Doug Wright's life revolves around scraping, manicuring and pebbling this week.
The chief ice technician at the Winter Games in Naseby knows his craft is under the spotlight.
This is the third time the 52-year-old has been in charge of the ice at the Maniototo Curling International rink for the Winter Games ''... and they haven't fired me yet''.
The Canadian's other job is being a grain farmer in Manitoba.
''I work here for winter, to subsidise the farm. Mind you, the first year I came here I did swear I'd never do it again, but here I am.''
Wright heads a team of six who have focused on making perfect ice. The team comprises two Canadians, two New Zealanders, a Korean and an American.
The group has ''taken over'' the compressor room at the rink as their own. They spent four or five days before the Winter Games making sure the ice met the international standards.
''It was off-limits to everyone then but the ice crew.''
It was flooded in layers, six times.
The surface was scraped and manicured and then sprayed to make a pebbled finish. Running repairs were done between games, especially in the ''high traffic'' places, such as in front of the hack, by scraping and re-pebbling.
Wright said ice makers had to be thick-skinned as they sometimes were criticised by the occasional curler who had lost a match.
''Obviously, we have to meet the World Curling Federation requirements and if there's any complaints they're investigated.''
He admitted to a great fondness for the Maniototo people and the Naseby rink.
''I've been coming here so often now that you get to know all the quirks of the rink. And it's kind of cool to see the facility improving each year with various additions and to think that so much public fundraising was done - it's a great facility.''
The air temperature and ice temperature are regularly monitored and were 5.4degC and -3.7degC respectively on the opening day of the games curling. Wright has also witnessed the growth of hack curling in this country.
''That's been interesting to see first-hand, over the decades. To think that when I first started coming here, I was just a slim 30-year-old.''
