The Life of Ice at the Olympic Level: Speed Skating

  Olympia Ice re-surfacer in colder times during Oval Opening Dec.2008 photo: Lisa Ovens

by Lisa Ovens

I wonder if Stephen Colbert has muttered this yet... “Those freakin’ Canadian Ice Holes and their crappy ice scraping machines...”

Geez, are we a bunch of “Iceholes” here in Vancouver or what. We built an Olympic speed skating oval a few feet from the water and our Canadian ice re-surfacing machine brand isn't cutting the mustard! As I wrote in the previous "The Life of Ice" article about hockey, there probably isn’t a sporting surface requiring more attention, equipment and expertise than ice.

And now the world know this, thanks to the troubles at the Richmond Olympic Oval, home to Olympic Speedskating during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Re-surfacing isn't the only variable affecting the ice: a packed house, hot lights, humidity in the air are also contributing to what some skaters are calling "slow ice". We can't change the humidity, but we can change one piece of equipment...


Californian built Zamboni to the Rescue!

I was surprised to learn this earlier today; a Zamboni from the Oval in Calgary was in transit to Vancouver and was expected to be in service for Wednesday's speedskating events. I guess what surprised me was that VANOC didn't have this speed skating oval friendly machine waiting in the wings last week.
After all, the oval's ice surface would cover approximately six international hockey ice sheets, it would only make sense to have the Winter Games supply cupboard stocked full of Zambonis.

I've always said Zamboni is the most popular word in hockey. And now it's the most popular word in speed skating!

Speaking of Zambonis, I think now is a great time to give readers a sneak peek at my latest book, Living Hockey. Here is an excerpt about zambonis taken from a chapter that examines hockey in California...

Zamboni

Destined to be a hit, by name alone, this marvel of ice technology was invented during the Forties by a man named, Frank J. Zamboni. He owned a very large ice rink in Southern California, aptly named Iceland, and in the name of efficiency, he created a vehicle that could drive onto the ice, scrape off a layer of tired old, carved up ice, and then spray hot water to smooth out the surface, filling any crevices in a valuable, time saving fashion.


Frank was an inventor, an innovator, with refrigeration in his blood. Quite often, those of us born in the age of Stainless Steele Sub Zeros have no clue what time was like before we existed, and heck, there was a lot of stuff to try for the first time, and then invent and perfect. And Frank ended up revolutionizing the quality of ice for hockey and skating with this very contraption.

Iceland, his ice rink in Paramount, California, became the testing grounds for the Zamboni vehicle. Slowly but surely this magically hypnotic vehicle that slowly circles the ice made the big time, and refreshed the ice for the first time in the NHL. The year was 1955. Why stop there, Zamboni? The Zamboni then found itself in the spotlight during International competition for the very first time in 1960 at the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics.

Many years later, we still find the Zamboni taking the cue and setting the pace for relaxation during intermission, most likely capturing the attention of a three year old child in the crowd, a child who is just beginning to understand what hockey is. That child will never forget the Zamboni, and nor shall we.

Thanks, Frank.

Living Hockey is almost finished (2010 Winter Olympic chapter is a work in progress). If you'd like to be in loop on pre-sale information and other news, please join the mailing list by emailing info@hockeyandhighheels.com with "add me" in the subject line. Thank you for your interest!

The Award Winning Richmond Olympic Oval

by Lisa Ovens

Richmond Olympic Oval: home of the long track speed skating competition for the 2010 Winter Olympics

Photo taken by Lisa Ovens Dec. 13th 2008, Grand Opening Weekend

And the first Gold Medal goes to...The Richmond Olympic Oval!!!! Hearts working at the Oval will be a little more a glow than usual after learning about the engineering award bestowed on the beautiful speed skating/ fitness facility earlier this week. The Institution of Structural Engineers awarded the Oval a Gold Medal in the Sports and Leisure category, beating out the stunning “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium in Beijing, China.

I first saw the site for the Oval when riding my bike on along the Middle Arm Trail, spring 2007. You can see the trail running along the edge of the river. This is one of my favorite flat places to ride when I’m in the mood to ride, write, picnic and watch planes take off (Vancouver International Airport is quite close by, on the other side of the river).

The best part about the building is the roof. The designers chose to use wood that had been destroyed by pine beetles. (The pine beetle infestation is a serious issue in a province filled with trees like BC is.)

It was less than a year ago, the facility celebrated it's grand opening, which included a variety of ceremonies and entertainment. The big draw however, was free skating on the track. Thousands showed up despite the unusually cold weather to skate where the Olympic stars will skate.

My friends and I navigated the packed ice, and with that many people gliding, you really had to be careful. The craziest thing I saw was a dad and son having a skating lesson. I guess the dad decided the grand opening weekend would be a great time to teach his kid how to skate. The dad had a big broom in his hands. He skated backwards, and his kid held on for dear life. I tried to get a photo of this, but then decided to leave the man and his misguided judgement alone.

This weekend ( Oct. 17-20, 2009) will be the Fall World Cup  Trials, and it will also be the last time we will see Team Canada's speed skaters at the Oval before the games in February. It's only a $5.00 admission for adults, and free for kids 12 yrs and younger. For more information on the trials, and everything else you can do at the Richmond Olympic Oval, please visit the website Richmond Olympic Oval ...don't forget to check the schedule for public skating!