Thialf

Speed skating is the Dutch national sport in a way that takes some explaining to outsiders: the country wins a large share of the Olympic medals in it, the World Cup rounds are broadcast to very large audiences, and skaters are household names. Thialf at Heerenveen is where it happens. It opened as an outdoor rink in 1967 and was covered in 1986, and with its controlled indoor conditions almost every world record fell here in the first season, until the high-altitude indoor rinks of Calgary and Salt Lake City took over as the fastest ice from 1988 - many world records have been set on this ice, and it hosts World Cup rounds, world championships and the national championships. It seats around twelve and a half thousand and the atmosphere at a championship, with an orange crowd and a brass band, is the thing to see. Public skating sessions run outside events.

History

The rink is named after Thialfi, Thor's servant in Norse mythology, who had to race a giant. The outdoor rink was opened on 14 October 1967 by Princess Christina as the third 400-metre artificial rink in the Netherlands, and the covered stadium, seating 12,500, opened on 17 November 1986; almost all speed skating world records were broken here in its first season (Wikipedia, Thialf).

The main sights

• The fastest sea-level ice - a very large number of world records set here.
• A national sport - speed skating watched and practised at a level found nowhere else.
• Twelve and a half thousand seats - the championship atmosphere with an orange crowd.
• Public sessions - the same ice open outside competition.

When to go

October to March, in the season. Half a day.

Things to know

The season is winter only and the rink closes in summer. Championship tickets sell out immediately. Public sessions are busy and the ice is a 400-metre oval, not a leisure rink. Heerenveen is otherwise unremarkable.

Nearby

The Frisian lakes are north-west; Drents-Friese Wold is south-east.

Key facts