Sven Kramer opened the Sven Kramer Academy with Marianne Timmer in the Kardinge sports center on Saturday. 250 children slid and clambered over the artificial ice rink, the future of which is extremely uncertain.
Luc Gengler (6) very, very carefully takes his first steps on the Kardinge ice rink where it is teeming with children. Want to go skating with skating icons Sven Kramer and Marianne Timmer? Could do less. Kramer opened the Sven Kramer Academy Groningen (SKA), which aims to get all children in the Netherlands skating before the age of 12.
Kramer: ‘If it freezes the day after tomorrow, everyone will go crazy’
“Skating on natural ice is becoming less and less possible due to the mild winters,” explains director and former professional skater Douwe de Vries of the SKA. “And skating on an artificial ice rink is becoming increasingly expensive. You only pay 25 euros for an hour.”
A season at the SKA consists of 16 lessons and costs 202 euros. “That’s why Sven and I founded this. We are non-profit. We think it is important that children learn to skate, but especially that they exercise more.”
“Skating is in our DNA,” Kramer explains. “If it freezes the day after tomorrow, everyone will go completely crazy. Skating is cultural heritage.”
Will skating in Kardinge still be possible?
Elke Gengler (36) from Groningen watches as her son Luc slides across the ice on the arm of one of the trainers. She herself learned to skate on the ditches of Sneek and as a teenager she cheered on the participants during the last Elfstedentocht in 1997. “So I do have a thing for skating.”
But how long will that be possible in Groningen? The 400 meter ice rink may be lost to the city and province of Groningen. It cannot be ruled out that the ice rink will have to be replaced to preserve it for the future. This requires 15 to 20 million euros. The municipality of Groningen does not want to pay the costs alone and is also approaching neighboring municipalities and the province. After all, all residents of Groningen and Drenthe who want to skate have to go to Kardinge. But yes, it is very questionable whether the ‘neighbours’ want to open their wallets.
Chairman Piet Manning of skating association STV Eemsmond, which has 170 members, also took a look at the starting signal of SKA. Every Monday and Wednesday morning he slides over the ice here. “Closing means the end of skating in Groningen and Drenthe,” he predicts. “The ice rink in Assen has disappeared, so you would have to go to Leeuwarden or Heereveen.”
Marianne Timmer: ‘Groningen is simply not possible without an ice rink’
Grandfather Tom van der Meer (1947) can also be found on the track in Kardinge twice from the autumn, but today he is still on the sidelines to watch the performances of granddaughter Mijs (6). De Fries has lived in Noordbroek for years, but was born and raised in Grou. “And there I learned how to skate on the ditches. That runs in the family. Actually, I would now be in Inzell with my four children and their families for skating. We have been doing this for thirty years, but due to circumstances it was not possible this time.”
Kardinge without an ice rink? He can’t imagine anything. “But maybe I would go to Leeuwarden. I have experienced how there was no ice rink in Groningen for a while when the ice skating rink in the Stadspark – which I helped build as a welder – disappeared.”
“Groningen is simply not possible without an ice rink,” says Marianne Timmer, who is about to leave for the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Thialf. “I’m from Sappemeer.” She nods to the ice. “This is where my roots lie.”
Kramer has also completed many laps there. “I think I still have a track record here.”