The second marathon on natural ice will be held on Wednesday evening in Noordlaren and not in Haaksbergen. This is what natural ice coordinator Geert-Jan Muskens of the KNSB expects.
He is now on his way to inspect the track. “It looks very good.” The KNSB is disappointed in Haaksbergen.
The intention was that after Winterswijk last night, it would be Haaksbergen’s turn to organize the marathon today. “The skaters had also counted on that. Many have also booked an overnight stay in the Achterhoek/Twente region,” says Muskens, who is disappointed that the ice in Haaksbergen has deteriorated to such an extent that a marathon is not possible today.
On Tuesday it was a matter of whether Haaksbergen or Winterswijk would get the honor of organizing the first marathon on natural ice this year. “When the choice was made for the Achterhoek rink, they allowed recreational skaters on the ice in Haaksbergen, which showed late last night that the ice was too bad. That is actually against the agreements,” says Muskens, who inspects the track in Noordlaren from half past ten. “We sprayed again last night and it looks very good. The chance that it will continue is very high.”
‘One bad place’
In Haaksbergen, IJSCH chairman Mark van der Meijde understands the disappointment at the KNSB. “It’s just as big with us. The track is 99 percent in order, only in one spot in an important bend the ice is bad. It still looked good last night at 6 p.m., but due to the crowds on the ice, it ultimately did not freeze well enough. I am also a competitive skater myself and I understand that it is not possible here. We will contact the KNSB to explain things,” says the chairman.
Van der Meijde said yesterday that he found it ‘disappointing’ that Haaksbergen had not been chosen to organize the first marathon. But at the same time he kind of saw it coming. “Winterswijk has a beautiful course. We have already had the honor of organizing the competition for the first time seven times, so you know that it can also go to another track.”
‘Preparations’
The North Laren ice skating association De Hondsrug assumes that it will continue tonight. ‘After 1 p.m. the preparations for the marathon start at 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. in Noordlaren. Come to this event’, the association reports on its own website.
The first marathon in Winterswijk was a great success. The spraying team of the WIJV ice skating club started preparing the 400 meter track on Sunday evening. Early on Tuesday morning, a delighted ice master Hendrik van Prooije was able to inform the KNSB of the good news that there was 30 millimeters of ice. In the future he expects that ice will be available even faster.
Coating
Winterswijk, which collaborates with the University of Twente, wants to apply a white coating that ensures that the water freezes faster and the ice also remains longer. “We are already testing this on our doodle track. I expect more ice hours as a result. Coating costs 80,000 euros for the 400 meter track. I think that making the track white will have at least as great an effect as applying ground insulation. The combination of these two, with metered spraying and accurate temperature measurements, will, in my opinion, produce the most natural ice,” he says.