Standing at the top of the hill, he looks down to see 10,000 people watching, waiting for him to make the first move. Dexter High School senior and varsity hockey player Brian Zhou had the experience of a lifetime. Zhou was able to compete in a world wide tournament for Ice Cross.

Ice Cross is a relatively new sport that started about 10 years ago. It consists of people dressing up in hockey gear and speed skating down a hill and through a course of sharp turns and jumps. Red Bull held an Ice Cross event, Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship, in Munich, Germany in January. This competition involved athletes from 20 nations competing to win the title.

One night after a hockey game at Ann Arbor Ice Cube, Zhou and his teammates saw the registration booth, and, at first, Zhou wasn't too excited about the idea of signing up.
“I didn't really want to do it but everyone wanted me to. I really only did it for fun,” Brian said.

Li Zhou, Brian's mother, said Brian was forced by his friends to sign up.

“His alumni teammate that graduated last year, Michael Clutterbuck, literally picked him and dragged him to the register and both of them signed up,” Li said. 

Though it was his first time participating in this sport, Zhou placed third in the race and qualified to go to Munich, Germany to compete against some of the best hockey players in the world.

“Only three people in the U.S were picked to go to Germany,” Zhou said.

Zhou's parents were shocked to hear that their son was able to go to Germany and compete in a world tournament.

“I thought it was a scam,” Li said.

Once Zhou arrived in Munich he received top treatment by staying in a five star hotel room, a paid plane ticket and many free things to take home from the experience. 

While Zhou was in Munich, he went through practices and the qualifications to compete in the tournament. 

“During the practice run, I saw six guys get injured,” Zhou said. “ One guy broke his ankle.”

Zhou said Ice Cross is a dangerous sport but full of exuberance. The first time I went, when I was at the top of the hill I felt like I was suffocating, Zhou said. “I was so nervous. I've never felt like that before.”

Li felt the same nervous feeling as Brian at qualifications. 

“It was nerve-racking the whole time he was on the ice,” Li said. “Especially when one of the athletes was taken to the hospital with a broken ankle. Several ambulances were at the rink during both the practice competition.”

After the qualifications, the top 64 competitors went on to compete to win.

“I came in 65th place,” Zhou said. “I was .02 seconds behind the person in front of me.”

After  Zhou's disappointing loss, Li did what any mother would and made sure her son knew she was proud of him.

“He did so well,” Li said. “He was one of the youngest. I believe he was the second youngest among over 100 or so competitors. He was the first runner up among all the competitors, beating some pro hockey players.”

Though Brian didn't make the competition, he was still grateful to have been able to participate and plans to be involved in it in the future as much as he can. 

“Being there was definitely worth it,” Brian said. “I couldn't imagine anything like it.

The Squall is the student newspaper at Dexter High School.