Overview
- Rinks in Tolbert, Zeist and Drouwenerveen opened on Christmas morning after night-long spraying to build ice on cleaned asphalt and concrete.
- Oosterbeek allowed a two-hour members-only session due to limited staffing for ticketing, warning the thin surface could force early closure.
- Zeist welcomed early skaters around 08:30 after layered spraying from 04:00, then closed at 12:45 to protect the surface, with volunteers planning another freeze–spray cycle for Friday morning.
- Tolbert’s newly asphalted track opened to the public at 09:30 with roughly 1.5 cm of ice after hourly tank runs by volunteers, while several clubs held back to thicken ice for Friday.
- Meteorologists expect freezing nights near -1 to -5 C before a weekend warmup, and the KNSB says official marathons require sturdier ice of about 3–3.5 cm and are not yet authorized.