They weren’t Zambonis, they were Olympia ice-prep machines Zamboni’s primary competitor.
I was just going to say that NBC was even oh so careful not to call them Zamboni. :)
Correct.
http://www.zamboni.com/welcome.html
PARAMOUNT, CALIFORNIA (February 16, 2010) – This past weekend, the ice resurfacing equipment at one of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games apparently malfunctioned and was unable to perform its resurfacing task. These machines were not manufactured by the Zamboni Company.
A few media outlets have published inaccurate information regarding those machines, associating the Zamboni brand name with the malfunctioning ice resurfacers.
While it is unfortunate that there was an interruption to the Winter Olympic events, please note: the resurfacers which were on the ice during those events were not Zamboni® brand ice resurfacers and should not be referred to as “Zamboni machines”.
The Zamboni Company is working to assist the local venues to remedy the situation and as further information becomes available, it will be posted on the Company’s web site: www.zamboni.com
With a history that spans over six decades, the Zamboni Company preserves its founder’s legacy as the leader in ice resurfacing technology and remains the overwhelming choice for ice rink operators throughout the world. Zamboni was proud to be the exclusive supplier to the Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Salt Lake, Nagano, Lillehammer, Lake Placid, Sapporo, Innsbruck and Squaw Valley. Zamboni also participated in the Winter Olympic Games in Calgary and Sarajevo.
Looks like they used the Olympia machines because Olympia is a Canadian company, whereas Zamboni is in the U.S.A.
Also, they are apparently resolving this issue with the Olympias by flying in...a Zamboni!
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/speed-skating/news/newsid=43070.html