The Organization - Responsible For Eleven City Tour
The board of ‘De Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden’ is responsible for the organization of both the competitive race and the non-competitive tour. After this race, the Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden (Association of the Eleven Frisian Cities) was established to take care of the organization.
Area supervisors and their assistants help them. The members of the board and the area supervisors meet regularly once the weather conditions are such that an Eleven City Tour becomes a possibility.
They discuss the condition of the ice and the weather in general. They are the ones who decide if, and when, an Eleven City Tour will be organized. Thousands of volunteers assist them once it has been decided that the tour will go ahead. They work at a frantic pace as there are only a few days in which to organize this gigantic event.
In 1963, only 1% of the contestants finished the race, due to the extremely low temperatures -18°C and a harsh eastern wind.
In 1986 the Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander participated in the Elfstedentocht, under the name W.A. van Buren.
The finishing point of the Elfstedentocht is a windmill, De Bullemolen, Lekkum.
Location and Contact:
Koninklijke Vereniging De Friesche Elf Steden (Association of the Eleven Frisian Cities)
Postbus 569
8901 BJ Leeuwarden
Tel: (058) 215 50 20
Fax: (058) 213 85 20
E-mail: i...@defriescheelfsteden.nl
Website: http://www.elfstedentocht.nl/