Ottawa park's 'crashed ice' course a smash with young daredevils

If you build it, they will come — even if it means a few bumps and bruises.

Rink attendant Allan Hawley has created a winding ice slide on a hill between the two rinks he maintains at Westcliffe Park in Bells Corners.

He calls it his "crashed ice" track, and it's been attracting dozens of young adrenalin junkies ever since he built it more than a week ago.

The slide connects the two rinks to the community centre, where skaters lace up.

Nine-year-old Stavros Constantinou took a few spills, but said he loves to skate what he calls "the downhill."

"You can get more speed ... and then on the rink you're just straight. You can't get enough speed, so that's why I like the downhill more," he said.

A few bumps and bruises

"Crashed ice," or "ice cross downhill," is an extreme sport sponsored by Red Bull. The energy drink company is holding the 2017 world series championship in Ottawa in early March at the locks next to Parliament Hill.

The slide at Westcliffe Park is a much tamer version of the Red Bull track, on a gentler slope. But it, too, is attracting thrill seekers who prefer their skating on the edge.

"It's quite treacherous right now," Hawley admitted, "but the kids are having a blast."

Some children wear helmets on the 150-metre track, while others get by with just their tuques for protection.

Hawley said there have been a few bumps and bruises and the occasional scraped knee, but nothing more serious than that.

Hawley, who's paid by the city to maintain the rinks, said most adults seem to be avoiding the track, opting for the stairs instead.

According to an email sent on behalf of Dan Chenier, the general manager in charge of parks, city staff "are currently evaluating the situation" and plan to send someone to check out the ice slide Thursday afternoon.

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