Wok Racing in Innsbruck

Tobogganing in a Chinese wok can safely be described as one of the most daring winter sports experiences. While “wok racing” could not even claim the status of a fringe sport until just a few years ago, the winter sport was made acceptable to the mainstream virtually overnight thanks to TV presenter Stefan Raab and his so-called Wok World Championship. What the TV show reserves for B- and C-list celebrities is now also available to ordinary people at the bobsleigh track in Igls near Innsbruck, thanks to the Austrian company Knauseder Event Concept.

Whether alone or in a group of four, you hurtle through the Olympic ice track on the outskirts of Innsbruck at speeds of almost 100 km/h. Wok racers are kept safe with a full set of ice hockey gear, including a helmet, to prevent scrapes, bruises or worse in the event of a fall. The business idea is particularly popular with tourists spending their winter holidays in Bavaria or Austria, who are not too far from Innsbruck.

Knauseder Event Concept has a very special highlight in store at the bobsleigh track in Innsbruck for groups of 20 or more. Groups of this size can compete against one another in a private wok-racing contest every day between 6 and 8 p.m. Teams set off one after another in four-person woks, with their times used to determine the winning wok, which is then duly celebrated. On February 21, 2009 (Saturday), a special wok competition for individual participants will be held at the bobsleigh track in Innsbruck.