Schoonrijden, for which there is no English word (literaly translated as "Fancy Skating"), is an age old Dutch sport and one of the oldest disciplines of the Royal Dutch Skating Association (K.N.S.B.).
Schoonrijden can be described as the performing of a perfect skating action, ridden alternately on the inside and outside of a wide, slightly rounded skating blade. Because of this style, it is possible to skate long, graceful loops.
Alongside the competition- and recreational skaters, the National Association of “Schoonrijders” (L.V.S.) also has a team of skaters that give demonstrations, dressed in special, authentic local dress. These performances are given all over the country and sometimes even outside the Netherlands.
As condition of participation one has to own and wear authentic clothing.
Over the years this group has grown into a representive team.
In the Netherlands there is no general skating uniform. Every area or district has it’s own uniform or dress code. That is the reason why people speak of local dress and not general dress. These local dress codes evolved from a certain style of fashion around 1850. We recognize “living” (still in use) and “dead” dress codes. The “living” dress codes were general clothing of the fisherman’s families of the day, which, in view of folklore, are still worn today. Prosperity or poverty was expressed in that time period by the clothes people wore.
Around 1970, the existence of schoonrijden was threatened, mainly caused by a shortage of ice. Because of the long, wide skating action and their big loops, the skaters took up too much space. This lead to them being no longer wanted on the ice rinks. An alternative was sought and found in the inventing of the “inner-track” style. Around the same time the local dress group was founded by Mr. Jan de Koker. Mr. Cees Kamp was appointed leader of the group and was assisted by Mrs. Gré Klok-Muntjewerf. She was appointed because of her substantial knowledge of the local dress codes.
The local dress group performs on invitation and is currently lead by Mr. Cees de Vries. They perform at private festivities as well as public, and are a regular sight at the European or World Skating Championships, giving demonstrations during the opening and/or closing ceremonies. The group has also performed twice in Italy. Beside all this, a few dancing pairs find time to work on winter and Christmas programs on the television.
Because most of the skating is done on an artificial ice rink (400 m.), all of the rink is used. The inside track (30x60 m.) is an area of restricted size. Because of this the carrousel is usually skated. This is a 20 minute show, but can be lengthened or shorted if needed. People skate in pairs, but individual skating is also done. They also practice a special sort of skating. “Aan de stok” or “with a stick”. This is where a row of women are individually joined to a row of men by a stick. This helps the two rows to stay in sync when skating. When the rows are eight long, this is called skating “en bloc”. An impressive sight, as you can see in one of the pictures on the homepage of www.rinkes.nl/schoonrijden/. The usage of a stick dates back to the time when people skated tours. The stick was used as a support when people were tired. It also helped to pull people out of the water when they fell through the ice.
The local dress group exists of 32 skaters. One does not have to invite the whole group for a demonstration. The skaters come from the Dutch provinces Friesland, Overijssel, Flevoland, Brabant, North-Holland, South-Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland and Zeeland. In the past it was a problem to find a way of getting everybody to train at the same time. This has been solved and for the past years the group trains once every two weeks at the "PWA SilverDome" in Zoetermeer. This has resulted in a team of a very high standard.
For information and/or a request for a show, please contact:
Mr. Cees de Vries
Tel.: +31 229 55 15 88
E-mail: npal@xs4all.nl
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Laatst gewijzigd: Monday 22 February 2010 12:58 CET.