Medeo
Encyclopedia
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
and bandy
Bandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
rink. It is located in a mountain valley (Medeu Valley, or the valley of Malaya Alma-Atinka River) on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world. It has 10.5 thousand square meters of ice and utilizes a sophisticated freezing and watering system to ensure the quality of the ice.
Construction of the stadium began in the fall of 1949, and the first competition took place at the stadium on the February 4th, 1951. Medeu switched to its current system of artificial ice in 1972 by a team of Soviet engineers.
The Medeu Dam
Medeu Dam
Medeu Mudflow Control Dam is a dam across the Medeu Valley south-east of Almaty, Kazakhstan, designed to protect the city from devastating debris flows .- The mudflow threat :...
, built in the late 1960s, stands immediately south of the skating rink, protecting it - and the city of Almaty itself - from potentially devastating mud flows. Viewpoints on top of the dam provide great views of the stadium.
Medeu has seen many world records in all the speed skating distances from 1951 through the 1980s: 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, and the 10000 m. In 1972, the rink made a very successful transition from natural ice rink to artificial ice rink.
The bandy
Bandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
team Dynamo Alma-Ata, won the Soviet Championships in 1977 and 1990 and the European Cup
European Cup (bandy)
The European Cup is an annual bandy club competition between teams from Europe. The first edition of the tournament was held in 1974.The tournament has been dominated by Russia , and Sweden. Those three countries have won every single tournament to date.-Champions:...
in 1978.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1991, the costs to uphold the arena as a top ice rink proved too costly for the independent Republic of Kazakhstan. The last great championship event for a long time on this ice rink was held in 1988—the Men's World Speed Skating Championship—which was won by the American skater Eric Flaim
Eric Flaim
Eric Joseph Flaim is a former US speed skater.-Biography:Eric Flaim began skating at the age of 5 on the tiny pond next to his home on Fairwood Drive, Pembroke...
.
In the early 2000s, Medeo's future status as a competition rink was uncertain. However, it was proposed as the speed skating venue both for Almaty's unsuccessful bid for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games
2014 Winter Olympics
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event scheduled to be celebrated from 7 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana. Both the Olympic and...
and the successful one for 2011 Asian Winter Games. In the end, bandy was the only sport here during the Games. Speed skating was held at an indoor arena in Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
. Medeo will be the main arena of the 2012 Bandy World Championships
Bandy World Championships
The Bandy World Championships are a competition between bandy-playing nations. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy....
.
The rink has also been used as the general venue for the popular music festival Voice of Asia
Voice of Asia
Voice of Asia is a music festival, held annually in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Dozens of acts from all over Asia each take the stage over a period of several days and nights to mime to recordings of several of their hit songs...
(1990 - 2004).
Medeu in the 2011 Winter Asian Games
On March 4th, 2006, Kazakhstan received the right to host the 2011 Asian Games. The Winter Asian Games were the largest scale competition ever to take place in Kazakhstan, and took place from January 30th till February 6th. While a large portion of the events took place in AstanaAstana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
, Almaty hosted a number of the events, including ski jumps, cross-country skiing, and of course, bandy.
For the purpose of hosting this event, Medeu stadium was renovated during 2009, reopening on December 16th after undergoing 19.4 billion tenge (131.8 million USD) worth of repairs and improvements. The bandy tournament at 2011 Asian Winter Games
Bandy at the 2011 Asian Winter Games
Bandy at the 2011 Asian Winter Games was held at Medeo in Almaty, Kazakhstan.-Medal table: -Medalists:-Preliminaries:---------Final:...
games took place at Medeu from the 2nd to the 6th of February, 2011.
Current Use
Medeu maintains its status as one of the best-known tourist locations in Kazakhstan. The stadium is open to the public year round, allowing visitors to skate at high altitude day or night. During night hours, skaters can enjoy music and lights in the stadium either from the ice, or from VIP boxes available for rent. While ticket prices were raised due to the reconstruction for the Asian Games, it still remains a popular destination for groups of friends or couples.In addition to this, the Medeu stadium and Dam remain the destination for Almaty's International Medeu-marathon. During this event, competitors run up from the city to this famous location, climbing almost 1000 vertical meters before returning to Almaty to finish. 2011 marked the 14th year of this challenging race, with over 150 runners participating.