What are the ice resurfacing people doing with buckets and tools?
Thanks for asking!
They’re patching the holes! If you’ve never seen an ice surface close up when higher-level skaters have been skating on it, then to explain: every skater, even those with the better technique, will dig a hole in the ice when they jump with the toe (Lutz, flip, toe loop). Some of these holes are bigger than others, and also because of the way that programs are generally laid out, many of the Lutz holes, for example, end up in the same or similar places. Zamboni-ing over those holes won’t fix them on their own.
The little buckets have ice in them (usually taken from the last ice cut) and the ice techs go out on the ice and pack the ice into the hole, which the Zamboni then seals in. And voila! Nice ice again.