cold
Frosty weather puts the Netherlands into skating fever
Now that the temperatures have dropped below freezing in the Netherlands, skating on natural ice is possible in various regions. photo
© Rob Engelaar/ANP/dpa
Ice skating is a popular sport in the Netherlands. When the weather is frosty, many now take their shoes out of the closet. But does the frost last long enough and is the ice thick enough?
Ice skating fever has set in again in the Netherlands in frosty weather. Across the country, people are hoping that the ice on canals and bodies of water will become thick enough for them to skate in the coming days. It is still unclear whether the frost will be enough for the great ice fun. The national weather report predicts some heavy night frost up to and including the weekend, but after that it should be milder again. Some skating rinks, for example in Winterswijk on the Westphalian border, have already opened.
In other places, such as in Oosterbeek near Arnhem, skating fans were hoping for another frosty night on Tuesday. “Then we can go on the ice on Wednesday morning,” a spokesman for the local ice sports club told NOS. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it will be nice and cold again.” However, the frost will probably not be enough for a round of ice skating on canals or lakes, meteorologists said. Nevertheless, ice skate shops in the Netherlands have already seen a rush. At the hoped-for start of the season, many wanted to have their shoes dragged.
In any case, the Netherlands are properly prepared for the fun of popular sports. After an advertising campaign by the national ice skating association (KNSB), 400 new so-called ice masters were trained, as reported by the broadcaster NOS. Their task is to get the skating rinks of around 450 open-air clubs ready for use and to keep them in good condition. It’s about much more than measuring the thickness of the ice. Some areas are flooded in winter so that an ice rink can be built there. When it snows, the areas have to be cleared and it is also important to guarantee safe ice skating areas on canals and bodies of water.
Weather report KNMI ice master training NOS report