Ice masters are already called at the first forecasts of freezing temperatures. Whether they can say something about the opportunity to skate. But ice mastery is much more than that. NU.nl spoke to three ice masters about their work.
No ice master without an enormous love for skating. “For me, skating gave me an enormously blissful feeling,” says Sytse Kroes, ice master for the Frisian Ice Association. “I could often go on the ice in my youth. That’s how I discovered Friesland while skating.” During those exploration trips with friends, he learned to safely recognize ice.
Ice master Dirk de Groot also enjoys skating on natural ice. He can talk about it for hours. “It’s pure passion. You skate in your youth and then you remain interested. That’s how it grows.” De Groot soon became ice master of the Baambrugge ice club.
Sytse Kroes
Age: 53
Ever fell through the ice? “Just once. Luckily I had dry clothes, a floating backpack and friends with me. So it wasn’t too bad.”
Favorite ice cream: “Magical, black ice. That’s smooth and strong.”
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Frisian ice master Sytse Kroes warns about snow ice: ‘It is not strong’
Repair wobbles and cracks
Ice masters and their skating club ensure that you can skate when it is freezing. But when the ice is there, the work is not over. “Any holes or cracks that have arisen must also be repaired,” says ice master Pauline van der Zant (because yes, for a woman the position is also simply called ice master). You are constantly working on it.
Even in the summer the work does not stop. A little ice master does everything he can to get the ice better than last winter. “You keep an eye on the new techniques all year round,” notes De Groot.
According to De Groot, the first mopping system in the Netherlands was developed at his club. A wet carpet was pulled over the ice. “That created a very thin layer of water on the ice that quickly froze.” The construction drawings were sold for five guilders to other ice clubs. The club sold about thirty.
Dirk de Groot
Age: 71
Ever fell through the ice? Yes, that was a “traumatic, but educational experience.”
Favorite memory? When someone came up with a new mist system. “The fact that you can make such ice cream so easily is magnificent.”
Dirk de Groot on the land ice rink in 2021. Photo: Dirk de Groot
Safety first
But “we are not just ice cream makers,” Van der Zant continues. “We also monitor safety.” Ice masters cordon off holes and weak spots to prevent people from falling through the ice. Kroes notices that more attention is being paid to this. “People are increasingly paying attention to their responsibility and safety.”
Yet he is sometimes annoyed by others. “When the ice is on the edge of being skateable, they already go on it. Even if the KNSB (the Royal Dutch Ice Skating Association, ed.) says that it is not yet possible.” Without proper precautions this can be quite dangerous.
“They do that much more safely in Sweden,” he says. Then people always skate in a group and wearing a floating backpack. If they do fall into the water, they put on dry clothes and there is little to worry about. “I always do it that way.”
Fewer and fewer skating moments
De Groot notices that more and more knowledge is being lost, making skating on natural ice less safe. “It freezes less and less often, which means we can skate less.” As a result, less knowledge is passed on. “And while the whole of the Netherlands would really like to get on the ice if possible.”
“At the KNSB we also noticed that knowledge was being lost,” says Van der Zant. Ancient people had their own way of doing things, but often kept it to themselves. “That’s why we created the guild of natural ice masters.” The guild organizes meetings where people can learn from each other.
De Groot and Van der Zant now provide ice master courses. “I think passing on knowledge is great fun,” says Van der Zant. Not entirely coincidentally: when she is not busy at the ice rink, she is a special education teacher.
Pauline van der Zant
Age: 43
Ever fell through the ice? “Nee!”
Best moment of the season? “If you can say ‘We are open’. It is quite a competition to be first.”
Ice master Pauline van der Zant prevents knowledge about the ice from being lost. Photo: Hielco Kuipers Photography
‘I can do some rustling at work’
All ice masters are volunteers. “Some people work behind the bar at the football club. I do this,” says Van der Zant. About 20 ice masters are active in her association. “We are really lucky that there are so many of us.” If something happens during the day, she cannot go to the ice rink, but her colleagues, who are already retired, can.
“I had a job where I could do something,” says Van der Groot. He is now retired, but used to be a safety expert. Yet he also did some smuggling. He once told his boss that he had to go to an accident, but secretly went on a skating tour. “You have to have a little slack, otherwise you get stressed.”
Moreover, you don’t do it alone, he emphasizes. Others always want to help. “It really creates social bonding.” Everyone who helps is beaming when the skaters can get on the ice without any problems. “Those people are having a great day.”
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Ice skating clubs are busy preparing natural ice rinks
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2024-01-09 20:04:00
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