32 Local Competitors at Red Bull Crashed Ice Qualifiers in Qatar DOHA, 8 FEBRUARY 2010 A new fast paced sport; Red Bull’s adrenaline-filled Crashed Ice is becoming increasingly popular in the global sporting community. Combining ice-skating, hockey and boarder cross, Crashed Ice is an exciting hybrid offering non-stop action and palpable tension as the contenders speed across the icy obstacle course to the finish line. On Feb 12, 2010 at 6.30pm, Qatar will become the first Arab country in the history of the sport to take part in this enthralling event, holding a qualifier round at the Villaggio Mall in Doha. Thirty-two local participants, to include local speed skaters and members of the Qatar International Ice Hockey League, will race down the Gondolania Ice Arena in Villaggio Mall, jumping and jostling while skating at speeds of up to 50 km/hour. Their goal is to become the local Crashed Ice Champion and represent Qatar at the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Finals. A special race track will be built one day ahead of the event with synthetic ice being brought in especially to construct a ramp over a Silverado Chevrolet truck which will be one of the many obstacles the competitors will be facing in the Gondolania Ice Arena. The course will consist of jumps, ramps, a slalom course and belly slides, where challengers will be competing for their chance to qualify. To determine the champion, back-to-back heats will take place, with two skaters at a time racing in knockout rounds to narrow the field down from the 32 participants to the final two. This Friday’s winner of Red Bull Crashed Ice in Qatar will have the chance to compete with 63 other participants from around the globe in Quebec City, Canada, where the World Finals will take place on 20 March 2010. Red Bull Crashed Ice made its debut in January 2000 in Stockholm, and has since been held in many countries around the world. Today, the sport -- which is a symbiosis of ice-skating, ice hockey and boarder cross -- has turned into a huge phenomenon thanks to its high-speed action, head-to-head battles and spectacular settings; including locations such as Moscow, Prague, Lausanne and Quebec.

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