Picture this: take 64 of the toughest hockey players in the world, put them on a bobsled track on skates and watch as they descend battling bumps, jumps, obstacles and each other at speeds of 70 kilometres per hour in a race to the finish line.
This is precisely the scenario two Williams Lake residents will find themselves in on March 19 in Quebec City when they compete at the Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship Finale.
Trevor Mack, an 18-year-old Columneetza secondary graduate, and Lucas Gray — a returning competitor from last year’s world championships — earned berths in the Quebec City event after qualifying Jan. 29 at the University of British Columbia’s Thunderbird Arena in Vancouver.
Both finished among the top 10 qualifiers, beating out a field of some 250 competitors from around B.C. to reach the world championships.
Mack finished seventh with a time of 13.19 seconds, while Gray finished one spot behind in eighth with a time of 13.41 seconds.
“We had to do an obstacle course to qualify,” Mack said.
“We had to skate as fast as we could, jump down on our bellies, get back up, jump over obstacles, do a turn, skate forward, do a 360 spin, then skate to the finish.”
Asked how he would prepare for the event, Mack said there really is no feasible way to replicate the conditions racers will experience.
“It’s pretty much watching YouTube videos and just training on regular ice,” he said.
“Training jumps, training falling down and training getting back up. It’s going to be hard to duplicate.”
Mack, who honed his skills through the ranks of Williams Lake Minor Hockey Association, said he’s thrilled to be attending the event. “I’m excited to advance and compete on the official downhill skating track in Quebec City,” he said. “There will be hundreds of other athletes and thousands of spectators.”
At last year’s world championship Gray placed 17th overall, and will be looking to improve his position at this year’s event.
The event is held in a classic knockout format with heats consisting of four racers each. The top two from each race advance to the next round until the original 64 competitors are whittled down and the final four are standing.
