Whatsit Wednesday - Skates

Every year the Dutch wonder if it will be this year. Of course the temperature needs to be just right. It needs to freeze for quite a while to make it possible. The “11 City Race” is a skating race along canals between 11 cities in The Netherlands. It is what every skater wants to be able to say they have experienced, even if they never win it. Simply being able to take part is enough. 

The last race was held in 1997 (the 15th since the beginning in 1909) and most people do not expect this year to be the year that the next one will be able to be held. But you never know. I remember when I first lived in The Netherlands and spent the Christmas break with a wonderful family, they took me skating. Everyone seemed to have skates. It wasn’t a question of “if” you had skates, it was what kind of skates you might have. 

Ice skates come in all different kinds. I remember as a child that we had some metal contraptions that we attached and tied to our snow boots or shoes. In the summer we had roller skates that also attached to our sneakers. There are skates for figure skating, for ice hockey or for racing. These days there are also various forms of racing: short track, track and long distances outside. 

The Dutch have always been contenders in the skating sports. When you come to The Netherlands and want to watch sports in the winter, be prepared to hear plenty of skating news. It was the Dutch who invented the ‘clap skate’ which is a skate with a hinge, making it possible to put more power into the skating movement. The Dutch used this skate from the 1980’s but it was not allowed in international competition until 1997. 

Skating in Belgium is not as popular as in The Netherlands, but recently there have been several Belgians making news in the sport. Brother and sister Stijn and Hanne Desmet have made their name in short track skating and the European top female figure skaters include Belgian Loena Hendrickx. But the Dutch continue to dominate the sport, including names like: Irene Schouten, Marijke Groenewoud, Jutte Leerdam, Sven Kramer, Patrick Roest and Kjeld Nuis. 

Although skating races are very Dutch, the other forms haven’t really caught on. Ice hockey teams are not very common here, whereas they are everywhere in the US and Canada. Still, if the weather allows, one day it will be cold enough to finally hold the next 11-city-race and all of The Netherlands will put on their skates to take part if possible. 

And then there are the other skates and skeelers. But that is a story for another time.