Introduction in English
Stockholms skridskoseglarklubb
The Stockholm Ice Skate Sailing Association
(The Stockholm Ice Skate Sailing and Touring Club)
Stockholms
skridskoseglarklubb, SSSK, founded in 1901, is the largest and oldest skating association
in Scandinavia and the largest skating organization outside The Netherlands. It has about
13,000 members. In the beginning, ice skate sailing dominated, but today tour skating is
the main activity. Each week a large number of tours of between 30 and 100 kilometers are
organized for the members.
Tour skating on ice (in Swedish "långfärdsskridskoåkning") is now a
popular sport in Sweden. Maybe the best conditions in the world are those found around
Stockholm with a considerable number of both large and small lakes plus the extensive nearby
archipelago in the Baltic Sea. The smallest lakes may freeze normally in November, although the main season usually starts in December and lasts until March
or April. Snow is not a major problem in this part of Sweden because in cold periods there
are often areas of unfrozen water that can still freeze, and in mild periods the snow
melts down to slush in the daytime and freezes to ice during the night.
The Baltic around Stockholm does not freeze every year, but when it does skating there
is a very special experience. The lakes also offer outstanding conditions for great tours.
On the large Lake Mälaren it is very popular to skate between the many towns situated
along the shores and experienced skaters may skate 100 kilometers or more in a day. Most
medium-sized and small lakes are located in very beautiful forest landscapes, giving
skating there a special character.
Stockholm and its surrounding have a very good public transport system with many buses,
trains, and boats, which can be used to get to the ice. Some good places for skating can
even be reached in a few minutes on the subway from the center of Stockholm. By using
public transport there is no need to end a tour where you started, so with a little
planning you can have the wind behind you for a whole day. For longer tours this can be
achieved using chartered buses.
The way lakes and the sea freeze is rather complicated and the freezing takes place
over a long period of time. This means that the ice situation is often hard to predict.
The thickness and quality of the ice vary a lot and weak areas are common. Skating on
natural ice is therefore risky and safety issues are of great importance. Every year there
are a number of severe accidents caused by people misjudging the thickness and strength of
the ice. However, the skating can be made very safe. The golden rules are: never skate
alone; never skate without at least one person in the group with proper experience; never
skate without the proper safety equipment.
Safety equipment you always should have with you:
- A floating aid. A life jacket or a backpack with spare clothes in waterproof bags. The
backpack should have a waist belt.
- A complete set of spare clothes. In case the ice breaks and you end up in the water.
- Ice-prods (Swedish "isdubbar"). These are a pair of screwdriver-like spikes.
They are used to get a good grip when pulling yourself back on to the ice and they should
be fastened high around your neck and secured with lines to prevent loss.
- A whistle to attract attention.
- An ice-pike (Swedish "ispik"). Used to check if the ice is strong enough. It
looks like a heavy ski stick.
- A rescue rope in a weighted throwing bag (Swedish "räddningslina"). Very
useful in helping to pull people out of the water.
A group on the ice should preferably consist of at least three people at least one of
whom should have sufficient experience of skating on natural ice.
Other links in English about ice tour skating in Sweden:
Pages in English:
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