The Nieuw-Buinen rink was finally skate-able from Monday
Every winter, large numbers of Dutch people are glued to the weather forecast, hoping that it will freeze hard enough to be able to skate outside. With global warming likely to make this simply a fact of history in the future (the famous Frisian Elfstedentocht race was last held in 1998), the dream still persists of gliding down frozen canals.
Though skating on open water may be a (gas)-pipe dream, each year some natural rinks do open. One of the first ice rinks where it is now possible in 2021 is in the province of Drenthe, in the village of Nieuw-Buinen. As reported by RTV Drenthe.
The ice masters at Nieuw-Buinen have finally succeeded in making the ice usable, and the first skaters could skate on it at half past eight this morning. The ice rink at the sports club in Nieuw Buinen turned out to be unsuitable for skating on Sunday, but after a new night with frost, the good news was sent out this morning.
The gates will open for the first time this winter. “We have been busy for a few nights for that”, says Bert Drent of SV Nieuw Buinen. “The ice is not great. Of course it has not yet frozen terribly severely.”
Due to the Coronavirus, there are restrictive measures. Due to the registration requirement, only season ticket holders are allowed on the track and buying individual tickets is not possible.
Image (cropped) by Oleg Zaicev via Pexels