The B.C. long track speed skating championships at the Outdoor Ice Oval were a test event in more ways than one for organizers.
Besides acting as a run-through for the timing equipment for the 2015 Canada Winter Games next month, provincials served as a test for the ice crews that had to deal with mild temperatures at the oval.
About 80 skaters from across the province competed in the two-day event on the weekend.
On Saturday, hard and fast ice served up superb conditions earlier in the day.
But warm gusty winds from the southwest, along with sunny skies later on, sent the mercury soaring to 4 C, which ended competition a few hours earlier than anticipated and forced some races to be postponed.
"The ice was in really good shape on Saturday and after we installed the lines [earlier in the week], we couldn't build as much ice as we wanted to. We had under half-an-inch of ice by Saturday," said Outdoor Ice Oval president Kathy Lewis. "The sun came out and the blue lines [lane markers] absorbed the heat and melted the ice."
Competition was postponed by noon Saturday, which allowed crews to flood the ice Saturday night and Sunday morning. Lewis said it stayed cold enough to resume racing on Sunday, which allowed organizers to get the remainder of races in, even with the snowfall.
"By the end of the day Sunday, the ice was soft and the feedback we received was that everyone was very appreciative of our volunteers and they appreciated we could pull the racing off," said Lewis. "It wasn't indoor quality ice but we can make indoor quality ice as long as it's cold enough."
The crews included six shifts of three people, each using bobcats and Zambonis, and four official track setters. Even skaters and parents helped out patching the lines in between races.
Because of the challenging weather, Lewis said oval crews are more confident they can succeed when 2015 Games athletes take to the ice Feb. 13-20.
"It was a good challenge for us, knowing we can make the ice skateable," she said. "We learned a lot. Given similar conditions we won't have a problem pulling it off."
Up next for the oval is the PG Iceman set for Sunday.
Colder weather will be necessary this week to build the ice back up to a suitable base.
- with files from Ted Clarke
