The course of the Elfstedentocht of 1997 (skated in a clockwise direction, as in '85, '86, '97)

The Elfstedentocht (West Frisian: Alvestêdetocht, English: Eleven cities tour), at almost 200 kilometres (120 mi), is a speed skating match (with 200 contestants) and a leisure skating tour (with 16,000 skaters). It is held in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands, touching each and every city (by history) of the province. It is held, in practice in January or February and not more than once in a year, when the natural ice along the entire course is at least 15 centimetres (6 in) thick;^[1] sometimes on consecutive years, other times with gaps that may exceed 20 years. When the ice is suitable the tour is announced, and starts within 48 hours.

Course and rules[link]

The tour, almost 200 km in length, is conducted on frozen canals, rivers and lakes between the eleven historic Frisian cities: Leeuwarden, Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen, Franeker, Dokkum, then returning to Leeuwarden. The tour is not held every year, mostly because the ice is not thick enough every Dutch winter, and also because about 15,000 amateur skaters may take part, putting high requirements on the quality of the ice. As of 9 February 2012 (2012 -02-09)^[update] the last tours were held in 1985, 1986 and 1997. The rules allow the tour to be held only if the ice is, and remains, at least 15 centimetres thick along the entire course. All skaters must be members of the Association of the Eleven Frisian Cities. A starting permit is required. Skaters must collect a stamp in each city, and at three secret check points, and must finish the course before midnight.

De Bullemolen, along the canal "Bonkevaart", the finishing point of the Elfstedentocht

The finishing point of the Elfstedentocht is a canal near Leeuwarden, called the "Bonkevaart", close to the landmark windmill, De Bullemolen, Lekkum.^[2]

Planning and publicity[link]

Since the Elfstedentocht is such a rare event, its declaration creates excitement all over the country. As soon as a few days pass with sub-zero temperatures, the media start speculating about the chances for an Elfstedentocht. The longer the freezing temperatures stay, the more intense this "Elfstedenkoorts" (eleven cities fever) gets - culminating in a national near-frenzy when it is announced that the tour will actually be held. The day before the tour many Dutch flock to Leeuwarden to enjoy the party atmosphere that surrounds the event; that evening, called the "Nacht van Leeuwarden" (Night of Leeuwarden), becomes a giant city-wide street party (Frisians, who have a reputation of surliness, are said to thaw when it freezes).^[3]

On the day of the tour most Frisians and Dutchmen either stay home to watch it on television, or find a place along the route to cheer on the skaters - in February 2012, Friesland hotels were fully booked and expecting between 1.5 and 2 million visitors in expectation of a tour before it was announced, as the weather seemed suitable.^[3]

There are often points along the route where the ice is too thin to allow mass skating; they are called "kluning points" (from West Frisian klúnje), and the skaters walk on their skates to the next stretch of good ice. In 1997 ice-transplantation was re-introduced to strengthen weak places in the ice, for instance under bridges. Thin ice may occur naturally but sometimes there is human intervention: the "Committee Elfsteden Nee" is opposed to the race and sabotaged the route in 1997 by laying salt on the ice at one place^{[citation needed]}.

History[link]

Competitors of the first (1909) Elfstedentocht

There has been mention of skaters visiting all eleven cities of Friesland on one day since 1760. The Elfstedentocht was already part of Frisian tradition when, in 1890, Pim Mulier conceived the idea of an organised tour, which was first held in 1909. After this race, the Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden (Association of the Eleven Frisian Cities) ^[4] was established to organise the tours.

Video of the Elfstedentocht of 1954 (commentary in Dutch)

The winters of 1939/40, 1940/41 and 1941/42 were particularly severe,^[5] with the race being run in each of them. The 1940 race, run three months prior to the entry of The Netherlands to World War II, saw over 3,000 competitors start at 05:00 on 30 January, with the first five finishing at 16:34. The event dominated the front pages of Dutch newspapers.^[6]

The Elfstedentocht of 1963 became known as "The hell of '63" when only 69 of the 10,000 contestants were able to finish the race, due to the extremely low temperatures, -18°C, and a harsh eastern wind. Conditions were so horrendous that the 1963 winner, Reinier Paping, became a national hero, and the tour itself legendary.^[7][8]

The next Elfstedentocht after 1963 was held in 1985; times had changed. Before, one of the best methods to stay warm during the tour was to wear newspapers underneath the clothes. In the 20 years between the tours of 1963 and 1985, clothing, training methods and skates became much more advanced, changing the nature of skating.

The tour of 1985 was terminated prematurely because of thawing; as early as 22:00 in the evening skaters were taken off the ice. In 1986 the Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander participated in the Elfstedentocht, under the name W.A. van Buren a name often used by his grandmother Queen Juliana.

Winners[link]

The time taken for the winner to complete the course is given in hours and minutes.^[9] Although temperatures were sometimes above freezing on the day of the tour, all tours were preceded by many days of sub-zero temperatures.^[10] The time taken for the winner to complete the course is given in hours and minutes.^[9]

Women were first allowed to take part in the tour proper in 1985; before then they had to skate with the amateurs and no award was given. The women to cross the finish line first were:

• 1985 - Lenie van der Hoorn^(NL)
• 1986 - Tineke Dijkshoorn^(NL)
• 1997 - Klasina Seinstra^(NL)

(**) After shared wins in 1933 and 1940, when the front-runners decided not to compete but join hands to cross the line together, this practice was forbidden by the organisation. Jan van der Hoorn, Aad de Koning, Jeen Nauta, Maus Wijnhout and Anton Verhoeven however ignored this rule when they crossed the finish line in unison. They were not disqualified, but no winner was declared.

The eleven cities[link]

The course can vary slightly from race to race, depending on the quality of the ice.^[11] The cumulative distance at each checkpoint in 1997 was:

• 0 km: Leeuwarden
• 22 km: Sneek (municipality Súdwest-Fryslân)
• 26 km: IJlst (mun. Súdwest-Fryslân)
• 40 km: Sloten (mun. Gaasterlân-Sleat)
• 66 km: Stavoren (mun. Súdwest-Fryslân)
• 77 km: Hindeloopen (mun. Súdwest-Fryslân)
• 86 km: Workum (mun. Súdwest-Fryslân)
• 99 km: Bolsward (mun. Súdwest-Fryslân)
• 116 km: Harlingen
• 129 km: Franeker (mun. Franekeradeel)
• 174 km: Dokkum (mun. Dongeradeel)
• 199 km: Leeuwarden

Fietselfstedentocht (Eleven cities by bicycle)[link]

Departure of the Elfstedentocht cycling tour in 2006

The eleven cities cycle race was first held in 1912 and developed in parallel with its skating counterpart, but unlike the skating race, has taken place on almost every year - apart from the 2001 event which was cancelled due to foot and mouth disease, it has taken place on Whit Monday every year since 1947. The event has become immensely popular and as a safety precaution it ceased to be a race but has become a tour with a maximum average speed of 25 km/h between checkpoints.^[12]

The tour, which starts and ends in Bolsward rather than Leeuwarden, is currently limited to 15,000 entrants. Between 05:00 and 08:00, entrants leave Bolsward every eight minutes in batches of about 600 and those who complete the 240 km course before midnight receive medals.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• The Greatest Skating Race book by Louise Borden.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elfstedentocht

• Elfstedentocht - Official website of the Royal Society De Friesche Elf Steden (Dutch)
• Route of the Elfstedentocht on Google Maps
• http://www.drf.nl/sport/11steden/indexeng.htm
• Henk Kroes, Ice Master of the Elfstedentocht, on the impact of climate change
• Eleven City Tour in Friesland

v t e Elfstedentocht Year Date Temperature Winner (*) Time Distance Average speed 1909 2 January n/a Minne Hoekstra(NL) 13:50 189 km 13.7 km/h 1912 7 February 3.8°C Coen de Koning 11:40 189 km 16.2 km/h 1917 27 January -1.8°C Coen de Koning 9:53 189 km 19.1 km/h 1929 12 February -10.1°C Karst Leemburg(NL) 11:09 191 km 17.1 km/h 1933 16 December -2.0°C Abe de Vries(NL) Sipke Castelein(NL) 9:53 195 km 19.7 km/h 1940 30 January -6.1°C Piet Keijzer(NL) Auke Adema Cor Jongert(NL) Durk van der Duim(NL) Sjouke Westra(NL) 11:34 198.5 km 17.3 km/h 1941 7 February 0.0°C Auke Adema 9:19 198.5 km 21.3 km/h 1942 22 January -11.7°C Sietze de Groot(NL) 8:44 198 km 22.7 km/h 1947 8 February -8.5°C Jan van der Hoorn(NL) 10:51 191 km 17.6 km/h 1954 3 February -5.4°C Jeen van den Berg(NL) 7:35 198.5 km 26.2 km/h 1956 14 February -4.9°C no winner declared (**) — 190.5 km — 1963 18 January -7.7°C Reinier Paping(NL) 10:59 196.5 km 17.9 km/h Winner men Winner women (*) 1985 21 February 0.3°C Evert van Benthem Lenie van der Hoorn(NL) 6:47 196.8 km 29.0 km/h 1986 26 February -6.9°C Evert van Benthem Tineke Dijkshoorn(NL) 6:55 199.3 km 28.8 km/h 1997 4 January -3.6°C Henk Angenent Klasina Seinstra(NL) 6:49 199.6 km 29.3 km/h "History" (in Dutch). Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden [Association of the Eleven Fries Cities]. http://www.elfstedentocht.nl/nl/. Retrieved 2010-09-26.  * Women were first allowed to take part in the tour proper in 1985; before then they had to skate with the amateurs and no award was given. ** After shared wins in 1933 and 1940, when the front-runners decided not to compete but join hands to cross the line together, this practice was forbidden by the organisation. Jan van der Hoorn, Aad de Koning, Jeen Nauta, Maus Wijnhout and Anton Verhoeven however ignored this rule when they crossed the finish line in unison. They were not disqualified, but no winner was declared. "3,000 Skaters in 124-mile race" The Times (London). Wednesday, 31 January 1940. Issue 48527, col B, p. 7. Route by city Leeuwarden (start) Sneek IJlst Sloten Stavoren Hindeloopen Workum Bolsward Harlingen Franeker Dokkum Leeuwarden (finish) Route Variants Eleven Cities Cycling Tour

v t e Places with city rights in Friesland Bolsward Dokkum Franeker Harlingen Hindeloopen IJlst Leeuwarden Sloten Sneek Stavoren Workum See also: Elfstedentocht

Herman Finkers

Hermenegildus "Herman" Felix Victor Maria Finkers (born December 9, 1954 in Almelo, Overijssel) is a comedian from the Dutch region of Twente, who is well-known in the Netherlands for his friendly, dry-witted humour and his ambiguous style of storytelling. In his way of telling a story the moral should never be in the way of a good joke or pun. His humor is never at the expense of others, except his brother Wilfried Finkers, who is frequently the target of jokes. Wilfried Finkers co-wrote material and occasionally appeared in his brother's shows. Herman Finkers temporarily stopped performing in 2000, and soon afterwards he was diagnosed with a form of leukemia. He was given an estimate of 10 to 15 years of life left. On August 5, 2006 a Fuchsia was named after him. In 2007 he started playing in theatres again, with a new show called "Na de Pauze" (After the Intermission).

Twents[link]

Finkers has a strong love for the Twents dialect. He has translated a number of his shows into Twents Low Saxon, which is his mother tongue. He also wrote and directed two short animation films, which were completely in Twents: Kroamschudd'n in Mariaparochie (which tells the story of the birth of Christ in a Twents setting) and his comic interpretation of William Shakespeare's MacBeth, the former of which is shown annually around christmas on regional television. After his retirement from theatre, Finkers played a role in the first Soap series in Twents: "Van Jonge Leu en Oale Groond" (Of Young People and Old Ground). For his efforts to promote the Twents dialect he received the Johanna van Buuren prize.

Theater performances[link]

• Op Zwart Zangzaad ("On Black Birdseed") (1979)
• De terugkeer van Joop Huizinga ("Joop Huizinga's Return") 1982
• De Diana Ros Show ("The Diana Ros Show") 1983
• EHBO is mijn lust en mijn leven ("First aid is the love of my life") 1985
• Het Meisje van de Slijterij ("The liquor store girl") 1987
• De zon gaat zinloos onder, morgen moet zij toch weer op ("The sun sets pointlessly, she's got to rise again tomorrow anyway") (1990)
• Dat heeft zo'n jongen toch niet nodig ("A guy like him doesn't need that") (1992)
• Geen spatader veranderd ("Not changed one bit") (1995) (also in Twentsch: "Gen spatoader aans")
• Kalm aan en rap een beetje ("Take it easy, on the double") (1998) (also in Twentsch: "Heanig an en rap wat")
• Na de pauze ("After the break") (2007)

Note that some of the titles are very hard to translate puns.

Discography[link]

• Van zijn LP ("From his album")
• EHBO is mijn lust en mijn leven ("First aid is the love of my life")
• De zon gaat zinloos onder, morgen moet zij toch weer op (The sun sets pointlessly, she's got to get up tomorrow any way.)
• Carnaval der Dieren / Sint Joris Mis (Animal Carnival/ Saint George Mass)
• Kroamschudd'n in Mariaparochie / MacBeth (animation films) ("Baby shower" in Mary's Parish / MacBeth)
• Dat heeft zo'n jongen toch niet nodig (A boy like that doesn't need that.)
• Geen spatader veranderd (Not changed one bit (pun untranslatable))
• Kalm aan en rap een beetje. (Take it easy, on the double.)
• Een engelhart in Rome (an angelheart in Rome) (A thoughtful Finkers on audience in the Vatican)

Most of his theater shows were released on VHS and DVD, and several years ago a box set of all these DVDs was made available.

External links[link]

• Official web site

Maarten van Rossum, before 1543

Maarten van Rossum, Coat of Arms

Maarten van Rossum (Zaltbommel, c. 1478 – Antwerpen, June 7, 1555) was a Dutch Guelderian military tactician and later field marshal at the service of Charles, Duke of Guelders.

His parents, Johan van Rossum, lord of Rossum and Johanna van Hemert probably married before 1478 and were part of the lower nobility around Bommelerwaard. During his life Maarten acquired the titles of lord of Poederoijen, Cannenburgh, Lathum, Baer and Bredevoort, field marshal of Guelders and Imperial stadholder of Luxembourg.

He is known to have been an experienced commander and is renowned for actions while serving Charles of Guelders in his Guelderian Wars against Charles V. He is also known for his participation in the sack of The Hague in 1528. After the Duchy of Guelders was defeated, he simply switched sides, and started working for Charles V, his former enemy.

In the spring of 1555 he became seriously ill, possibly infected with the Black Death or typhus in the city of Charlemont. He died in Antwerp on June 7, 1555, his body was buried at his birthplace, the village of Rossum.

In popular culture[link]

He featured as an antagonist in the 1960s Dutch TV series Floris.

Notes and references[link]

• Verzameld verleden by Els Kloek, published by Verloren in 2004.