Perfect Ice

Every detail counts when you’re competing for Olympic gold. Slick ice can lead to records being set or broken, but a bump in the wrong place could dash dreams. That’s where the “ice masters” come in.

Ice masters are the experts in charge of making the ice for sports like hockey, figure skating, and speed skating. The process is more complex than filling a rink with water and letting it freeze. 

“It’s more of a science than most people think,” says Mark Messer. He’s the ice master who maintains the speed skating rink at the University of Calgary in Canada. He’s helped create the ice at seven Winter Olympics and for countless races and hockey games. More than 300 world records have been set on his ice!

Every detail counts when you’re competing for Olympic gold. Slick ice can help athletes set or break records. But a bump in the wrong place could dash dreams. That’s where the “ice masters” come in.

Ice masters are the experts in charge of making the ice for winter sports. These sports include hockey, figure skating, and speed skating. The process is more complex than filling a rink with water and letting it freeze.

“It’s more of a science than most people think,” says Mark Messer. Messer is an ice master. He maintains the speed skating rink at the University of Calgary in Canada. He’s helped create the ice at seven Winter Olympics. He’s also created ice for countless races and hockey games. More than 300 world records have been set on his ice!

The ice-making process starts with an oval-shaped cement floor that’s chilled to below freezing. Messer and his team spray a thin layer of purified water on the cement. The water freezes into a slick coating of ice. They repeat the process to make ice layers. The team is careful to make sure no air or minerals end up in between each layer. Air bubbles make the ice weak and more likely to crack. Minerals make it harder for skaters to glide.

They keep adding layers until the ice is roughly 1 inch thick. Skaters test the ice to see how fast it feels. But Messer can tell if the ice is fast by how it looks.

The ice-making process starts with a cement floor shaped like an oval. The floor is chilled to below freezing. Messer and his team spray a thin layer of purified water on the cement. The water freezes. It creates a slick coating of ice. Messer and his team repeat the process to make ice layers. The team is careful to make sure no air or minerals end up in between each layer. Air bubbles make the ice weak. Weak ice is more likely to crack. Minerals make it harder for skaters to glide.

The team keeps adding layers until the ice is roughly 1 inch thick. Skaters test the ice to see how fast it feels. But Messer can tell if the ice is fast by how it looks.

Different sports need different ice conditions, says Messer. Ice hardness, temperature, and texture vary for each sport.

Long-distance speed skating uses the coldest and thinnest ice. This allows racers’ skates to glide with little friction. 

Hockey players need slightly warmer and thicker ice, so they can dig their skates into the surface to make sharp turns.

Different sports need different ice conditions, says Messer. Ice hardness is different for each sport. Temperature and texture vary for each sport too.

Long-distance speed skating uses the coldest and thinnest ice. This type of ice allows racers’ skates to glide with little friction.

Hockey players need slightly warmer and thicker ice. This type of ice allows hockey players to dig their skates into the surface. This helps them make sharp turns.