The Dutch are starting to warm up in their first official cold snap since 1997 as area supervisors from the or ‘Eleven Cities Tour’ association have confirmed they are convening this evening to discuss the possibility of a 2012 event.

In Dutch newspaper , the chairman of the association, Wiebe Wieling, said the ongoing freezing temperatures are low enough to warrant preliminary talks. “The chance of an Eleven Cities Tour happens once in 15 years. As a thaw has not been forecast in the immediate future, we want to explore the options further.”

Ice-skating fever

An is a natural ice-skating marathon in the northern province of Friesland that goes through 11 cities and covers 200 kilometres. As the ice has to be thick enough for the whole length of the route and as Dutch winters are unpredictable, it means that sometimes 20 years can pass between races.

If the outdoor race goes ahead, it sends the nation into “ice-skating fever”, that maybe even surpasses the European or world football championships frenzy. The some 20,000 participants skate on a completely natural maze of frozen ditches, dykes, polders and canals.

Cold snap official

Today, the Dutch meteorological office confirmed the Netherlands is experiencing a cold snap as the temperatures have not risen above zero for five days and have stayed below minus ten for three consecutive nights. Since the Eleven Cities Tour was founded, there have been 31 official cold snaps and only in ten of these cases has the event not gone ahead.

The 22 area supervisors from the tour’s association are responsible for measuring the ice, determining the safety of the weather conditions and the organisation of the stamping posts along the route. At the moment, measures have been taken to artificially facilitate the thickening of the ice around the towns of Sneek and Harlingen.

Newspaper says it’s likely a press conference will be held on Monday morning in the provincial capital Leeuwarden.