By Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING (Reuters), – Ice hockey games are dominated by the whizzing puck, and body movements.

Rick Ragan is fixated on the white frozen surface where the action occurs.

I’m watching the snow being made and how it is cut. “I’m monitoring the temperature of ice while the game goes on,” he stated.

The 48-year old Minnesotan was hired as the chief icemaker at the Wukesong Arena for the 2022 Winter Olympics. It also served as a basketball venue during the 2008 Summer Games.

Although ice hockey originated on frozen lakes and rivers, the science behind artificial rinks is now a scientific discipline.

Can anyone make ice?” Yes, it is possible to create ice by simply placing a hose onto a frozen floor. Ragan explained that the best ice is made by doing little things.

These include learning how minerals can affect water’s “hardness”, and adapting for various sports.

Ragan explained that the ice used for figure skating should be soft enough to cushion falls. However, speed skating requires a harder ice. Paralympics ice hockey requires thicker Ice.

Ragan also helped with the ice during the Pyeongchang 2018 Games, South Korea.

Making ice can be a tedious process. Wukesong took over one week to make – and it was due to the need for repeated flooding the rink in order to form layer after layer.

For this event we made ice 1 cm in thickness, then painted the surface white with water. We also painted any hockey marks and added more ice. Ragan stated that the final goal was to build the ice up to four cm at 1.75 cm.

“For the Olympics we placed the lines and logos higher to make them look great on TV,” he stated.

Ragan stated patience is required for this process. Ragan said that the more layers are thin, the stronger and longer-lasting the ice.

“It could take between 80 and 90 floods until we have a layer of ice that we can be comfortable with. Ragan stated that it would not be good if you hurry it.” Ragan left his Florida job as electrician and moved to Beijing for the ice-making process.

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Ragan and Don Moffat (chief ice maker) are among the 61 foreign specialists who assist in the Beijing Olympics from construction through to operation.

The two men arrived in Beijing for a trial period of three weeks. They were able skip Beijing’s three-week COVID-19 quarantine. Instead, Ragan estimated that 100 police officers surrounded the bus as it drove along a road blocked from traffic.

They surveyed the venues and analysed every possible factor that might affect the ice. Beijing 2022 isn’t selling tickets and has yet to say how many people will be permitted in the venues.

Ragan stated that Moffat, Ragan and other members of the Chinese ice-making group asked many questions.

He said, “They work together in China and have the hunger to learn.”

Ragan said that the feeling of eagerness in meeting with officials was evident as Ragan repeated his message about these being “the greatest Games ever.”

He stated, “That was something we didn’t really hear much in Pyeongchang,”