Waterford man named fourth in the world at ice sculpting competition
John Hayes represented the Déise in Fairbanks, Alaska.
In Fairbanks, Alaska the population is usually 33,000. But last week 220 people from across the world travelled to this little-known city to take part in the international ice sculpture competition. Countries such as Thailand, the Philippines and Mongolia were represented, but this was the first year an Irish person has taken part. John Hayes travelled 26 hours to get there.
The Waterford man gave an interview to the Waterford News & Star live from the competition.
“It’s the largest ice in the world. You can’t do this scale of ice sculpting anywhere else in the world."
The multi-block round consists of getting nine blocks of ice weighing over two and a half tonnes each. Each team is made up of four people and they are given six days to complete the sculpture. Competition days begin at 6am and don’t finish until 11pm.
“It’s brutal for those six days,” John said.
However, it was worth it because he was awarded fourth place in the competition.
“We lost out on the bronze, but being fourth in the world is not too bad.”
John said that the ice is so pristine, “you can read a newspaper from the opposite side of the block.”
The ice is harvested from a quarry, which uses a type of gravel to filter the water.
When John spoke to the Waterford News & Star, he was in the middle of the double block event, which is a two-person competition that takes two days. His was one of 80 teams.
“I’m already delighted because I was only coming to gain experience and learn, but even to complete the piece; a lot of teams didn’t even finish their piece," he said. “Because of the low temperatures, there’s a completely different science to how you adapt to the ice. If it's too cold or too hot, you can’t weld it together because it will crack.
“At the final, I saw four carvings break when they cut out the supports.”
He added: “We’ve been made feel very welcome by the Alaskan people and the committee. It’s been quite an experience.”
John is well-known for his wood carving. His world record-breaking Dragonslayer piece - the longest ever sculpture from a single piece of wood - is on display in the Viking Triangle in Waterford City.
