The De Beers Ice Carving Competition is a staple of YellowknifeSA国际影视传媒檚 Long John Jamboree.

Year after year, carvers from around the globe flock to Great Slave Lake to turn the massive blocks of ice into frozen works of art.

The twelve ice blocks for this yearSA国际影视传媒檚 competition were pulled out of Yellowknife Bay on March 9, said Keith MacNeill, ice carving co-ordinator for the Long John Jamboree.

SA国际影视传媒淟ast year we cut twenty-two or twenty-three because we had fifteen teams competing,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淭his year we just have seven teams competing.SA国际影视传媒�

They had to scale things back a bit this year after losing a whole day of revenue to a blizzard at last yearSA国际影视传媒檚 Jamboree, MacNeill explained.

SA国际影视传媒淲e werenSA国际影视传媒檛 sure that we were going to be able to actually have a jamboree for a lot of the winter. And then our board worked really hard and we had some generous, compassionate sponsors who kicked in a little bit of support to make it possible for us to go ahead this year.SA国际影视传媒�

When it comes to cutting the ice, it's best to start early, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淲hat happens, as a rule, is we start at 8 o'clock on a Saturday morning,SA国际影视传媒� said MacNeill.

It usually takes the first half of the day to get the first block out and the second half of the day to get all the rest, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淲e just go a couple of clicks down Yellowknife Bay, pick a spot, drill a couple of test holes to make sure weSA国际影视传媒檝e got a good three feet of ice.SA国际影视传媒�

After they clear the snow off the ice, they mark the area and cut out an L-shaped margin using chainsaws, he explained.

SA国际影视传媒淲e have to have a way for the first block to float independently and then we get the chains underneath it and lift it out,SA国际影视传媒� said MacNeill.

SA国际影视传媒淥nce weSA国际影视传媒檝e got the first one out then thereSA国际影视传媒檚 lots of room to cut more, and they can float around. If you just cut a hole in the ice thereSA国际影视传媒檚 no way to get underneath it.SA国际影视传媒�

A team of eight volunteers helped out with ice cutting and retrieval ahead of this year's ice carving competition, MacNeill said.

SA国际影视传媒淎bout four of whom operated the chainsaws and a bunch of others who take the ice tongs and pull the little pieces out as they come up, and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 what creates the channel so that they can float,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Polar Tech provided the chainsaws and a team from DetSA国际影视传媒檕n Cho Construction also helped out with a forklift and a flatbed truck.

SA国际影视传媒淭heySA国际影视传媒檙e the guys who actually drop the chains, wrap them up and pull the ice out,SA国际影视传媒� said MacNeill.

After being pulled from the lake, the ice blocks are strapped onto pallets, lifted onto the truck and brought to the Jamboree site to be stored until the festival.

Over the years the Jamboree has established a good relationship with the international ice carving community, said MacNeill.

SA国际影视传媒淲hich is a pretty small group of people that do this,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淥ne thing that they like is to carve the big blocks.SA国际影视传媒�

Only a few competitions in the world offer large and naturally frozen ice blocks for carvers to work on said MacNeill, so that makes this competition unique.

SA国际影视传媒淢ost ice carving competitions, if you go to Ice on Whyte in Edmonton or Winterlude in Ottawa, they all use manufactured ice,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

SA国际影视传媒淚t actually is made with a process in the freezer that keeps it as clear as possible as it freezes.SA国际影视传媒�

This yearSA国际影视传媒檚 carvers will include some world champions and returning veterans from past competitions.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a good field and ISA国际影视传媒檓 excited to see what comes out,SA国际影视传媒� said MacNeill.

This yearSA国际影视传媒檚 ice carving competition runs from March 28-30.

Judging is at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 30.