovered that the snow all around the rink was rigid enough to bear up the weight of a kid on ice skates. This opened up the woods on the hillside behind our house, and we started doing downhill runs on a winding bike path through the trees. It was exhilarating and in hindsight probably pretty stupid, since if the trees didn't get us, the toothed toes on our figure skates had fantastic instantaneous stopping power on unpredictably irregular surfaces. But mostly exhilarating.
This weirdly compacted downhill ski run thing doesn't look as much fun as the fun we had, but I still get the appeal.
posted by ardgedee at 2:29 AM on February 4, 2018 [11 favorites]
It seems the redbull team sits around toking and inventing new mash-up sports. They laughed when the really baked guy said the skaters should also carry 2 curling rocks to the bottom for bonus points and maybe toss some biathalon into the mix and give 'em guns.
posted by parki at 4:27 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by parki at 4:27 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
I wish there were a bobsled course near me. I'd love to try that, looks like a lot of fun.
posted by james33 at 4:39 AM on February 4, 2018
posted by james33 at 4:39 AM on February 4, 2018
(They are definitely not skating on a bobsled course.)
posted by ardgedee at 5:14 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ardgedee at 5:14 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
I'm sure it is a blast to compete in, but from a spectator standpoint it lacks the grace and flow of almost every other ice- or snow-based sport, with the exception of cross-country.
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:48 AM on February 4, 2018
posted by grumpybear69 at 5:48 AM on February 4, 2018
I had high hopes for speed skiing when it appeared as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1992 in Albertville, but it didn’t seem to take.
I mean, this seems like a very sporting proposition:
“How fast can you go on those thing?”
“Actually, I not sure. Let’s find out!”
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:12 AM on February 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
I mean, this seems like a very sporting proposition:
“How fast can you go on those thing?”
“Actually, I not sure. Let’s find out!”
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:12 AM on February 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
Not a bobsled track, as noted above - it's its own thing, sorta like a BMX track but with ice and skates instead of dirt and bikes.
I went to Luge Fantasy Camp in Lake Placid last year, and the guys who take care of the track and have the thankless job of driving the lugers back up from the finish to the start points were characters. They said that after-hours, anything you could think of going down the track, they had done. I asked about regular sleds - apparently the innertube type pop (the ice is surprisingly rough! ), and the flying saucers have a tendency to turn and send people down backwards. Their favorite was when they found an old plastic stretcher in a storeroom somewhere and rode it down, or when they tied a sled to a bobsled (Very bad idea w the banked corners). I never asked about ice skates, but I don't think it'd work because of the rough ice and really, really banked corners.
Anyway -- those are the guys Red Bull needs to talk to to come up with some new winter sports ideas.
posted by Fig at 6:55 AM on February 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
I went to Luge Fantasy Camp in Lake Placid last year, and the guys who take care of the track and have the thankless job of driving the lugers back up from the finish to the start points were characters. They said that after-hours, anything you could think of going down the track, they had done. I asked about regular sleds - apparently the innertube type pop (the ice is surprisingly rough! ), and the flying saucers have a tendency to turn and send people down backwards. Their favorite was when they found an old plastic stretcher in a storeroom somewhere and rode it down, or when they tied a sled to a bobsled (Very bad idea w the banked corners). I never asked about ice skates, but I don't think it'd work because of the rough ice and really, really banked corners.
Anyway -- those are the guys Red Bull needs to talk to to come up with some new winter sports ideas.
posted by Fig at 6:55 AM on February 4, 2018 [6 favorites]
> from a spectator standpoint it lacks the grace and flow of almost every other ice- or snow-based sport
But as a spectator you do get to beat on the sidewalls of the track. Which is really sophisticated and not some tribal apeman bullshit at all.
posted by glonous keming at 7:03 AM on February 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
But as a spectator you do get to beat on the sidewalls of the track. Which is really sophisticated and not some tribal apeman bullshit at all.
posted by glonous keming at 7:03 AM on February 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
I broke three bones just reading the article!
...almost every winter we had an ice rink in our back yard. That involved tromping down the snow and then spraying water over it, repeating after every snowfall for a couple weeks, interspersed with smoothing it using an improvised ice scraper my dad built out of scrap metal and lumber.
We didn't go that far, but at one house we had this reeeally long driveway that sloped downhill from the barn to the road. After several snows, thaws, and re-freezings, it would get a thick coating of ice.Our sleds were these rickety old metal runner jobs that had come over on the Ark and barely held together. The ride downhill was a real boneshaker, with the added thrill of having to make a sharp turn at the end to avoid going on the road.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:05 AM on February 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
...almost every winter we had an ice rink in our back yard. That involved tromping down the snow and then spraying water over it, repeating after every snowfall for a couple weeks, interspersed with smoothing it using an improvised ice scraper my dad built out of scrap metal and lumber.
We didn't go that far, but at one house we had this reeeally long driveway that sloped downhill from the barn to the road. After several snows, thaws, and re-freezings, it would get a thick coating of ice.Our sleds were these rickety old metal runner jobs that had come over on the Ark and barely held together. The ride downhill was a real boneshaker, with the added thrill of having to make a sharp turn at the end to avoid going on the road.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:05 AM on February 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
From the best crashes link: it seems like practicing in the off season is a bit of a drag. Those wooden slats can't be better than landing on ice.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:08 AM on February 4, 2018
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:08 AM on February 4, 2018
The one person I tangentially know who does this also plays roller derby and ice hockey, and this seems to be the intersection of the two, except way more dangerous than the sum of the parts.
posted by coppermoss at 7:13 AM on February 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by coppermoss at 7:13 AM on February 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
That's....fuckin' nuts.
posted by notsnot at 7:29 AM on February 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by notsnot at 7:29 AM on February 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yesterday, we were showing our granddaughter (5 yo- just started skating) videos of Olympic skaters. Men's, Women's, Pairs, and Ice Dancing.
Later my wife said 'we forgot speed skating', and I jokingly said something about downhill skating.
Imagine my surprise that there is such a thing.
(No surprise that it's Red Bull behind it, though.)
posted by MtDewd at 7:31 AM on February 4, 2018
Later my wife said 'we forgot speed skating', and I jokingly said something about downhill skating.
Imagine my surprise that there is such a thing.
(No surprise that it's Red Bull behind it, though.)
posted by MtDewd at 7:31 AM on February 4, 2018
Sooooo... It's like downhill inline skating, but with fewer consequences, and with clumsy participants...
posted by straw at 7:32 AM on February 4, 2018
posted by straw at 7:32 AM on February 4, 2018
The SI article title is "The story behind Red Bull's speed skating, MMA-infused downhill race".
What the hell does MMA have anything to do with this sport? No mention of anything MMA related in the article, and the rules specifically prohibit any contact between opponents that would result in hindrance.
posted by spacediver at 8:42 AM on February 4, 2018
What the hell does MMA have anything to do with this sport? No mention of anything MMA related in the article, and the rules specifically prohibit any contact between opponents that would result in hindrance.
posted by spacediver at 8:42 AM on February 4, 2018
What the hell does MMA have anything to do with this sport?
I dunno, maybe it's that they both feature high potential for extreme bodily injury to participants?
That and enthusiasts of both sports need to not mind (or even enjoy!) watching people get badly fucked up, and participants have to not mind causing such carnage.
E.g. anyone who does this icey death race has to sort of acknowledge that they may cut off somone's finger, or have theirs cut off. So likening it to another bloody violent sport doesn't seem like much of a stretch.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:57 AM on February 4, 2018
I dunno, maybe it's that they both feature high potential for extreme bodily injury to participants?
That and enthusiasts of both sports need to not mind (or even enjoy!) watching people get badly fucked up, and participants have to not mind causing such carnage.
E.g. anyone who does this icey death race has to sort of acknowledge that they may cut off somone's finger, or have theirs cut off. So likening it to another bloody violent sport doesn't seem like much of a stretch.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:57 AM on February 4, 2018
thanks, that makes a bit of sense, though the title is quite misleading.
posted by spacediver at 9:03 AM on February 4, 2018
posted by spacediver at 9:03 AM on February 4, 2018
Warning, 2016 highlight reel features unbearable techno remix of Eminem's Lose Yourself
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:04 AM on February 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:04 AM on February 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
Some mother****ers are always trying to ice-skate uphill downhill.
posted by allegedly at 9:19 AM on February 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by allegedly at 9:19 AM on February 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
What the hell does MMA have anything to do with this sport?
I think one answer to this is that, like MMA, it's currently drawing its competitors from a variety of related but disparate sports and disciplines. It seems that part of the fun, like in MMA, is to see the competitors working out how to apply their existing skills to the new context, and follow the development of approaches that combine and refine a variety of those skills.
posted by howfar at 9:20 AM on February 4, 2018
I think one answer to this is that, like MMA, it's currently drawing its competitors from a variety of related but disparate sports and disciplines. It seems that part of the fun, like in MMA, is to see the competitors working out how to apply their existing skills to the new context, and follow the development of approaches that combine and refine a variety of those skills.
posted by howfar at 9:20 AM on February 4, 2018
MMA but the fighters get knives attached to their feet and everyone get pushed off an icy hill.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:45 AM on February 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 10:45 AM on February 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
The vertical walls are a little too decisive, once you hit one you are lucky to get back into contention. If they had berms or transitions like a half pipe they could maintain speed better after a kerfuffle.
If they had transitions like a half pipe those skaters would end up in the next county. The walls keep them contained.
posted by fshgrl at 10:55 AM on February 4, 2018
If they had transitions like a half pipe those skaters would end up in the next county. The walls keep them contained.
posted by fshgrl at 10:55 AM on February 4, 2018
I was cool with that right up until the metal gates standing across the path. I mean, bumps, turns, and berms are one thing, but that seems like an intentional attempt to get someone fucked up. Why don't we just have non-player opponents out there with bats, American Gladiator style?
posted by ctmf at 11:23 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ctmf at 11:23 AM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
I watched a lot of the St. Paul coverage linked above, and I came away with mixed feelings. The announcer was actually rooting for a hockey-style gloves off fight, which, fine, but not in the Olympics please. I think I'd like it a lot better if it were a lot longer and less compressed; as a couple other posters noted, it really seems like a sport deliberately engineered for creating conflict between the players, while at the same time making that conflict at least nominally against the rules (there was a DQ in the St. Paul race that led to the fight). Maybe I'm being a Polyanna, but it just doesn't feel like it's got that Olympic spirit.
posted by dbx at 1:07 PM on February 4, 2018
posted by dbx at 1:07 PM on February 4, 2018
I was in Quebec City the same time the 2013 finals were on. The course is crazy steep but carefully designed so that every pinch point has a great camera angle. It's not much of a sport: whoever gets the best start, unless they fuck up, will win 'cos they don't have to fight with everyone else. I think it needs an additional element of skill: how about if they have to carry a pistol and shoot moving targets too?
Like all Red Bull “sports”, it's fucking loud. We were way up in the rafters of the Château Frontenac and it was still annoying.
posted by scruss at 1:47 PM on February 4, 2018
Like all Red Bull “sports”, it's fucking loud. We were way up in the rafters of the Château Frontenac and it was still annoying.
posted by scruss at 1:47 PM on February 4, 2018
I want bobsleigh cross.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 2:01 PM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by WaterAndPixels at 2:01 PM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
When I was 13 my dad brought home a large plexiglass jet canopy, he picked up at salvage. We were in Germany in a military housing area on a long hill. We could put a half a dozen kids in that and with Weldon on back like a musher, we could run the whole housing area. It was major fun for a good long winter 'til we took it out on a building.
posted by Oyéah at 7:07 PM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 7:07 PM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
They said that after-hours, anything you could think of going down the track, they had done.
From my blade-skateboarding travels, the thing that amazes me the most about bobsled runs is how insanely high the cars get on the walls.
posted by rhizome at 7:20 PM on February 4, 2018
From my blade-skateboarding travels, the thing that amazes me the most about bobsled runs is how insanely high the cars get on the walls.
posted by rhizome at 7:20 PM on February 4, 2018
It seems a little too Action Park for the Olympics
Right now it's more "three out of four participants survive"
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:29 PM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Right now it's more "three out of four participants survive"
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 8:29 PM on February 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mom and her brothers used to sled with all kinds of junk. Mom's favorite was a washing machine lid, and sometimes they'd all pile on to an upside-down car hood.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:25 PM on February 4, 2018
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:25 PM on February 4, 2018
It’s always impressed me that the Mayor of St. Paul traditionally takes a trip down the course.
posted by lakeroon at 6:40 AM on February 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by lakeroon at 6:40 AM on February 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Pretty sure I'd turn both ulnas into gravel within about four seconds, but man those courses look fun.
posted by lucidium at 8:51 AM on February 5, 2018
posted by lucidium at 8:51 AM on February 5, 2018
it's fun and all but it's mostly just bedlam, without much of the sport aspect.
Also like bobsled, much better to watch on TV than in person.
posted by Theta States at 10:07 AM on February 5, 2018
Also like bobsled, much better to watch on TV than in person.
posted by Theta States at 10:07 AM on February 5, 2018
So there are downhill ice-skates (For use on ski-hills): https://www.snowfeetstore.com/ video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o3vZcLvZiE
(My hockey friends are interested in these)
posted by k5.user at 11:39 AM on February 5, 2018
(My hockey friends are interested in these)
posted by k5.user at 11:39 AM on February 5, 2018
The St. Paul Crashed Ice course starts on the steps of the Cathedral of St. Paul and continues down Summit Hill to downtown. It's amazing.
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:44 PM on February 5, 2018
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:44 PM on February 5, 2018
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I wonder how many of these are ex hockey players...
Also, I'm terrified by the PoV camera angle to see the thin plastic wall that separates these guys careening down a man-made slope at top speed that turns... these guys are waiting to get thrown over a railing in a wide world of sports 'agony of defeat' spot.
posted by Nanukthedog at 11:07 PM on February 3, 2018