Every detail counts when you’re competing for Olympic gold. Slick ice can create record-breaking conditions, but a bump in the wrong place could dash dreams. That’s where the “ice masters” come in.
Ice masters are the experts in charge of making the ice for sports like hockey and speed skating. The process is more complex than just filling an oval with water and letting it freeze.
“It’s more of a science than most people think,” says Mark Messer. He’s the ice master who maintains the speed skating oval at the University of Calgary in Canada. If anyone knows ice, it’s Messer. He’s helped create the ice at seven different Winter Olympics and for countless races and hockey games. More than 300 world records have been set on his ice!