Update: Some 28,000 people attended the 2017 Red Bull Crashed Ice world championship

An epic 2016/17 Ice Cross Downhill season ended with an epic final night of racing in freezing cold Ottawa.

Shocks, crashes, drama and plenty of tight finishes made this a climax to remember as Cameron Naasz and Jacqueline Legere once again came out on top to retain their titles.

With the event over and the winners crowned, the attention now turns to dismantling the death-defying course. It will take crews about two days to melt the ice and an estimated two weeks to completely tear down the track. Roughly one hundred crews will be working over the next couple days to return the area to its status quo. 

10 000+ Man Hours...123,500lbs of steel, 1400 sheets of plywood

What does it take to build a 375m ice track on the historic Ottawa Locks of Parks Canada’s Rideau Canal?

View the construction video of Crashed Ice 2017 final

FAST FACTS

• Length: 375m
• Width: 4m
• Vertical drop: 35m
• Ice surface: Artificial, 1500 m2
• Ice Thickness: 12cm

ICE PRODUCTION

• 4 high performance refrigeration units called “chillers”
• 36,000 litres of salt-water brine (coolant) will be piped through the refrigeration system and then through the refrigerated rubber mats that stretch the length of the 460m track
• A team of 20 ice makers will spray water in a fine mist onto the refrigerated mats 24 hours a day for 6 days to create the competition ice surface
• A hot water pressure washing system will be used to flush the track in the same manner as a Zamboni would for a hockey rink ice surface
• An organic crystallizing agent will create ice that’s five times denser than that of an NHL rink
• The cooling system is able to produce ice even in warmer temperatures reaching up to 20 degrees
• Immediately following the competition, two 400KW electric boilers are used to heat the brine and circulate it through the mats to melt the ice

Photo Credit: Patrick Haag

 TRACK CONSTRUCTION

• Over 80% of the track will be built on top of scaffolding structures
• The track features over 600,000lbs of scaffolding + 123,500lbs of I-beams
• Over 500 Plexiglas? sheets
• 800 specially designed steel supports legs to keep the sideboards upright
• 100 4 x 4s mounted to custom steel legs help keep the dasher boards in place and provide stability in high impact zones
• 1400 Plywood sheets cover the track flooring
• 4 Forklift trucks are in operation over 8 hours per day for 4 weeks
• Over 10,000 hours of labour are required just for the construction of the track structures and the ice

Photo Credit: Patrick Haag

IMAGES AND SOUND LIVE BROADCAST

• Three giant screens using LED technology are installed at various points along the course
• The entire site will receive sound coverage by a cutting-edge sound system

TELEVISION PRODUCTION

• 16 HD cameras including 2 cable-cam systems
• Several POV cameras and microphones placed into the track
• Two HD production trailers units on the cutting edge of technology
• A wireless microwave retransmission system
• A fibre optic network to broadcast on site live video screens
• Another 90 technicians working specifically on the TV production
• Over 360 Moving head projectors such as Vari*Lite 3500 & Chauvet Legend, 300 LED fixtures, 500 stage projectors that illuminate the architectural environment & the crowd along the track
• Eight hundred 500W quartz fixtures hung on the sideboards for the track lighting

Photo Credit: Patrick Haag

WORKFORCE 

Over 150 people from all around the world (Canada, New Zealand, USA, Austria, Germany and more) will work around the clock to set up the track and audiovisual component for the event. In no particular order, the crew required for the construction of a Red Bull Crashed Ice includes:

• Carpenters
• Refrigeration technicians
• Warehouse staff
• Heavy equipment operators
• Tractor-trailer drivers
• Electricians
• Electrical mechanics
• Crane operators
• Fork lift operators
• Scaffold erectors
• Traffic controllers
• Security officers
• Civil engineers
• Audio technicians
• Lighting technicians
• Network specialists
• Technician Riggers
• Welders
• Logistical specialists
• Technicians riggers
• Camera operators
• Audio engineer
• Video technicians
• TV Technicians stewards