Press release -
SkiStar Åre: Åre gearing up to winter’s coolest sport event
International attention as the World Championship event Ice Cross Downhill makes a stop in Sweden
The sport ice cross downhill and the World Championship series Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship invite the world’s best skaters to battle downhill an awe-inspiring ice course with skates on their feet.
On 16-18 February, the third of the four events which constitute the World Championship will be held in Swedish ski resort Åre, making this one of the winter’s greatest sport events estimated to attract large crowds of spectators. At the moment, the 420 metres long ice course is being finalized; a course that snakes down the hill before finishing right in the middle of Åre Square.
The competition format for ice cross downhill has been picked from ski and boarder cross. The athletes compete in heats of four on steep icy courses with jumps, rollers and turns where they reach speeds up towards 70 km p. h.
The relatively young sport has yet to gain public recognition in Sweden but the event in Åre has already drawn substantial international attention. The event will be broadcast to some 30 countries and the international media on site to cover the event include American NBC, Finnish YLE, German Sport1 and French MCS. In Sweden the entire season is running on SVT Play, also on the spot to provide live broadcast from Åre.
- Red Bull Crashed Ice is an international winter sport event which will further strengthen Åre’s brand in the international marketplace, says Anna Wersén, Sales & Marketing Director SkiStar Åre.
Before the Åre event, athletes from 24 countries have made it through the national qualification rounds, among them 60 Swedes from all over the nation. The leading countries in the world championship include Finland, Germany, Switzerland, and Canada. The ruling World Champion is Arttu Pihlainen from Finland. This year’s World Championship leader so far is Canadian Kyle Croxall after two events.
Special designed course with man-made ice
A staff of some 500 persons are engaged with the Åre event. For each of the events an artificially frozen, sloping ice course is construed with features such as sideboards and jumps, which take more than one month to put in place. In Åre the start is located on the ridge between the Stjärnbacken piste and the Bergbanan funicular above the small town centre. The upper section was finalized earlier and at the moment work is under way on the section running through the central parts of Åre and on the finish in the middle of Åre Square.
Major spectator event with free admission
Red Bull Crashed Ice in Åre invites spectators free of charge to a sport event covering three days of competitions, on 16-18 February. The event starts with the Nordic qualification heats on Thursday followed by international qualifications and elimination heats on Friday. Saturday evening, 18 February at 18.00 hours CET will see the start of the finals in which the 64 best ice cross downhill athletes in the world will battle for the victory and the world championship points.
– Our aim is to turn the Åre event into a festival. Åre town offers a unique atmosphere and I am convinced that we have designed an arena that will give the spectators an unforgettable experience, says Bruno Laroque, project leader for Red Bull Crashed Ice in Sweden.
The event will conclude with a major party at the Holiday Club and TV4 Sport Arena, where Dutch world-class DJ Laidback Luke will set the pace. With his top 20 scoring on the DJ-MAGS list comprising the world’s 100 best DJs, Laidback Luke has a long row of hits in his portfolio, including ‘Sexy F**k’, ‘Get Dumb’, ‘Show me Love’ and ‘Leave the world behind’ in partnership with Swedish House Mafia.
Tickets to the party are available through Ticnet at a cost of 250 SEK, http://www.ticnet.se/event/Red-Bull-Crashed-Ice-AFTERPARTY-biljetter/SA30218
Event schedule Red Bull Crashed Ice Åre 2012
Thursday :
10.00 - 13.00: Training
13.30 - 15.00: Nordic shoot out (Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark).
Friday:
09.30 - 12.30: Training.
12.45 - 14.30: International shoot out (rest of the world).
19.00 - 20.30: Elimination: The 128 best athletes from the shoot outs (the 64 fastest from each) battle in elimination rounds for places in Saturday’s finals.
Saturday:
11.00 - 12.00: Training.
18.00 - 20.00: FINAL COMPETITION (main competition featuring the 64 best athletes).
20.00 – 21.00: Concert at Åre Square featuring Millencollin and Heaven’s basement.
21.00 - 02.00: ”Red Bull Crashed Ice After Party” in TV4 Sport Arena with Dutch world-class DJ Laidback Luke.
NB! We reserve the right to changes
Photos, videos and updated information about the racing season available at:
www.redbullcrashedicenewsroom.com
Photo information: Swedish Andreas Kristof (rightmost) did a good job in the season premiere. Photo: Jörg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Media contacts:
Jesper Antell, Red Bull Sverige
Mob: +46 (0) 733-46 71 00, e-mail: jesper.antell@se.redbull.com
Angelica Larsson, Cohn & Wolfe
Mob: +46 (0) 705-80 39 31, e-mail: angelica.larsson@cohnwolfe.com
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About Åre:
Åre is the alpine capital of Scandinavia with an international atmosphere. The trains stop right in the middle of town and there are two international airports within just over one hour’s drive. In 2007, Åre hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships which tells something of the standard of the pistes. Besides skiing, there are many restaurants for culinary sensations, a wide offering of activities and an amazing selection of shops for the size of this town. Åre is a first-rate winter tourism destination with about one million skier days. The distribution among SkiStar Åre’s guests is 71% Swedish and 29% international guests.
About SkiStar:
The SkiStar AB (publ) B shares are listed on the Nasdaq OMX Mid Cap Stockholm; the group owns and operates the ski resorts at the alpine skiing destinations Sälen, Åre and Vemdalen in Sweden together with Hemsedal and Trysil in Norway. The market share in Sweden amounts to 48%, in Norway 29% and overall in Scandinavia 39%. The group’s core business is alpine skiing with the guests’ experience in focus. The list of other activities includes accommodation agency, ski schools and ski rentals.
