The Eleven City Ice skating-tour consists of two parts, namely a race and a recreative tour. The recreative tour is the great thing of it all. Unknown and famous people join it. An example of famous particapants is Crown prince Willem-Alexander of Holland. In the recreative tour there are several groups. Every five minutes there is another group going off. The division of the groups is decided by the drawing of lots. This could be a great disappointement, because it is tough to get to the finish within the time. If you will be off in the last group, it is more difficult. There are not many skaters who finish in time, when they have started in one of the last groups.

The purpose of the tour is to finish before midnight. If you succeed, you will receive the Eleven City Cross. Until 1997 every member of the Society The Frisian Eleven Cities could join the tour. Because there is a halt on recruitment of members, there is a list for prospective members. They can only become a member if a place comes free. The management draws a place some prospective members. If you're drawn a place, you are able to join the tour. Now the management has the intention to draw place members and prospective members both. They want to do that to avoid the aging of the member file.

There are many wounded people in the recreative tour. This is because the skaters haven't trained enough. However, often it is a mixture of tiredness, cold and a nasty fall. Especially around Dokkum there are many falls. The reason is also the falling darkness. Than it happens, in the dark, an entrant just skates on while he should stoop for an approaching bridge. Even if a skater would fall very painfully, he doesn't think about quitting. The other entrants take the fallen skater with themselves. And also the crowd makes the fallen skater to go further. Encourated the skaters thank the crowd often.

It's already dark, it will be very exciting. The sealposts in Sneek, IJlst, Sloten, Stavoren, Hindeloopen, Workum, Bolsward, Harlingen and Franeker are now closed. It is very exciting whether they finish within time. The mood becomes very nice. Especially in Bartlehiem. It is very busy there, but it's always pleasent. The famous bridge in Bartlehiem is a central point for the crowd.

Many people stop around Workum. Especially when the sealpost is going to close. In Workum it is about 30 km to the finish in Leeuwarden. If the skaters pass the finish within the time, they are very happy.