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Dutch Ice Clubs Work Through Christmas to Open Natural Ice During Brief Freeze

Any openings depend on hard overnight frost and KNSB safety rules, with marathons on hold until roughly 3 centimeters of ice forms.

Overview

  • Volunteer associations in places such as Doorn and Zeist have mobilized overnight crews to clean asphalt tracks and spray thin layers of water to build an ice base.
  • Several rinks, including Lochem and Ede, report a first film of ice after initial spraying, while other clubs caution the cold spell may be too short for safe thickness.
  • Forecasts point to nights around -1 to -5°C and days near freezing through Christmas, giving a narrow window for limited public skating before milder weather returns Saturday.
  • Clubs using layer-by-layer spraying on concrete or new asphalt, like De Lier and Tolbert, hope to open quickly if the frost holds, but decisions will be made day by day.
  • Winterswijk is preparing in case a Saturday marathon becomes feasible, yet the KNSB says approval requires sturdier, more sustained frost to reach about 3 centimeters of ice.