DANIEL GUOLLA
Rideau Canal, Feb. 16, 2017
“The sport is called ice cross downhill, and Red Bull Crashed Ice is the sponsored event that is the world championship. Red Bull invented the sport, back in 2001 in Stockholm. For the first nine years it was a one-off event — a big promotion thing — and then it got more popular and people started watching it and paying attention, and we got better at it, too, and it became more competitive.
“Originally it was pretty much just hockey players; guys who played men’s league, guys who played junior. Good skaters, good athletes, but it was just something to do. There were flat-ice tryouts and you just showed up and it was a fun weekend. But now, every guy who is out here is a fantastic skater.
“What changed after 2010, when it started taking off, Red Bull made a circuit, a world championship, to get it out there more. Then guys got a lot better. What we’re going to see in Ottawa are guys who are specifically trained for this sport. Pretty well everyone played pretty good hockey at some point, but everyone also has experience doing something else — something downhill, something with speed, something in the air. Downhill skiing, mountain biking, wakeboarding.
“So there’s been a world champion every year since 2010. There’s been a different world champion every year. No one has won it twice. I think that speaks to how much better everyone’s gotten at it. And it’s turned from
weekend warriors to guys who are there to win and not just party and have a fun weekend on Red Bull.
“So the world championship is a point system, with eight or nine races throughout the season. Four big ones like we have here in Ottawa, and the rest are kind of B-meets. This Ottawa one is the last one, and on Saturday night there’ll be 64 competitors.
“I think they’ve done it nine or 10 times in Quebec City, and I’ve gone five times. I was in France and Finland earlier this year to compete. I’ve travelled to a whole bunch of different countries and cities in Europe, competing with this.
“Because of the points system, if I hadn’t gone to Finland and France and done well, I wouldn’t be here for this one. But I can’t win the world championship. Right now I’m about 20thranked. I dislocated my shoulder in Finland and didn’t get to race in Minnesota. This year I only did three races. Last year I did nine.
“I first saw (ice cross downhill) about 10 years ago, when I was 16. I saw it on TV, when it was in Quebec City and still just one of those one-off races. It looked awesome and I said, ‘I want to do that.’ At the time I was into hockey and downhill skiing. And soccer and track and field in the summer. But this seemed the perfect blend of hockey and downhill skiing. So I said, ‘I’m doing it.’
“Then I found out you have to be 18, so I had to wait about a year and a half. My birthday is Nov. 28, and the tryouts that year were Dec. 5, so I just snuck in there. There was a flat-ice tryout at Dulude Arena. There were about 250 guys there, and the top 10 qualified. I finished seventh or eighth.
“The first race wasn’t until January, in Quebec City, and I was awful. I was really fast on the flat ice, but going down that hill is a whole different animal. I crashed and pulled my groin and fell about 15 feet flat on my hip, and couldn’t skate for a couple of weeks. I did horribly and I got hurt, and it was all I wanted to do the next year. My parents were there. My mom was freaking out. But I think when they saw it all together and saw how much I loved it, they’ve supported me since, immensely.
“When you’re in the start gate, ready to go, it’s just complete focus. All I’m thinking about is, ‘just get to the bottom.’ It’s so fast, and if you hesitate for a second, you’re not going to win.
“I built a course a couple of years ago at my girlfriend’s cottage, to practise. I built all kinds of jumps out of wood.
But it’s fun. And I’m good at it. I love that it’s competitive. I played junior hockey until I was 21, and then that was it for competitive hockey. I still play men’s league and enjoy it, but it’s not that same competition level. That’s what I really like about this: I can compete against guys who are the best. Plus in the last three winters, I’ve spent weeks at a time over in Europe, travelling, racing and meeting new people.
“No one is doing this for the money. They’re all guys in their 20s who are taking the opportunity to travel and compete and have a lot of fun.”