Yesterday at 7:30 PM • Edited yesterday at 9:20 PM
Short track speed skating is on the rise after the Olympic Games. Associations in our province also notice this, according to a survey by Omroep Brabant. “We actually need extra ice to meet the demand.”
Short track brothers Jens and Melle van ‘t Wout hoped that their Olympic success would be a boost for the sport. According to Jens, the Games were “a great step in that development”: “We also want our sport to grow enormously.”
“Short track is certainly becoming popular,” says Jacqueline van Driel, chairman of IJsclub Eindhoven (IJCE). “People come by to ask how short track speed skating works and I have even received an email from someone who could not skate yet, but wants to start short track straight away.”
IJsclub Tilburg has also seen interest increase for some time. “Since October, the number of participants has increased by 30 percent. As a result, our lessons are almost full at the moment,” says Marco van Baar of the short track department.
Skating and training club De IJsvrienden from Wijk and Aalburg notices the Olympic effect less immediately in new members. “We see that enthusiasm has been sparked among our existing youth members and that twelve additional children took a trial lesson in short track during the carnival holidays,” says chairman Jochem Uithoven.
“If we suddenly get a hundred new members, we cannot simply scale up.”
Short track Brabant, where Olympians Friso Emons, Xandra and Michelle Velzeboer and Selma Poutsma skated for years, is noticing more interest. Chairman Pol van de Rest of the transfer association expects to only see the effects in the next few years. There are new registrations, especially from children between 6 and 10 years old. After the summer the club will start with a beginners group. “That plan was already there, but now we are really going to focus on it.”
Growth is slowed down by a shortage of ice hours. Short track Brabant rents ice for three hours three times a week. “If we suddenly get a hundred new members, we cannot simply scale up.” The ice is shared with figure skaters and ice hockey players. The latter group in particular brings in more money. “We now hope to grow fast to make it easier to get more ice hours.”
“We actually need extra ice to meet the demand.”
IJCE also has limited space, with two hours of training per week. “It has to remain safe, so you cannot put very many people on the track at the same time,” says Van Driel. Ice skating club Tilburg is also reaching its limits. The club is awaiting renovation of the ice rink, which will include the addition of an additional rink. “We actually need extra ice to meet the demand.” Until then, Tilburg only focuses on youth.
Although the season is almost over, De IJsvrienden and IJCE still offer trial lessons. This is no longer possible in Tilburg for the time being, because the classes are almost full. Short track Brabant is organizing skating clinics for youth this summer. IJCE trains in the ice hockey hall until the end of June and from the end of August to the beginning of October. That is the big advantage of short track, says Van Driel: “You can skate almost all year round.”
On Tuesday evening, Friso Emons, the golden short tracker of the Olympic Games in Milan, was honored at the ice rink in Tilburg. There came according to Omroep Tilburg dozens of people attended the ceremony. “It’s nice to see that the sport is so alive,” Emons said.
After the festive welcome, Emons completed a lap of honor during the ice hockey match between Tilburg Trappers and Füchse Duisburg. Once again he was praised for his performance to loud applause.
