{"id":243,"date":"2026-10-02T06:48:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?post_type=ba_guide&#038;p=243"},"modified":"2026-10-02T06:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:48:28","slug":"elfstedentocht-guide","status":"publish","type":"ba_guide","link":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?ba_guide=elfstedentocht-guide","title":{"rendered":"Elfstedentocht: why the Netherlands waits for a 200 km skating race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ba-lead wp-block-paragraph\">The Elfstedentocht is a roughly 200-kilometre natural-ice skating tour\/race through eleven Frisian cities. Its rarity is part of its status: it can only be held when natural ice along the route is sufficiently safe.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why it is such a big deal<\/h2><p>The organising Koninklijke Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden was founded in 1909. The association says the route needs at least 15 cm of ice before the event can be organised. That makes an Elfstedentocht a national event rather than an annual fixture.<\/p><!-- \/wp:post-content -->\n<!-- wp:heading --><h2>Can I simply sign up when it freezes?<\/h2><!-- \/wp:heading --><p>No. Participation is governed by the organising association and its membership\/start-right rules. Do not promise yourself a start place merely because you live in the Netherlands. Check the association&#8217;s current rules well before a possible event.<\/p><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n<!-- wp:heading --><h2>Alternatives<\/h2><!-- \/wp:heading --><p>The eleven-city route also inspires cycling, walking and other events. These are separate events with their own organisers and rules; they are not substitutes for the official natural-ice Elfstedentocht.<\/p><!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The history, ice requirement, participation reality and cultural importance of Friesland\u2019s famous Eleven Cities skating tour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","ba_country":[2],"ba_topic":[270,269,268,262],"ba_audience":[261,17],"ba_section":[23,20,272],"ba_stage":[29,30],"ba_location":[],"class_list":["post-243","ba_guide","type-ba_guide","status-publish","hentry","ba_country-netherlands","ba_topic-elfstedentocht","ba_topic-frisian-sports","ba_topic-speed-skating","ba_topic-sport-clubs","ba_audience-newcomers","ba_audience-residents","ba_section-language-culture","ba_section-living","ba_section-sport-clubs","ba_stage-integrating","ba_stage-living-stage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/ba_guide"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/243\/revisions\/244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ba_country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_country&post=243"},{"taxonomy":"ba_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_topic&post=243"},{"taxonomy":"ba_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_audience&post=243"},{"taxonomy":"ba_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_section&post=243"},{"taxonomy":"ba_stage","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_stage&post=243"},{"taxonomy":"ba_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_location&post=243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}