On Wednesday, March 8, 2023, the best skating sprinters in the world came to the Elfstedenhal in Leeuwarden to end the season in style in a sold-out stadium during the world’s fastest ice skating show.
The field of participants was more international than ever before and with, among others, 3-time world champion Jordan Stolz (who also won the Oscar Mathisen Trophy 2023), Olympic champion Erin Jackson, world champion Femke Kok and sprint guns such as Yuma Murakami and Dione Voskamp, there is not much left to be desired.
The week of De Zilveren Bal already started on Saturday 4 March, when we were allowed to organize a sporty and informative morning for Firda, the merging educational institution in Friesland. About 75 employees followed clinics by top skaters such as Michel Mulder, Dione Voskamp and Jan Ykema and then enjoyed a lecture by former skating coach Gerard Kemkers. A wonderful collaboration with a view to the future: being a springboard for talent, both in the sporting and educational field.
The junior tournament of De Zilveren Bal was separated from the main tournament and organized with the help of Daikin Netherlands, the Sven Kramer Academy and TeamFRL. 120 skating talents from the Netherlands competed in a special atmosphere. The best part of this day was the autograph session with the participants of the main tournament. Children and parents stood with a grin on their face to score an autograph from their idol.
A day later ‘the grand finale’ took place. De Zilveren Bal 2023. It was a wonderful evening with a full VIP program led by presenter Dione de Graaff. It was also spectacular on the ice. Ambassador Dione Voskamp took victory for the second time in a row, just ahead of Femke Kok and Erin Jackson. The difference between the three ladies in the final was only two hundredths! For the men, it was Yuma Murakami who dominated the evening. In the first round he had to put up with Yevgeniy Koshkin and Jordan Stolz, in the following rounds he was the boss of everyone.
”What has been achieved with the DZB TEAM exceeded all expectations. That by SHARING together you can really multiply, based on mutual trust has been proven in practice by our project organization. Beautiful sustainable partnerships with De Elfstedenhal, Volvo van der Schaaf, MHB, Kooi Camerasecurity are the result. About sixty companies and organizations have now committed themselves to the sprinters’ ball, which means that we can continue to grow every year. DZB has become an integral part of the skating calendar, where even the ISU has shown interest and the event has developed into what it is today. As chairman of this wonderful Foundation, I would like to thank the entire team, sponsors and all volunteers and those involved, PROUD of the DZM TEAM, says Wietze Jongsma”.
Watch the aftermovie here.
