At 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 24, racers from around the world will line up at the Cathedral of St. Paul to participate in “Red Bull Crashed Ice.”

According to Joe Spencer, the director of arts and culture for the city of St. Paul, Crashed Ice is an extreme sports event where athletes wear ice skates and race through a downhill refrigerated ice track.

Spencer said although this is the fifth year of the event, the starting position has changed from years past, integrating the cathedral and a block party into the experience.

“This year, the opening slope of the track comes right off of the cathedral which is a bit of a change and I think really exciting,” Spencer said. “We are closing down portions of West Seventh to be kind of a block party environment for during and after the event.”

According to Spencer, there are only a few crashed ice events around the world, allowing Minnesota to take pride in its winters.

“I think having one of only a few crashed ice events around the world, in the city of St. Paul is a great opportunity for us to show the world how much fun we can have in our wonderful winters,” Spencer said.

Despite the frigid temperatures hitting Minnesota lately, Spencer said they make it better for the course to take shape.

“The cold weather makes the construction easier,” Spencer said. “It minimizes the damage that is done to the ground underneath. The snow kind of protects the grass and the turf from any damage.”

Sophomore Mira Swartz said she watches the event every year because it is something out of the ordinary.

“I go or watch it every year. It’s so cool because it’s not something you see everyday,” Swartz said. “My favorite part is seeing people around the world come just for this event and then feeling the rush when the skaters go by you really quickly.”

Spencer said he believes everyone should try to make it out to crashed ice.

“The sporting event is fun to watch, but what’s more exciting is just to be a part of such a big gathering of people,” Spencer said. “Everybody gets excited, everybody comes out to celebrate winter and it’s a chance for people, especially young people, to come out and just enjoy each other’s company.”

Any of the structured parking in downtown St. Paul are a short walk away from the event, while there are also parking lots around the State Capitol campus. There are specific buses that go to the event and information can be found at http://www.stpaul.gov/crashedice.