Dutch dreams of long-awaited Elfstedentocht skating race on ice due to coronavirus

The last Dutch Elfstedentocht (Tour of Eleven Towns) was held in January, 1997

Credit: Eddie Mulholland 

For a nation of outdoor ice skating lovers, an especially cold winter is normally something the Dutch celebrate, providing a chance to enjoy the country’s numerous lakes and rivers on skates.

It also raises hopes that the cherished Elfstedentocht – an epic 120-mile natural ice circuit race of 11 cities in Friesland – will finally go ahead again after a more than 20-year hiatus.

This week, however, despite freezing temperatures that have left locks, lakes and even canals hard enough to skate on, it was announced that due to coronavirus concerns around large crowds, the race would not be able to go ahead.

The competition, last held on January 4, 1997, is so iconic that surveys have found that most Dutch people consider it a vital part of their nationality.

“It is for every skater, the ultimate, higher even than the Olympic games,” said Rieks Poelman, chairman of the natural ice section of skating association the KNSB.

“Everyone in the Netherlands stops working and people sit from 4am to 12am watching, while Friesland is turned upside down.”

The Elfstedentocht normally draws huge crowds

Credit: Mike King 

He said the wild skating being enjoyed by people across the country was small consolation for missing an event that is the subject of huge speculation every year.

“Skating is just something that is in the Dutch. Even in the 12th and 13th centuries there were skaters in the Netherlands. Today the country owns six million pairs of skates.”

A name has even emerged for the feeling of being able to hit the ice after weeks of being cooped up at home under lockdown: skating fever.

“It feels very chilled,” said Kim van Leeuwe, 26, and from Utrecht, who had come with a group of friends to skate at Amsterdam’s famous Vondelpark.

“The last time I did this was 10 years ago, and I wanted to get my skates from my mother’s but she had thrown them away. But I got these on Maarktplaats [an online marketplace] because I thought: ‘I can’t miss this!’ Everyone just leaves their work so they can skate.”

Skaters on the Hofvijver in The Hague, The Netherlands

Credit: Bart Maat/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 

Local governments have also admitted that the winter weather was a much-needed release.

“In general, being outside and active is good for people’s physical and mental health,” said Marten Grupstra, a spokesman for Amsterdam city council.

“We have a ban on sailing in a large part of the canals and we have shut the sluices so that ice can grow as well as possible so that hopefully people can skate there.

“This is a subject that is really animates Amsterdammers: outdoor skating is very special in the Netherlands and skating on the canals is a beautiful way to see a world heritage site. Especially in these dark times of corona, this is a real point of light.”