Artificial ice rink on a warm November day in The Hague

They were on their way to Legoland. But Reem Aufi (30) from Oman walked with daughter Basma (5) past the Kurhaus where a skating rink opened exactly this Saturday. Now Basma is scrambling in a pair of dungarees with bare knees on double blades on the artificial ice. They don’t go to Legoland anymore today.

It is warm and sunny for November, 15 degrees today in The Hague. Next to the ice rink, people drink coffee in the sun around noon, without a jacket. Christmas wreaths hang from the canopy above the 600 square meter track. This skating rink opens every year on this weekend, says employee Johnny Lammers of family business Entrada. “Now people are getting into the spirit.” Rows of blue rental skates are ready in wooden shelving units. The entrance is 7.50 euros, 12.50 including skating.

Most temporary jobs open later, such as those on the Brink in Laren (North Holland, November 22) and at the shopping center in Amstelveen (November 29). The Open Air Museum in Arnhem decided to stop the open air ice rink two years ago. A spokesperson said at the time in return for The Gelderlander that a skating rink is no longer suitable “at a time when we want to be sustainable”.

The heat poses challenges for ice rinks. In 2014, the Jaap Edenbaan in Amsterdam had to close again a week after its opening. Then it was 17 degrees in October. Heat is no obstacle for this job, says Lammers, as he deals with a father and daughter. “Our cooling machine can measure the temperature itself and then adjusts how much it needs to cool to keep the ice hard.” That sometimes costs more electricity “but on other days less.” And the environment? “I don’t know,” says Lammers. The company behind the skating rink also owns several catering establishments around the rink. Their patio heater is off.

Zoom in

Zoom in

Student Ruben (“21, preferably no surname, you don’t know what kind of article it will be”) skims backwards across the ice at high speed. He lives nearby and comes every year. He keeps an eye online when the job opens. As a Hageneesian, he has never skated on natural ice and he does not expect that to happen anytime soon. “Certainly not in The Hague.” He knows other skaters from the track, whom he does not see the rest of the year.

Number of ice days is decreasing

Ruben is probably right. The number of ice days – where the temperature remains below zero for the entire 24 hours – has been decreasing since the 1960s, the KNMI writes in its own website. “While 60 years ago we still counted an average of around 11 ice days per year, today there are only three on average. In 2023 and 2024 we even saw zero ice days in De Bilt. The last ice day was December 17, 2022.”

During the day, mainly children skate on the rink. Such as the daughters of Esma Achahbar (38), aged 8 and 12. As a child, Achahbar skated on natural ice in the Zuiderpark and in the Westland. Today she “dragged” her daughters, aged 8 and 12, to the ice rink because she “wanted to give that to them.” Because they won’t experience natural ice again, she thinks. Yet she does not get rid of her own skates and a sled that are in the shed. Because you don’t know.

After practicing for an hour behind a sliding rack in the shape of a polar bear, five-year-old Basma throws her arms in the air and skates with her hands loose. Her mother Reem Aufi says: “As a mother you must have a strong heart to watch this.”

Green energy

For Remco Koning (45) it feels “weird” that it is still so warm when the skating rink opens. “You think: is this due to global warming?” He walks along the lane with his son and a friend on the way to the beach. They are going to fly a kite but also have a football and a metal detector with them. They fly kites in all weather conditions, but playing football is more something for good weather, he says.

Part of the track has been closed off for a small curling rink. Red and yellow curling stones shoot across the ice. A silk artificial flower company did it as part of their staff outing. It was “wonderful” that it was so warm, Sjanneke (46) says afterwards. “They should put solar panels on the roof,” says one of her colleagues, then they will use green energy.

After a few hours, Ruben takes off his skates. “But I will come back tonight,” he says. He doesn’t mind that it is so hot. “You can continue skating without cooling down too much.” He also knows that all that energy consumption to keep the track running is not good for the environment. “Doing nothing is energy efficient, but also a minimal life. I see that many people enjoy skating here.”

With the collaboration of Jonathan Sekeris.

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