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Ice maker keeps curling event on smooth path

Xinhua, January 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

While many of the crowds have had their eyes fixed on curling action at the Chinese National Winter Games, behind the scenes a dedicated team of people ensure it runs without a hitch.

High on the list is Tim Yeo, a top curling ice technician from Canada.

"Curling ice is different from other ice. The ice quality has a big impact on curlers' performance," said Yeo. "There is a science to preparing ice for the shuffleboard-like sport."

Indeed, creating quality ice for a curling competition demands vast experience and dedication.

Yeo arrived in Urumqi two weeks ahead of the National Winter Games to make the ice. First Yeo and his crew painted over hockey lines, drew throwing circles, logos and other curling-specific markings and put foam around the edges of the long, narrow game sheets. From there, they flooded the playing surfaces with water.

Then they shaved the flooded ice surface until it's totally flat and began pebbling. From a water tank on his back, Yeo sprayed purified water through a copper wand, which dropped pebbles across every centimeter of the 44-meter curling sheet.

"The pebbles create the spin of the stone after it's released, so pebbling is the most important procedure," explained Yeo's assistant Guo Haoran.

To keep the game running smoothly, Yeo must monitor ice temperature, air quality and humidity levels through a central computer system and make real-time adjustments to ensure the pebbles can last through the match.

Whats make great ice?

Temperature is critical. Too warm means ice gets too soft; too cold is too brittle. According to Yeo, the ideal temperature is minus 4.7 degree Celsius.

Water is also vital. Clean water is easier to manipulate into perfect pebbles on the ice, said Yeo.

One of the 10-plus Level-4 (the top-level) ice makers acknowledged by the World Curling Association, Yeo has been making ice for 45 years for major events around the world such as the world curling championships.

"We hope good curling and hope good team to win," said Yeo. "That's what we work for." Endit