Canadian ice makers help build the best possible track for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton athletes
India's Shiva Keshwan competes in Luge Singles and Jagdish Singh in 15 km cross country skiing. It is Canada at it again. Ten Canadian Ice Makers - experts in laying and maintaining ice tracks - are here in PyeongChang to help construct and maintain Olympic ice track. On the recommendation of world renowned track director Tracy Seitz, the Korean sliding federation invited a team of Canadian ice makers, including Greg Harries and Adam Taber, to help in the construction of the Olympic sliding track.
Greg Harries and Adam Taber are known to put their best foot forward into their ice track making assignments.
The Olympic Canada team talked to them about their expertise. “It feels great having the athletes sliding the ice we helped make! We know them all from previous events and training sessions back in Whistler, and take great pride in providing them the best possible ice conditions,” saysHarries
“One of the greatest things about being an ice maker is seeing the progression and cycles of athlete development. I remember sending Reid Watts down the Whistler track his first time,” said Harries. “And now, to see him on the national team representing our country is very rewarding!”
Ice tracks need constant maintenance. They are entirely made and maintained manually.
For PyeongChang 2018 there is a team comprised of six local and sixteen international ice makers. This team has been in Korea for almost a month prepping the Olympic track for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.
“To get the track going initially it takes about a dozen workers a week or more to get enough ice on the track to send sleds. After that, it’s a constant process,” Harries explained.
Once the Olympic Winter Games begin, a typical day for Harries and Taber starts with prepping the track for sliding. This includes doing a track walk through to look for any issues/damages, sweeping out any loose ice, and adding water to keep the track smooth and fast. Harries and Taber will then help facilitate the Olympic sliding events by sending athletes down the track, prepping the track between sliding sessions, and immediately fixing any “potholes”.
[caption id="attachment_109208" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Canadian track technicians use an ice scraper from Vancouver 2010 to work on the sliding track at PyeongChang 2018[/caption]
The ice making team are also an important asset for potential sliding crashes. Harries, Taber and other members of the team stand by during sliding sessions, ready to catch athletes if a crash occurs.
Harries and Taber got their first Olympic ice making opportunity at Vancouver 2010 due to their well-known reputation for good ice. Little did they know that this opportunity would lead to their return to another Olympic Winter Games.
“I had no idea until then that being an international Olympic ice maker could be a gig. But once I realized that, I stayed working at the Whistler track in hopes that my number would come up," Taber said.
The two ice makers worked alongside Tracy Seitz at Vancouver 2010. Harries and Taber attribute their reputation for good ice to Seitz and his 30+ years in ice making. Seitz was track chief for Salt Lake City 2002, Turin 2006, and Vancouver 2010. In his years of experience, he learned everything there is to know about ice making through trial and error.
“We were lucky to have him pass on that knowledge to us in Whistler during the Vancouver 2010 Games, and set the expectations high,” said Harries. “We took it to heart and made a name for ourselves as producing and providing some of the best ice in the world.”
Luge will be the first event to take place on the Olympic track in PyeongChang on February 10.
One of India's two athletes here, Shiva Keshwan, is competing in Luge singles. Only other Indian athlete participating here is Jagdish Singh in 15 km cross country skiing.
-PTC News
