Martiny Sáblík Ice Oval: Skaters Flock to New Rink

Skaters have been waiting for many years for the oval to become operational. “According to our colleagues, the last time we iced the oval was in December 2017,” recalled Radim Technik, who heads the city’s Sportis organization managing the city’s sports grounds for only the third year.

“First, we carefully rolled the snow on the surface, and then, with the great help of the firemen of the town of Žďár nad Sázavou, we started icing the oval, which is 333 meters long, on the evening of January 1st,” mentioned Technik.

Two rough primer coats were first needed to create the track. “The final smooth and flat surface was created by our people using an ice roller,” Technik described.

In simple terms, it can be said that the quality of the ice will increase with the number of modifications by the roller, the initial onslaught helped a lot, when the skaters took the ice seriously and started it. “At one point on Sunday afternoon, an estimated 300 to 400 people were skating,” the director highlighted the public’s interest.

The oval is multi-purpose, outside of winter it is used by in-line skaters, including the star Martina Sáblíková, who comes from Žďár, and in May it is used for fairground attractions. It also serves circuses or bikers when opening and closing roads.

How long the ice attraction will last in a city of 20,000 will of course depend on the weather. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., admission is free. However, those interested in ice-skating must check the schedule of available sports venues on the web verify that the oval is not reserved for athletes.

“For example, on Mondays from 4 to 5 p.m., the oval is reserved for speed skaters, who then leave for competitions in Germany,” mentioned the director of Sportis.

According to him, the cost of icing is not high. Firefighters pumped water from the river, the snowmobile uses water from a borehole, the workers of the neighboring winter stadium did it during their working hours.