25th Masters' Allround Games

Friday, 12 February 2016 20:15

25th Masters' Allround Games - newsletter

Joke Wittenberg

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MAG 2016 logo Please find here clicking on "Read More" the newsletter of the 25th Masters' Allround Games that will be held in Leeuwarden/NED from March 4th till March 6th 2016.

The Organizing Committee of the "25^th Masters' International Allround Games 2016" is pleased to welcome you as a participant of the Masters' International Allround Games on 4^th, 5^th and 6^th March 2016 in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. With this newsletter we want to inform you about some important details of the event. We are looking forward to MAG2016!!

The Organizing Committee MAG2016:

Joke Wittenberg (Chairman)
Leen van den Heuvel (Competition Manager)
Marja Smies-Oenema
Tjeerd Smies
Monique Vergeer-van den Heuvel
Bram de Vries
Trudi de Vries

REGISTRATION

All participants have to register before the start of the competition. This is possible on:

Wednesday 2^nd of March between 14:00 and 17:00 and
Thursday 3^rd of March between 09:00 and 15:00.

The registering takes place in the reception hall of the "Elfstedenhal". On Thursday 3 March at 15:00 the registration will be closed. So every participant has to be registered personally before this closing time!

After registration, you will get your tickets for the opening ceremony and closing banquet. Here you can also pay for your eventuel ordered extra tickets (for example for your partner). If you have not ordered these extra tickets yet, please send an email before 20 February to:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. tickets.

TRAINING TIMES

During the days before the Masters' Allround Games, there will be the following training possibilities:

Public hours:
Training on the days before competition is possible on the public hours of the Elfstedenhal. The ice rink is open from 10:00 to 15:00. Because it's a holiday week in The Netherlands, they expect a lot of skaters in the afternoon, so our advice is to do your training session in the morning. The entrance fee for these public hours is 6 Euro.
Special session:
A special (quiet) training session is possible on Wednesday 2nd March, from 18:25-19:55. For this session the fee is 5 Euro.
Free sessions:
Free training sessions for all participants (no fee) are possible on:
- Thursday 3^rd of March from 12:15 to 13:15 and
- Friday 4^th of March from 12:00 to 13:00 (incl. possibility for test starts).

OPENING CEREMONY

We invite you for the official Opening Ceremony on Thursday 3^rd of March from 16:00 to 18:00 in the Townhall (Stadhuis) Leeuwarden. This ceremony is dedicated to the Elfstedentocht (11 City Tour).

After the opening by Mrs. Isabelle Diks, Alderman of Leeuwarden, Mr. Wiebe Wieling, president of the "Koninklijke Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden", shall show us a very special (short) film about the 'Elfstedentocht'.

After the official opening, you will be invited for a walk along all 11 cities of the 'Elfstedentocht', where you at each city can get a drink, snack or small present. This is possible via the 'stamp card' which you will receive. By having a full 'stamp card', you will get the '11 City Cross'!

PROGRAM

TEST RACE: LIEUWE DE BOER AND JAN YKEMA

Old Olympic medal winners Lieuwe de Boer (M65) and Jan Ykema (M50), both living in Friesland, will perform the test race on Friday. This testrace will take place on Friday 4th March at 15:55.

So be there on time to watch these 'old Dutch top speed skaters' doing their first 500 meter race since years!

SWINGING WITH "DIK D'R NEFFE"

During the ice preparation on Saturday and Sunday, the brass band ('dweilorkest') "Dik d'r Neffe" will play around the rink.

That means that the public will have good times also during the ice preparation!

VICTORY CEREMONY

The Victory Ceremony will take place directly after the final races on Sunday (± 18:00) on the inner area of the Elfstedenhal.

While waiting for the Ceremony, there will be real Dutch 'Snert' (pea soup) and chocolate for all participants and in the meantime a group of traditional Dutch 'pair' skaters will give us a demonstration of this skating tradition.

CLOSING BANQUET: LET'S ROCK!

After the Victory Ceremony, we start at 19:30 with the closing banquet in the WestCord WTC Hotel Leeuwarden.

There will be a warm and cold buffet, which will be musically accompanied by the band "Dakkeraf" (those who were at the 4th Master Sprint Games in 2012 in Heerenveen, will remember this band).

After the buffet, there will be time enough for some dancing and swinging of course!

OFFICIAL PARTNER HOTEL: WESTCORD WTC LEEUWARDEN

No accommodation booked yet? We have one official hotel, the WestCord WTC Hotel Leeuwarden, 300 meters away from the ice rink. The city centre of Leeuwarden and the central station are only a 15 minute walk from the hotel.

The special offer for participants of the Masters' Allround Games is 75.00 Euro per room per day (excluding breakfast), the price for breakfast is 12.50 Euro per person.

You can make a reservation by phone: +31 (0)58 2334900 or by email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Games 2016. Please indicate in the booking: IMSSC Games 2016.

EXCURSION SKATING MUSEUM HINDELOOPEN

There is a possibility for all the participants (and partners) to see the unique and greatest collection of skates in the world. This collection is in the First Frisian Skating Museum in the historical town of Hindeloopen (www.schaatsmuseum.nl).

The visit of this Museum will be on Wednesday the 2^nd of March from 12:00-17:00.

12:00 Depart rail station Leeuwarden

12:45 Arrival rail station Hindeloopen

13:00 Arrival skating museum with coffee/orange cake, explanation by guide through the museum and Hindeloopen

17:10 Depart rail station Hindeloopen

17:55 Arrival rail station Leeuwarden

Costs return ticket 16 Euro p.p.

The entrance of the museum is free. There is also a restaurant for a drink or a delightful pancake.

Interested skaters can make a reservation up to the 1^st of March by sending an email to:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. More information you can read here.

FOR THE DUTCH PARTICIPANTS...

On Schaatscircuit.nl you can see the final list of Dutch participants to the Masters' Allround Games in Leeuwarden. This newsletter is also sent to the masters who are on the 'reserve list'. If someone has to cancel, the first reserve in that age group will be called to participate.

Ben van Hagen and Monique Vergeer-van den Heuvel will be the coaches during this weekend for all the Dutch participants. So see them in Leeuwarden and talk with them about the details of your coaching or if you have any questions. They will join the team leaders meeting on behalf of the Dutch participants.

Do you want to be coached by your own trainer/coach, that's also possible, providing he/she is Trainer-coach level 3 and has an accreditation from the KNSB (via Anita Broekhuis of the KNSB).