Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1533631
We utilize a de-ionized water system to achieve pharmaceutical grade water, but then blend back municipal water to a specific conductivity range generally used in speedskating. The amount of dissolved mineral content in the water remains low for purity and glide purposes. Adding minerals back into purified icemaking water seems counterintuitive to many. The results-based performance of this blended icemaking water has been widely verified by NHL and Olympic icemakers alike. This mechanism could result in another standalone RINK Magazine article. The icemaking water is then heated to 160°F. Icemaking water at this temperature has lower surface tension, lower oxygen content, and better freezing rates making fundamentally better ice than cold water. The objective results in timed speedskating races also confirm this. During the resurfacing process, two Zamboni 700 ice resurfacers are used to complete a full ice resurface in 10-12 min- utes. The ice surface size is equivalent to 3.5 NHL sheets of ice. An Olympic Oval has three lanes. The warmup lane, inner race lane, and outer race lane. Each lane is resurfaced at once with two machines. Each machine holds 400 gallons of ice- making water. We want to ensure that the new frozen layers leave no detectable ridge in the center of the racing lane. Therefore, the trailing machine is about 20-30 feet from the lead machine to evenly blend the two ice resurfacer's paths together. The job of the lead machine is to set the blade, water level, and speed and the trailing machine should match that exactly. This requires training and a lot of experience. Prior to the event week, each machine got new wash water impellers, conditioner squeegees, and new spreader towels. Blades are changed the day prior to the event starting. The machines got full lubrica- tion, and the machines were fully cleaned including the underbody. IR tires on the oval are never in contact with concrete surfaces prior to entering the oval ice. This is to prevent accumulation of concrete dust from the tire studs onto the ice surface. The towel and augers are cleaned after each resurfacing. A 25-micron felt wash water filter is used to capture all suspended solids that get vacuumed into the wash water system. These are all efforts to keep the IR and ice contamination free. Small details in preparation make big results in timed races. The same can apply to high level hockey or figure skating events. After each day, ice technicians take ice depths on the oval. The oval ice depths are usually more than 100-plus depth readings per day. With a floor this large, it is not unusual to have deviations from a high side to a low side of plus or minus 3/8". Keeping in mind the target depth on most of the surface was 1". We ended up with a problem area during competition that got down to 5/8" which was a danger zone for ice thick- ness. Extra efforts were made to build ice after each day and during ice resurfacing. The ice technicians are also responsible for ice repair during the event. This is most often caused by damage from a fall. If an ISU official calls for ice repair, the ice technician will bring out a bucket of slush with a flat stainless trowel to repair any major ice damages that would be unsafe to skate through. A 5lb CO 2 fire extinguisher can be used to rapidly freeze a large repair. Generally, all eyes in the crowd and camera are on the ice techni- cian making the repair. J PHOTOS: NOEL STAVE 48 / MARCH.APRIL.2025 USICERINKS.COM Salt Lake City, UT Roseville, MN Indoor Rink | Outdoor Rink 200' x 100' OLYMPIC-SIZE RINKS 2 111m SHORT TRACK 400m OLYMPIC OVAL Milwaukee, WI LONG TRACK SPEEDSKATING Rinks Pettit National Ice Center For long track, colder is better. Target ice temperature is 17°F; air temperature is 59-60°F. Lake Placid, NY