INTERVIEW WITH WIEBE WIELING AND WINI WEIDENAAR
Always ready for the start
"100 years of fun and involvement”
only half as many athletes as the number of skaters who participate in the Eleven Cities Tour. So it’s not surprising that every skater's heart starts beating faster as soon as the temperature drops below zero. Maybe this winter we’ll hear the legendary words for the first time in decades ‘It sil heve!’
Always hope for the next winter
Magic flutters around the Eleven Cities Tour. Words like 'hope', 'eleven cities fever' and 'once in a lifetime' indicate how special it is. You won’t find a larger sporting event anywhere in the world. Even at the Olympic Games there are
We also have 22 district heads, each of whom, together with their assistant district head, is responsible for eight kilometers of the route. Among other things, they must ensure the ice is safe and clean and that the kluning (walking) points are in good condition.”
Standing still is not an option
The legendary Eleven Cities Tour also moves with the times. Unlike previous editions, drones will be used during the next Eleven Cities Tour to monitor what is happening on the ice and with the supporters. External parties will organise this and not the Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden. The skaters will also be given transponders: useful for the organisation, because they can monitor whether there are any traffic jams anywhere. Friends and family back home will know exactly where their beloved skater is. All new techniques that were not yet available in 1997.
No Eleven Cities Tour without volunteers
“You know,” Wiebe says suddenly, “there's one thing we haven't mentioned yet. All this is done by volunteers. Board members and district heads have been doing this for more than 100 years with pleasure and commitment. Pretty amazing, right?” Thousands of volunteers are also busy on the day itself, for example cleaning the ice. In 2012 it looked like the tour could go ahead, but it had snowed in the south of Friesland. “Well, then you ring Omrop Fryslân to say we need people to shovel snow. And the next day there are 200 people with a snow shovel.”
We spoke with Wiebe Wieling, Chairman of the Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden and board member Wini Weidenaar. She is responsible for the publicity and communication for the tour. Together they tell us about the unique skating tour and its organisation. “The Eleven Cities Tour has been held for centuries,” says Wiebe. “People have enjoyed skating along the eleven cities for ages. You'd get a stamp at the local café and that was it.”
We can organise it in two days
On 2 January 1909, the first official Eleven Cities Tour was organised once by the Friesche IJsbond. Since then all the tours are organised by the Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden, which was created especially for this purpose. This association organises the Eleven Cities Tour every year, even though the last tour took place in 1997.
“We work on it year round,” says Wiebe, “otherwise we'd never be able to have everything ready in two days. We’re ready on 1 December every winter. From that moment on, we can arrange for 25,000 skaters to start in two days, and we can receive 1.5 million visitors.”
Wini adds to this: “We update the play books annually, for example with information about new bridges and roads. And every year we sit down with the Safety Regions, fire brigade, police and other stakeholders. And every year I consult with NOS and Omrop Fryslân about how the tour will be shown, who will take which images and what the camera positions will Friesland Convention Partners be.
The Eleven Cities Tour: a 200-kilometer skating tour through the eleven historic cities of Friesland. This event is organised every year, even though it has been almost 30 years since this ‘Tour of Tours’ was last held. But if the winter cooperates and there’s at least 15 centimetres of ice on ditches and lakes throughout Friesland, then everyone is ready to go.
INTERVIEW WITH WIEBE WIELING AND WINI WEIDENAAR
Always ready for the start
Always hope for the next winter
Magic flutters around the Eleven Cities Tour. Words like 'hope', 'eleven cities fever' and 'once in a lifetime' indicate how special it is. You won’t find a larger sporting event anywhere in the world. Even at the Olympic Games there are only half as many athletes as the number of skaters who participate in the Eleven Cities Tour. So it’s not surprising that every skater's heart starts beating faster as soon as the temperature drops below zero. Maybe this winter we’ll hear the legendary words for the first time in decades ‘It sil heve!’
"100 years of fun and involvement”
We also have 22 district heads, each of whom, together with their assistant district head, is responsible for eight kilometers of the route. Among other things, they must ensure the ice is safe and clean and that the kluning (walking) points are in good condition.”
Standing still is not an option
The legendary Eleven Cities Tour also moves with the times. Unlike previous editions, drones will be used during the next Eleven Cities Tour to monitor what is happening on the ice and with the supporters. External parties will organise this and not the Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden. The skaters will also be given transponders: useful for the organisation, because they can monitor whether there are any traffic jams anywhere. Friends and family back home will know exactly where their beloved skater is. All new techniques that were not yet available in 1997.
No Eleven Cities Tour without volunteers
“You know,” Wiebe says suddenly, “there's one thing we haven't mentioned yet. All this is done by volunteers. Board members and district heads have been doing this for more than 100 years with pleasure and commitment. Pretty amazing, right?” Thousands of volunteers are also busy on the day itself, for example cleaning the ice. In 2012 it looked like the tour could go ahead, but it had snowed in the south of Friesland. “Well, then you ring Omrop Fryslân to say we need people to shovel snow. And the next day there are 200 people with a snow shovel.”
We spoke with Wiebe Wieling, Chairman of the Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden and board member Wini Weidenaar. She is responsible for the publicity and communication for the tour. Together they tell us about the unique skating tour and its organisation. “The Eleven Cities Tour has been held for centuries,” says Wiebe. “People have enjoyed skating along the eleven cities for ages. You'd get a stamp at the local café and that was it.”
We can organise it in two days
On 2 January 1909, the first official Eleven Cities Tour was organised once by the Friesche IJsbond. Since then all the tours are organised by the Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden, which was created especially for this purpose. This association organises the Eleven Cities Tour every year, even though the last tour took place in 1997.
“We work on it year round,” says Wiebe, “otherwise we'd never be able to have everything ready in two days. We’re ready on 1 December every winter. From that moment on, we can arrange for 25,000 skaters to start in two days, and we can receive 1.5 million visitors.”
Wini adds to this: “We update the play books annually, for example with information about new bridges and roads. And every year we sit down with the Safety Regions, fire brigade, police and other stakeholders. And every year I consult with NOS and Omrop Fryslân about how the tour will be shown, who will take which images and what the camera positions will Friesland Convention Partners be.
The Eleven Cities Tour: a 200-kilometer skating tour through the eleven historic cities of Friesland. This event is organised every year, even though it has been almost 30 years since this ‘Tour of Tours’ was last held. But if the winter cooperates and there’s at least 15 centimetres of ice on ditches and lakes throughout Friesland, then everyone is ready to go.