They don’t need more than two nights of frost in Nieuw-Vennep. The local ice club ensured that the youth could enjoy skating yesterday afternoon. Today, children and their parents can go back on the ice again.
Chairman John van der Meij of IJsclub Nieuw-Vennep is crazy. With a procession of skating children following his ice mop, he makes the ice beautifully smooth every time. “We have been preparing for weeks. This is an open course surrounded by a lot of trees. You have to remove all leaves and twigs,” he explains how the association works.
Last Saturday the event area was flooded to turn it into an ice skating rink. Fanatics then added water several nights in a row. It was worth it: all board members are standing on the sidelines enjoying the children having fun.
Wake up
7-year-old Janou tries to skate as fast as possible while pushing a chair forward. “But maybe I can do without it!” she exclaims. A little further on, Lars (14) shows what he can do. “There are some holes in it and occasionally the ice is slushy,” he shares his experiences.
And indeed: a little further on the grass is again sticking out above the ice layer and the children come across a few carefully cordoned off holes. “The sunshine makes it difficult on that side. That’s why we also put up cones. But work will be done there again tonight,” says Van der Meij cheerfully.
Because while the Venneps youth were lying on their toes, the men of the Vennepse ice club were busy with water again last night. This means that skating can take place again today.