Styrians at the EM
Trickery? “The federation is much stricter now!”
The Styrian ice skaters will be competing in the European Championships in Waldkraiburg from Wednesday. The material is a decisive factor in the hunt for medals. The "Krone" visited manufacturer "Ladler" and had everything explained in detail. And was also allowed to take a look behind the scenes.
Stock heil! From Wednesday morning, the European Curling Championships will be taking place in Waldkraiburg, Germany. The Austrians are among the favorites. The athletes already had to overcome the first hurdle on Tuesday: the material check. Philipp Ladler, third-generation head of the manufacturer of the same name, explained the most important things you need to know about the material to the "Krone".
This is checked: There is a rule book for the sport, but also for the material, where everything is precisely specified. Every dimension is standardized. For example, the weight, the inner and outer diameters, the spacing, the hardness of the plastic or the geometry of the plates. For the stick itself, how straight it has to be, the bevel or even the tolerance limits. For the handle, for example, the distribution of the center of gravity is checked.
That's the trick: It's not so much the manufacturers who do something wrong with the plates, but the players themselves who change things. It's like doping with athletes. You can manipulate things on ice so that the stick sticks to the ice. Then you can no longer shoot it out. Thankfully, the association has become much stricter. Trickery has decreased dramatically.
Thedifferences in the material: it is precisely prescribed which materials may be used and how. The crux is how you process it. It's a combination of handle, stick and plate. There are around 700 variants of the shaft in terms of length, grips and their coatings. For the blades, there are 14 different colors in winter (note: speed gradations) and eleven in summer. With the national team, we know exactly what each player needs - we then tailor everything to that.
Production: We sell between 10,000 and 15,000 boards a year, and we always have them in stock. We only make sticks and handles to order. It takes around 15 to 20 working hours per stick from the raw material to the finished product, and around three to four for the slab. It's a mixture of manual work and machine work. I would describe us as a manufactory where a lot of the work is done by hand. For an assembly line, we would need a hundred times the output. That's why we can't produce so cheaply.
The costs: A plate costs around 80 euros, depending on the model. The stick itself costs between 310 and 350 euros and the handle costs between 70 and 140 euros - depending on the complexity. In addition, there is the levy to the international association IFI, which is financed by this: an additional 30 euros per stick, or six euros for a plate. There is a one-off cost, after that there is only the membership fee to the association.
The Styrians at the European Championships
Jacqueline Klammler (ESV Union Passail)
Marion Peinhaupt (ESV Großfeistritz)
Stefan Gamper (EV Ladler Tal Leoben)
Martin Laffer (RSU Leitersdorf im Raabtal)
Stefan Schwarzl (ESV Krottendorf)
Mario Weingartmann (SSV ASKÖ Weiz Nord)
Markus Rothberger (Lower Austria, EV Ladler Tal Leoben)
This is how much equipment a player has with him: As a team you are allowed to have twelve plates in a game with six turns: four on the stick and eight in the carrier. Each player has about 15 to 20 plates in his bag. After shooting in, they see which ones they need. Between games, you can swap the plates in the carrier if the ice gets faster.
How long the material lasts: In principle, you can play forever with a stick. At some point, however, it will be worn out, but it won't fall apart. At the highest level, however, the men replace it every one or two years to get the most out of it. The ladies change it a little later, because you don't have to apply so much force. And a handle lasts forever, you just change the grip tape. With the plates, it takes about two seasons for them to reach their full potential.
The future of stick sports: countries like Brazil get their equipment from the international association. They only shoot on asphalt, never on ice. Nevertheless, they are concentrating on ice shooting because the hope of making it to the Olympics is greater. But the future certainly lies in summer sports. 15 to 20 years ago, we were a seasonal sport and many people shot on frozen ponds. Indoor ice shooting costs money and you always have fixed times. You go to the summer rinks (note: asphalt, paved rinks) when you feel like it.
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