But for sports, did you know there are such things as "soft ice" and "fast ice?"

The folks at the Delta Center know the difference and want to explain why speedskaters are looking for much different ice than figure skaters.

Dennis Allen/Delta Center Ice Technician: "I'VE WORKED AT A LOT OF SPORTING EVENTS INVOLVING ICE THORUGHOUT MY LIFE, AND OVER TIME HAVE JUST GATHERED SOME KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT THE DIFFERENT SPORTS SEEM TO LIKE."

Dennis DOES know all about ice. He's been making it for quite awhile. I guess you could almost call him an "ice guru."

And even if the subject of ice seems to be of little concern for most of us, for the athletes who have to skate upon it, it could very well mean the difference between victory or defeat.

Rusty Smith/U.S. Speedsakter: "FASTEST LAP TIME IS 111 METERS AROUND THE TRACK. IT ACTUALLY TAKES ME ABOUT 8.3 SECONDS, SOMETIMES A LITTLE FASTER, AND THAT'S EXACTLY AT 35 MPH. AND YOU'LL SEE IN SOME OF THE LONGER RACES, YOU'LL SEE LAP TIMES OF 8.7, 8.8, 8.9 AND THATS A LITTLE CLOSER TO 30 MPH."

During practice, we had the opportunity to talk about what kind of ice makes guys like Rusty happy.

RUSTY: "ME, MYSELF I LIKE THE FASTEST ICE POSSIBLE."

So what DO the athletes think about this venue?

RUSTY: "ACTUALLY I'M VERY IMPRESSED. FOR THE AMOUNT OF TIME THEY'VE HAD, THE ICE DOWN HERE, THE ICE IS INCREDIBLY FAST."

The Delta Center crew has been making sure that these speedskaters recieve just that-- fast ice.

DENNIS: "FIGURE SKATING ICE IS A LITTLE SOFTER THAN THESE FOLKS LIKE. THEY LIKE THE ICE NICE AND HARD. AN EXAMPLE, THIS ICE HERE RIGHT NOW, THE SURFACE IS ABOUT 13 DEGREES, FOUR CONTINENTS THE SURFACE WAS ABOUT 22 DEGREES. SO THERE IS QUITE A DIFFERENCE IN THE TEXTURE OF THE ICE."

In short track speedskating, the ice is about the same size as a hockey rink. But as mentioned earlier, that critical, and cooler, 9-degree difference is huge.

DENNIS: "WELL THE SURFACE WILL BECOME A LOT SOFTER. THE SKATERS, THE FIGURE SKATERS, LIKE TO BE ABLE TO DIG THEIR TOE PICKS IN TO GET A GRIP, WHEREAS A SHORT TRACK SKATER MORE OR LESS WANTS TO STAY ON TOP OF THE ICE AND DO A LOT OF GLIDING. THEY'RE MORE INTO THE SPEED THAN THE CONTROL THAT A FIGURE SKATER WOULD BE INTO."

17-thousand speedskating fans will be crammed into this building come February. And for athletes like Rusty, the more, the merrier.

RUSTY: "THE NOISE IN THE DELTA CENTER? I'M KIND OF INTERESTED IN SEEING HOW LOUD IT DOES GET HERE. I PERSONALLY ENJOY HAVING A BIG CROWD."

RUSTY: "THE MORE PEOPLE WE CAN HAVE COME OUT HERE AND CHEER US ON, THE BETTER WE'RE GOING TO SKATE."

But no matter how anyone skates, the ice--and the Delta Center--will be ready.