The Netherlands

Exciting sporting facts

Ice skating
The Dutch have always been a nation of ice-skating enthusiasts. Records show that ice skates were being manufactured as early as the 14th century and that the makers even had their own guild. While the rest of Europe still used runners made from bone, the Dutch were already making ice skates with iron runners. As we know from numerous paintings, ice-skating on the frozen canals was already a popular pastime in the 16th century. The sport was enjoyed by men and women and rich and poor alike. People often skated huge distances. In 1697 a man skated an incredible 260 kilometres in one day in order to visit his son!
The biggest ice-skating event is the "Elfstedentocht", which links 11 different towns over 200 kilometres along frozen canals. Of course, the event can only take place in exceptionally cold winters. The provincial capital of Leeuwarden is the start and the finish point of the race. Ice skating races like this were already popular in the 17th century, when the winning prizes included a portion of bacon with beans. Since there were many poor people in those days, many less-talented people decided to partake in the races as well. In 1986 even the Dutch crown prince Willem-Alexander took part.

Kolv
Kolv is a contact sport similar to ice hockey which goes back to the late 15th century. It is played with a bent stick fitted with metal plates, which make it much heavier than a modern day hockey stick. A wooden ball is hit towards a peg sunken into the ice. The rules are similar to the French game Boule and to the Italian Boccia. Kolv can be played in winter on frozen canals or in the summer on lawns or in public squares.

Fastest sprinter on stilts
On 28th May 1992, the Dutchman Roy Luiking set the record for the fastest sprint ever on stilts by running 100 metres in an incredible 13.01 seconds - on 30.5 centimetre high stilts!

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