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Arts
The Art of the Silver Skates
DEC. 2015
www. MAKEASCENEAK .com
By Carmen Summerfield
On a recent trip to Holland, I was rummaging around in my Mom’s attic and found my Dad’s speed skates. These skates were one of his prized possessions, and as I held them I recalled so many wonderful childhood memories. My Dad loved skating! He loved it so much that immediately after World War 2, when food and most items were still rationed, he used a valuable shoe coupon to buy the thin shoes required for speed skating. My Grandmother was not happy… the thought of wasting a valuable shoe coupon on skating shoes! Dad then manufactured the blades and supports from old saw blades and scrap metal, and was one of the few to be skating at that time. Dutch skates, or at least the ones I learned on, have long and slender blades, and are optimized for speed. Hence the name “speed skates”. In comparison, Hockey and Figure skates have shorter and thicker blades, and are optimized for maneuvering and quick turning.
The Elfstedentocht, English translation Elf (eleven), steden (cities), tocht (tour), is a famous tour or race by skaters over the frozen canals, rivers and lakes connecting eleven historical cities of the province of Friesland in northern Holland. The Elfstedentocht is so important to the Dutch that it was even held twice during the German occupation of WW2. Natural ice conditions along the entire 200-kilometer (120 mile) course must be at least 6-inches thick before the Elfstedentocht can be safely held, and so the 1985 event was only the 13th Elfstedentocht of the 20th century. The 1985 Elfstedentocht was also notable as the first year women were allowed to “officially” participate. The day before the 1985 Elfstedentocht (held on February 21), we traveled to Leeuwarden (the starting point) and, along with thousands of other participants, enjoyed the gigantic street-party atmosphere that surrounds the event.
My childhood home in the north of Holland was located on a canal and, like my Dad, I learned to skate at a very young age. One of my favorite activities was skating town-to-town via the canals and lakes of Holland.
Although the event starts well before sunrise and ends at midnight, the participants are scored on their elapsed times, taken at checkpoints in each city. The winner in 1985 had elapsed times of around 7 hours. Dad and I skated together, and so we didn’t have time to fully complete the course, but the rewards were priceless!
My Dad loved skating town-to-town, too, and we often skated together. So when in 1985 the weather conditions were favorable for the Elfstedentocht, we decided to participate.
Dad continued to speed skate all his life with those same homemade skates. Now I have inherited them, and will be using them this winter in Alaska. Thanks, Dad!