Speed Skating Glove Tips? Best 51 Answer

One of the more exciting sports at the Winter Olympics is back for the Beijing 2022 games.

Short track speed skating made its official Olympic debut at the 1992 Albertville Olympics and has featured at every Winter Olympics since.

Here’s everything you need to know about the event:

What are the rules of short track speed skating?

In short track speed skating, skaters race in packs counterclockwise around a 111.12 meter oval ice rink. The course is about a quarter the size of that used in long-distance speed skating.

The races, also called heats, usually include between four and six skaters. There are no lanes that athletes are restricted to and only the corners are demarcated with seven markers per corner. Skaters primarily race against each other on the short track rather than against the clock, which is one of the major differences compared to the long track.

Skaters can be disqualified from events for a variety of reasons. A skater may not intentionally block, charge, impede, or shove another skater. Other actions that may result in disqualification include two false starts, skating within the turn markers, slowing down unnecessarily, conspiring with another skater to affect the outcome of a race, intentionally kicking a skate, and jumping over the finish line.

Yellow and red cards can also be distributed. A yellow card is given when an athlete breaks the rules in a way that is deemed unsafe, harmful or dangerous by the referee. Committing two penalties in the same race will also result in a yellow card. If a skater receives yellow, they will be disqualified from the race. Similar to soccer, a skater who gets two yellow cards gets one red card.

A direct red card will be shown when a skater violates the rules in a way that is considered willfully dangerous or grossly negligent. Improper behavior on or off the ice can also result in a red card. Should an athlete receive a red card, they are barred from participating in the remainder of the Olympic competition. If an athlete is given a red card during a relay event, their team will be disqualified from the event.

What equipment is used in short track speed skating?

Short track speed skaters ride in fiberglass, graphite and Kevlar boots with extremely sharp blades attached to the bottom. The runners are placed off-center and on the left so that the shoe does not touch the ground during sharp turns. Athletes don’t usually wear socks.

The rest of a skater’s wardrobe includes a skin suit, protective pads (knee pads, shin pads, etc.), gloves, and a helmet. Because skaters are allowed to put their hands on the ice to maneuver around turns, their gloves have hard plastic balls on their fingertips. Meanwhile, the skin suit is similar to what long-distance speed skaters wear, except it doesn’t have an aerodynamic hood or thumb loops.

How fast do short track speed skaters go?

Short track speed skaters can reach speeds in excess of 30 mph. Long track speed skaters, by comparison, can go as fast as 35 mph.

Are falls and collisions common in short track speed skating?

The combination of driving at high speeds and the pack style of racing can lead to falls and collisions, which is certainly not uncommon. If a skater is knocked out by a fallen competitor, that skater may advance in the competition if he/she was struggling to advance prior to the collision. This decision will be made by the head judge.

What are the different disciplines in Olympic short track speed skating?

There are nine disciplines in Olympic short track speed skating – four men, four women and a mixed team. Men’s races include 500m (4.5 laps), 1000m (9 laps) and 1500m (13.5 laps) as well as a 5000m team relay (45 laps). The individual women’s races are of equal length, but the relay race is over 3000 m (27 laps).

The mixed team relay makes its Olympic winter debut in Beijing. The event consists of teams of four (two men, two women) competing in a 2000m (18 laps) race.

What is the history of short track speed skating?

Short track speed skating first appeared in Europe in the late 19th century and caught on in North America in the early 20th century.

The 1932 Lake Placid Games used the pack style of the race in the long distance speed skating events due to its popularity in North America. But it wasn’t until the 1988 Calgary Games that short track was first included as a demonstration sport in the Olympics. The sport made its official Olympic debut four years later in Albertville.

Which country has the most medals in short track?

South Korea has dominated short track speed skating at the Olympics, winning the most gold medals (24) and overall medals (48) of any country. At the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, South Korea won the most gold medals (three) and combined medals (six).

China has the second most gold medals with 10, but is tied with Canada for second most medals overall with 33.

The United States is fourth in gold (four) and overall medals (33). John-Henry Krueger won Team USA’s lone short track medal and silver in the men’s 1000m at PyeongChang. Krueger has since changed his national affiliation and will represent Hungary in Beijing.

Team USA’s last gold medal came at the 2006 Torino Games courtesy of Apolo Ohno in the men’s 500m.

Speed ​​skating – equipment

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The equipment used in speed skating varies for short track and long track. Speed ​​skates, spandex skin suit, safety helmet, special cut resistant skating gloves, knee pads and shin pads (inside the suit), neck brace and ankle brace are required for the short distance. Goggles are optional. National-level skaters should wear a cut-resistant Kevlar suit to protect themselves from the blades of other skaters in a fall.

For long distance, the equipment is the same as above. Helmet, shin guards, knee pads and neck protection are not required. Eye protection is optional. A Kevlar suit is not required as the hood is integrated into the suit.

skin suits

Skaters prefer tight fitting Lycra skin suits for less drag. Kevlar patches (built-in) protect vital body parts. For each player, the skin suit is designed by taking the overall measurements of the body parts. Chest, waist and thighs are measured and then the design is created. For normal purposes, there are predefined sizes that will easily fit skaters who are willing to afford the suit.

Boots

The boots used in this sport are made of graphite and kevlar. The reinforcement on the ankles counteracts the centrifugal force when skating. It is more common in people with different foot lengths. The choice of boots should therefore be well made.

The length of the foot needs to be measured, and if a player’s foot is large, it is recommended to give an extra 5-7mm for comfort.

Sound

The blade length is between 14 and 18 inches. They are bent to the left to help with turning. The impacts from the ice on the player depend on the length of the blade. Longer blades receive stronger impacts from the ice on the player.

protective gear

In addition to the above gear, speed skaters also use some protective gear to protect their body parts.

Modified to maintain high speed and control in turns. Short track blades are extremely sharp and curved in an arc that reflects the direction of the curve. They are also placed off-center to the left to keep the shoe from touching the ice when the skater leans into the turn.

Two skates

Hinge of a clap skate

Normal skate and clap skate in comparison

An early clap skate from 1936

The clap skate (also called clapper skates, clapper skates, slap skates, slap skates, from Dutch) is a type of ice skate used in speed skating. Unlike traditional ice skates, where the blade is rigidly attached to the boot, clap skates have the blade attached to the front of the boot by a hinge. This allows the blade to stay on the ice longer as the ankle can now be extended towards the end of the stroke, as well as for a more natural movement, dissipating the energy of the leg more effectively and efficiently.

Clap skates were developed at the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam under the direction of Gerrit Jan van Ingen Schenau, although the idea of ​​a clap skate is much older; Designs from around 1900 are known.

The clap skate was first used in the 1984/1985 ice skating season. However, the idea was not taken seriously until the late 1990s. In the 1996/1997 season, the Dutch women’s team began using the skates with great success. The rest of the skating world soon followed suit, ensuring a spate of world records were broken in subsequent seasons, including the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

history [edit]

The idea of ​​an articulated slide was described and patented in 1894 by Karl Hannes from Raitenhaslach, Burghausen.[1][2] It was reinvented by Gerrit Jan van Ingen Schenau, who started work on a folding speed skate in 1979[3], made his first prototype in 1980[2][3] and completed his doctoral thesis on the subject in 1981[3]. ] on the premise that a skater would benefit from extended movement with the skate on the ice, allowing the calf muscles to participate longer in the skate movement.[3] The design of the hinge was further refined in collaboration with Viking.[1] In 1985, Ron Ket became the first to skate the clap skates in an officially timed frame, a 500 meter sprint on the Jaap Eden baan, with a promising 40.65.[2] In February 1986, Henk Gemser, then coach of the Dutch national speed skating team, expressed his intention to start clap skate training, although no further trials of the new skate were made. During the 1986–1987 season, a small number of marathon skaters intended to use the clap skate in competition, but its use was banned by game officials due to the increased risk of physical harm to the skaters in the event of a fall. The then current top Dutch speed skating pros Ids Postma, Bart Veldkamp and Rintje Ritsma were unimpressed by the ice skate.[1]

In the 1994–1995 season, 11 skaters from the South Holland 14–18 age group began competing in the clap skate. These 11 showed an average improvement in their times of 6.25% compared to 2.5% for the other skaters using regular speed skates. Ten of them placed for the state championship.[4]

The 1996–1997 season saw use of the clap skate at its highest level, and in 1997 Tonny de Jong became the first all-around European champion to use the clap skate, with Gunda Niemann, the defending champion, in second place. Niemann noted that ice skates were illegal and should be banned.[4] In the years that followed, the clap skate began to dominate the landscape of long track speed skating. The design has been banned for use in short track speed skating.

Research completed in 2001 showed that the speed gain from using the clap skate is not due to using the calf muscle to stretch the ankle, as was thought when the clap skate was developed, but to the fact that the pivot point is shifted the tip of the skate to the hinge, facilitating the transfer of power to the ice.[5]

Madison Chock and Evan Bates figure skating gloves

If you’ve been following the figure skating competitions at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, you may have noticed a “fashion trend” among some skaters: wearing gloves during competition. While it is very common for skaters to wear gloves during practice, they are not always worn when performing. What is behind the decision to wear gloves? It really comes down to personal preference and comfort.

The simplest and most practical reason for gloves is simply protection. Wearing gloves helps skaters keep their hands warm on the ice. They also provide a layer of protection in the event of a fall or when a skater performs a tricky move that requires them to grab their blade with their hand. Of course, gloves worn in practice are usually made of a different material than performance gloves, which are designed to match the skater’s costume, but they serve a similar purpose. Wearing gloves during competition, especially for skaters who practice wearing them frequently, can also just be a matter of comfort.

However, you will find that gloves are more common in singles ice skating than in pairs and ice dancing. The use of gloves in pairs disciplines also depends on personal preference. Some skaters may find it more difficult to do challenging hand-to-hand elements with a layer of gloves between their hands, while others may find that the gloves actually improve their grip or overall performance. For example, the top two American ice dance teams have two different approaches to gloves. At the Olympics, you’ll see Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue perform both programs completely glove-free. However, Madison Chock wears gloves as part of her rhythm and free dance costumes, and partner Evan Bates also wears gloves during free dance.

There’s another very simple reason some skaters wear gloves and some don’t: style. Like anything else, figure skating and costumes have regional trends, and gloves are an important part of that. For example, Russian skaters are more likely to wear gloves than, say, American or Canadian skaters. (Although obviously this isn’t a hard and fast “rule.”) A figure skater’s costume isn’t just a fashion statement, however; Every part of it is geared towards making the program the best it can be, and that goes right down to a skater’s fingertips.

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OK. Yes, skating has been done a certain way for years and hasn’t gotten out of that box and I want to show that you can do skating performance, skate in a totally different way that you haven’t seen before . But that’s still good and cool and not only that but that’s new and that’s going to attract a brand new audience to skating that we never had before. You know, for me I skate to rap music, hip hop, you know, I know the black will make you skate. mmm If you get into the sport of figure skating, you know that there are a lot of white Europeans, Canadians, and a lot of very wealthy families in this sport, while we came from a completely different situation. When I was there I had trouble fitting in and I wanted to fit in because as humans we are looking to fit in. OK. OK. My info plan. OK. OK. And right down there. OK. Okay, I’ll ask him, thanks. Systemic racism, to some extent, affects families and understood communities around the world and in North America. And so sometimes these elements don’t allow parents to support their kids skating because skating is an extremely expensive sport. And so many families are excluded from the sport because they simply cannot afford it. The other thing is access to ice. My mother had to put me on the bus at 5 am in the middle of winter with my two younger sisters and take the bus to another community for an hour to go ice skating. Because, you know, we didn’t have that access where we lived. mmm

Advertisement Why Don’t Olympic Figure Skaters Get Dizzy? Share Copy Copy link

Related video above: Black figure skater wants a change in figure skating Top figure skaters spin at such incredibly high speeds – up to six revolutions per second – that even spectators get a little dazed. Curious Beijing Winter Olympics viewers want to know why. “How do figure skaters not get dizzy?” was one of the top searches on Google in the past week. How do these athletes manage to pull off such dizzying movements without fainting? As ice skating events continue this week in Beijing, we turned to the experts for answers. Do figure skaters get dizzy? “Not so much because they’ve learned to minimize it. Although they occasionally fall upon landing, figure skaters most often spin through the air without losing their balance. That’s because they’ve conditioned their bodies and brains to suppress that giddiness, experts say their focus over the years. “I think we have a learned ability against the momentum that hits us as we spin,” she says. Kathleen Cullen, a professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, has a more scientific answer. She studies the vestibular system responsible for our sense of balance and movement and says that turning without tripping from dizziness is an art that is perfected over time. Early in their careers, skaters and other athletes get dizzy when spinning, Cullen says. But ultimately, they train their brain to better interpret that feeling information,” Cullen says, moving on. You actually get a false sense of movement. “Over years of training, figure skaters’ brains have adapted and learned to ignore this mistake, she says. “This happens over time with each training session, day-to-day, as the brain compares its expectations to what it actually is received from its sensory receptors. “In short, Cullen says, most people feel like the world is still spinning even after they’ve stopped spinning. But Olympians, and skaters in particular, don’t generally do this because their brains have modified to suppress the feeling. Athletes also learn how to reduce their dizziness. For example, focusing on a fixed reference or stationary object minimizes dizziness and loss of balance,” Cullen says. “A specific point on the wall to provide a fixed reference. The brain and inner ear are in constant communication with the body and with each other to achieve balance, says Brigid Dwyer, an assistant professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine. “For most people, however, dizziness is only a potential problem with faster, more vigorous activities,” says Dwyer. “Amazingly, our brains can need to be stimulated over time to become better at coping with the dizzying tasks we encounter.” Here are some other common Google searches related to figure skating: Why do some figure skaters wear tights over their boots? Nagasu Says It All Comes down to personal choice Some people wear tights over her boots when her boots are worn out, she says. Others, like Courtney Hicks, gold medalist at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic 2013, say that wearing tights over boots helps elongate the look of their legs. But trends have changed in recent years, and many skaters are opting for visible tights. Take off your boots, says Nagasu. What is the Kiss and Cry section? Here viewers get a glimpse of the athletes in one of their most exciting moments. Many figure skaters celebrate by kissing their coaches or bursting into tears of disappointment. “It’s a pun. Skaters wear gloves? Skaters can easily fall. And it’s not fun to hit the ice at high speed. “Ice can be rough when you fall, especially when you consider the height we fall from and the momentum of our spins,” says Nagasu. Gloves also keep skaters’ hands warm during competition. In a highly competitive sport where the slightest advantage can make all the difference, many athletes leave nothing to chance.

When it comes to Winter Olympics fashion, no outfits are quite as memorable as those worn by figure skaters. Katarina Witt’s showgirl-inspired costume at the 1988 Calgary Games, resembling a weird and extravagant combination of Big Bird and the Cookie Monster, made a lasting impression. In fact, the outfit prompted officials to create the “Katarina Rule,” which requires female skaters to cover their hips and buttocks. Even Nancy Kerrigan’s simple gold dress worn by Vera Wang during the 1994 Olympics is still talking.

[Related: Olympic Figure Skating Preview: 6 Ice Dance Teams to Watch]

Many fashion decisions in figure skating are made for aesthetic reasons, adding a degree of showmanship to the routine. However, some practices are a bit more obscure, and the reasoning may not be as obvious. For example, why do so many elite figure skaters insist on wearing their nude tights over their skates?

Courtney Hicks, a gold medalist at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic 2013, told Yahoo Sports that she usually wears her tights over her skates because they lengthen her legs, giving the effect of more elegant lines. She also said the tights covered her dented skates.

But some skaters disagree. Samantha Cesario, who placed eighth at the US Figure Skating Championships, told Yahoo Sports that she’s “not a big fan of tights over boots. Figure skates are so cute, why cover them up?”

Aside from style, wearing tights over figure skates serves a practical purpose — to prevent the skater from tripping over her own laces, which could be as painful as it is embarrassing at an Olympic competition.

Figure skating events at the Sochi Games will take place between February 6th and 20th.

Race cars are specially configured for this purpose. Using a mix of geometry and physics, accurate caster and camber measurements are taken for the wheels to aid in turning. A car’s center of gravity and weight distribution help it hug the left turns.

Such a precise configuration cannot be applied to skaters. While the blades on their skates curve slightly in the same direction as the corners, and the blades are usually offset slightly diagonally from the left edge of the toes to the right edge of the heels, the skaters themselves come in all shapes and sizes. There is no uniformity as a starting point, as there is with machines.

One day skaters may be customized into skate machines. The analysis shows the perfect center of gravity, the perfect circumference of the right thigh compared to the left, the ideal size of the multifidus, the correct flexion of one ankle over the other, the most efficient rotation of each hip.

Someday.

“Theoretically safe,” said Ocwieja, the American team’s coach. “But people are not static. And you know the saying about sports, right? It’s 90 percent mental.”

The 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang presented the elite of top athletes. All athletes need to be in top form to perform at their best at the right time. Nonetheless, when it comes to raw speed and power, speedskaters are in a league of their own. Speed ​​skaters place more emphasis on strength and power than any other winter sport. How strong are these athletes? This article will dive into an Olympic speed skating training program and provide insight into what it takes to get on the podium.

Because Olympic speed skaters can reach speeds of 30 miles (48.28 km), no winter sport requires the lower-body strength and power of speed skating. Most Olympic speed skaters must be able to squat 2.5 times their own body weight. That means a male speed skater weighing 175 pounds would be able to squat 437 pounds, AMAZING! When deadlifting, male speed skaters aim for 2.7 times their body weight and females 2.5 times their body weight. Being able to push through powerfully with primary use of the hips, major skaters place a high value on Olympic lifts such as the snatch and clean and jerk (English, 2018). Being extremely strong and powerful in the lower body dominant functional movement pattern is of paramount importance for speed skaters.

Being a speed skater is a full-time job. Athletes train and train eight hours a day, six days a week. Speed ​​skaters train for so many hours to condition their bodies to recover between repetitive laps of racing. During a competition, speed skaters typically compete in six to eight races in a day, separated by a 15- to 20-minute rest period. For conditioning purposes, speed skaters engage in intense dry land skating matches. In order to strengthen the “lean” required for a powerful take-off, speed skaters practice the “turnbelt exercise”. This involves strapping a long belt around the skater’s waist and then having a partner hold the belt, adding significant resistance. This type of intense exercise creates massive amounts of lactic acid, which builds up in the lower body. 45-minute running sessions are also performed three times a week, and during the summer months it is not uncommon for coaches to prescribe 2-hour cycling sessions twice a week (O’Connor, 2014). Training to become an Olympic speed skater takes a tremendous toll on their bodies, as athletes must look deep within themselves to muster the will and courage to persevere through sweat and tears to make it onto the podium.

So what can you take home from all these insights from these master artists? what can we learn Extraordinary achievements come from extraordinary efforts. As we watch the Olympians perform, we admire the end result. However, we often overlook all the vigorous, long hours these athletes put in to compete in such a stellar event. Speed ​​skaters are arguably the strongest, most powerful and best-conditioned athletes in the Winter Olympics to accelerate to such stellar speeds. However, like the rest of us, maintaining an unprecedented commitment and will to see things through can serve as a catalyst for each of us to succeed with individual life goals.

references

English, N. (2018, January 26). How much do Olympic speed skaters squat? Retrieved from barbend.com: https://barbend.com/olympic-speed-skaters-workout/

O’Connor, A. (2014, January 9). The training: speed skating with Eddy Alvarez. Retrieved from nytimes.com: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/the-workout-speed-skating-with-eddy-alvarez/

Image courtesy of vectorolie at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As an ex-national team speed skater, I can take care of the training, the races, etc.

There was a segment in the Olympic coverage with Apolo and he was running at full speed up a brutal looking hill of sand that went practically straight up. maybe you saw it

He was wearing a weight vest which I estimate held at least 25+ pounds.

Imagine sprinting full force about 1500 meters up a sand dune and you can get an idea of ​​the pain in the race. Most guys can barely support their body weight at the end of the race.

Tecnique is a HUGE factor and as some of the posters have said you really need to have grown up with the sport to learn it well. (I started SS when I was 6 years old). But there were a few exceptions, and inline skating career changers can certainly make it to the top.

The best skaters make it look the easiest because their technique is so flawless. Typically, the best cornering techniques are the skaters who first grew up on short track and then switched to long track. Shani Davis is a great example.

The perfect skate shot is straight to the side, not backwards, and that goes for the turns as well. Watch how great the short trackers make the turns compared to the long trackers.

Dan

equipment requirements

All skaters must wear a hard shell helmet, protective goggles, neck brace, cut resistant gloves, knee pads and shin guards. Skaters must dress appropriately so that no areas of skin are exposed from chin to toe. NO SKATER IS ALLOWED ON THE ICE WITHOUT THE MANDATORY SAFETY EQUIPMENT LISTED ABOVE.

Rocket Shop

Speed ​​skating practice and competitions take place on ice rinks where the side corner boards are covered with dense foam mats to protect skaters in the event of a fall.

*Speed ​​Skating Canada’s Guidelines for Protective Equipment for Short Track Speed ​​Skating

What should you pack in your skate bag?

1. Ice Skates:

Special speed skating boots and blades. The boots have no ankle support compared to hockey skates and the blades are longer (these can be rented from the club for the season).

2. Complete hard shell helmet:

All activities must wear a helmet securely fastened under the chin and where the blade cannot penetrate the ventilation holes (ie no bicycle helmets). Helmets may only be ASTM F 1849-07 speed skating helmets or CSA approved hockey, snowboard/ski skate helmets. For all other competitions and activities, the helmet must have a certification seal that conforms to current ASTM F 1849 – 07 standards. Speed ​​skating specific helmets can be purchased from speed skating retailers.

3. Eye Protection:

Shatterproof goggles (clear or yellow recommended) or a full face shield are required for all skaters. The goggles must be held in place by a strap. The club sells glasses.

4. Cut Resistant Ankle Protection:

All skaters must wear ankle cuffs or socks made from cut-resistant materials such as Kevlar or Dyneema, both in training and in competition. The club sells ankle protectors. Mandatory. They are available in our online shop.

5. Gloves:

Leather gloves to protect your hands from sharp skate blades when you’ve fallen. Must be cut resistant and waterproof. Mandatory. The club sells gloves or they can be purchased from speed skating vendors.

6. Neck protection:

All skaters must wear a neck brace that covers the neck and all soft parts of the upper chest. It must be made of ballistic nylon or other cut-resistant material. Hockey neck guard is ok. They can be purchased at sporting goods stores such as Sport Chek or Canadian Tire, or from speed skate retailers. Most skin suits also have built-in neck protection.

7. Knee Pads:

Special fabric knee pads (must be made of high density foam) to slow down slipping and protect knees in the event of a fall. Hard plastic knee pads are not allowed. Mandatory. They can be purchased at a sporting goods store such as Sport Chek or Canadian Tire.

8. Shin Pads:

Smaller shin guards than football shin guards but with the same utility. Must contain hard plastic or built-in puncture/cut resistant material. Mandatory. Can be purchased at a sporting goods store such as Sport Chek or Canadian Tire.

9. Socks:

It must be thin socks for speed skating.

10. Microfiber Cloth:

Clean cloth to dry the blades. Costco sells high quality clothing.

11. Skate Protection:

This allows you to protect the blade from chips and dents when walking around on the ice, and to prevent the sharp blade from accidentally cutting something else when it is being transported or stored (make sure the blades are towel dried first ). Mandatory. The club sells Guard Dog skate guards in a variety of colors. Please ask or visit our online shop.

12. Skate Blade Covers (Soakers):

These can be used to cover the skate blades for storage or transport ONLY, even if the blades are not fully dry yet. They can help absorb remaining water droplets on the blades and prevent the blades from rusting. You should use your finger to remove any chunks of ice or chips that are still on the blades before inserting the blades into these covers. They can be purchased in our online shop.

13. Skinsuit or Lightweight Streamlined Flexible Clothing:

A skinsuit is very important for higher level skaters. Spandex bodysuit is designed to keep the skater warm and provide aerodynamics. Skin suits can be purchased with a built-in layer of cut protection. The club has a team skin suit that can be ordered with a minimum of 10 orders per year.

14. Water Bottle:

Stay hydrated with every workout and get fit. No metal water bottles as they will melt the ice.

dress

Any type of clothing can be worn for speed skating. Three criteria can help you with the selection:

Clothing should allow freedom of movement

Adapt to the shape of the body so as not to cause unnecessary wind resistance

Provide the necessary warmth

In general, several thin layers are better than one thick piece of clothing. Sweatpants are more comfortable than skinny jeans, and turtlenecks keep the neck area warm.

Protective gear is always recommended: a speed skating helmet along with a neck brace. Shin guards and knee pads protect you in case of an uncomfortable fall. In fact, most of the time people fall on the part of the body that is already well padded.

CHECK YOUR POCKET BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME TO SEE THAT YOUR POCKET IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED ON THE COURT!

Speed ​​skating Canada protective gear

Speed ​​skating is an Olympic sport that requires tremendous explosiveness, balance and endurance.

There are a total of 14 different disciplines for men and women with different distances. Athletes race against the clock wearing suits that provide protection on the ice and skates with blades of varying lengths – from 14 to 18 inches.

At the Winter Olympics, Team USA has had three medalists in speed skating – one gold, two bronze – and finished fifth overall on February 17.

Erin Jackson, 29, won gold in the women’s 500-meter speed skating Feb. 13, becoming the first black American woman to win a medal in speed skating.

Stay up to date with local news and weather. Get the NBC Bay Area app for iOS or Android and choose your notifications.

The USA won a bronze medal in the men’s team pursuit and Brittany Bowe also won bronze in the women’s 1000m.

There are still three medal events at the Games, so here’s everything you need to know about how fast Olympic speed skaters actually are.

How fast do speed skaters go at the Olympics?

While short track speed skaters typically reach speeds in excess of 30 mph, long track speed skaters can typically reach in excess of 35 mph.

What makes speed so difficult in this sport is that athletes must make sharp, fast turns while flying around the oval.

Who will be the fastest speed skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics?

The 2022 Winter Olympics will feature multiple male and female gold medalists at the various events.

The following athletes won two gold medals and set Olympic records at the Beijing Games:

Sweden’s Nils van der Poel in the men’s 5000m and 10000m

Irene Schouten of the Netherlands in the women’s 5000m and women’s 3000m

What’s the fastest thing a speed skater has ridden?

In May 2018, the Swede Kjeld Nuis set a new world record in speed skating at almost 90 km/h.

competitive form of ice skating

This article is about speed skating. For speed skating on wheels, see Inline Speed ​​Skating

Speed ​​skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which competitors compete by covering a specified distance on skates. Types of speed skating include long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. At the Olympics, long track speed skating is usually just referred to as “speed skating” while short track speed skating is known as “short track.”[1] The International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of ice sports, refers to long track as “speed skating” and short track as “short track skating”.

In 1892 an international federation was founded, the first for a winter sport. The sport is very popular in the Netherlands, Norway and South Korea. There are top international ice rinks in a number of other countries including Canada, the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Belarus and Poland. A World Cup circuit will be held with events in these countries as well as two events at the Thialf ice rink in Heerenveen, The Netherlands.

Overview [ edit ]

The standard length for long lanes is 400 meters, but lanes of 200, 250 and 3331⁄3 meters are occasionally used. It is one of two Olympic forms of sport and the one with the longer history.

The ISU rules allow some leeway in the size and radius of turns.

Short track speed skating takes place on a smaller ice rink, usually the size of an ice hockey rink, on a 111.12 m oval track. Distances are shorter than long-distance races, with the longest individual Olympic race being 1500 meters (the women’s relay is 3000 meters and the men’s relay is 5000 meters). Events are usually held in a knockout format, with the top two in heats of four or five qualifying for the final race where medals are awarded. Disqualifications and falls are not uncommon.

single start

Speed ​​skating on a postage stamp

There are variations in the mass start races. Eight different types of mass starts are described in the rules of roller skating. These include elimination races, in which one or more competitors are eliminated at specified points during the course; simple distance races that may include heats; long-distance races with a time limit instead of a fixed distance; points race; and individual occupations.

Races usually have some disqualification rules if an opponent is unfairly obstructed; these rules vary between disciplines. In long-distance speed skating, almost any pairmate infraction is penalized, although skaters are allowed to switch from the inside lane to the outside lane out of the final turn if they are unable to hold the inside turn, so long as they are not interfering with the other skater. In mass start races, skaters are usually allowed some physical contact.

Team races are also held; In long-distance speed skating, the only team race at the highest level of competition is the team pursuit, although athletics-style relay races are used in children’s competitions. Relay races are also held in short track and inline competitions, but swapping is allowed at any time during the race, although swapping may be prohibited in the last few laps.

Most speed skating races take place on an oval track, but there are exceptions. Oval sizes vary; In short track speed skating, the rink must be a 111.12 meter oval, while long track speed skating uses a similarly standardized 400 meter rink. In-line skating lanes are between 125 and 400 meters long, although steep lanes can be as little as 250 meters long. Inline skating can also be held on closed road courses between 400 and 1,000 meters, as can open road competitions where the start and finish lines do not coincide. This is also a feature of outdoor marathons.

In the Netherlands, marathon competitions can be held on natural ice on canals and bodies of water such as lakes and rivers, but also on artificially frozen 400m tracks where skaters circle the track 100 times, for example.

history [edit]

Speed ​​skating competition on the Zuiderzee near Hindeloopen, The Netherlands, 1828

The origins of speed skating go back over a millennium in northern Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, where the indigenous people used bones in their shoes to skate on frozen rivers, canals and lakes. Contrary to what many think, ice skating has always been a joy and a sport and not a question of transportation and travel. For example, winters in the Netherlands have never been stable and cold enough to make ice skating a regular mode of transportation. This was described as early as 1194 by William Fitzstephen describing a sport in London.

Later, in Norway, King Eystein Magnusson, later King Eystein I of Norway, boasts of his ability to race on knucklebones. [Clarification required]

However, skating and speed skating were not limited to the Netherlands and Scandinavia; In 1592, a Scot designed a skate with an iron blade. It was skates with iron blades that led to the spread of ice skating and especially speed skating. In 1642 the first official ice skating club, The Skating Club Of Edinburgh, was founded and in 1763 the world saw their first official speed skating race at Wisbech on the Fens in England with a prize sum of 70 guineas.[2 ] While in the Netherlands people began with exploring the waterways connecting the 11 cities of Friesland, a challenge that eventually led to the Elfstedentocht.

The first known official speed skating competition for women was held on February 1–2, 1805 in Heerenveen, Netherlands. The competition was won by Trijntje Pieters Westra.

By 1851, North Americans had discovered a love of the sport, and later the all-steel blade was developed there. Speed ​​skating also became popular in Norway as there was great interest in the 1885 speed skating race at Frognerkilen between Axel Paulsen and Renke van der Zee. The Netherlands came to the fore again in 1889 with the organization of the first World Championships. The ISU (International Skating Union) was also born in 1892 in the Netherlands. At the beginning of the 20th century ice skating and speed skating had developed into an important popular sport.

ISU development [ edit ]

Organized races on ice skates developed in the 19th century. Norwegian clubs held competitions from 1863, with the races in Christiania attracting tens of thousands of spectators.[5] In 1884, Norwegian Axel Paulsen was named Amateur Champion Skater of the World after winning competitions in the United States. Five years later, a sports club in Amsterdam held an ice skating event they called the World Championship, with participants from Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom, and the host country. The International Skating Federation, now known as the International Skating Union, was founded in 1892 at a meeting of 15 national representatives in Scheveningen as the first international winter sports federation. The Nederlandse Schaatrijderbond was founded in 1882[6] and organized the world championships of 1890 and 1891.[7] Competitions were held on courses of varying lengths – the 1885 match between Axel Paulsen and Remke van der Zee was played over a 1400 meter (6/7 mile) course – but the 400 meter course was standardized by the ISU along with in 1892 the standard distances for World Championships, 500 m, 1500 m, 5000 m and 10,000 m. The skaters started in pairs, each on their own lane, and switched lanes for each lap to ensure that each skater covered the same distance. This is now known as long-distance speed skating. Competitions were strictly for amateur skaters, which was enforced. Peter Sinnerud was disqualified for professionalism in 1904 and lost his world title.

Long track world records were first recorded in 1891 and quickly improved, Jaap Eden lowering the 5000 meter world record by half a minute during the 1894 Hamar European Championships. The record lasted 17 years, and it took 50 years to break another half a minute.[8][9]

Elfstedentocht [ edit ]

Historical photos of the Elfstedentocht from 1954 with Dutch commentary

The Elfstedentocht was organized as a competition in 1909 and is held at irregular intervals when the ice on the route is deemed good enough. Other outdoor races later developed, with Friesland in the north of the Netherlands hosting a race in 1917, but the Dutch natural ice conditions were rarely conducive to ice skating. The Elfstedentocht has been held 15 times in the almost 100 years since 1909, and before artificial ice became available in 1962, national championships were held in 25 years between 1887, when the first championship was held in Slikkerveer, and 1961. Ever since artificial ice became common in the Netherlands, Dutch speed skaters have been among the world leaders in long-distance skating and marathon skating. Another solution to be able to run marathons on natural ice was the Alternative Elfstedentocht. The Alternative Elfstedentocht races are also held in other countries such as Austria, Finland or Canada and all the top marathon skaters as well as thousands of recreational skaters travel from the Netherlands to the place where the race takes place. According to NRC Handelsblad journalist Jaap Bloembergen, the country “looks carnivalesque” during international skating championships.[10]

Olympic Games[edit]

At the 1914 Olympic Congress, delegates agreed to include speed skating in the 1916 Olympics after figure skating had played a role in the 1908 Olympics. However, World War I put an end to plans for Olympic competitions, and it was not until the 1924 Chamonix Winter Sports Week – retrospectively granted Olympic status – that speed skating entered the Olympic programme. Charles Jewtraw of Lake Placid, New York, won the first Olympic gold medal, although several Norwegians present claimed that Oskar Olsen had set a better time. Timing issues with the 500 were an issue within the sport until electronic watches arrived in the 1960s; During the 1936 Olympic 500-meter race, it was suggested that Ivar Ballangrud’s 500-meter time was almost a second too good. Finland won the remaining four gold medals at the 1924 Games, with Clas Thunberg winning the 1,500 metres, 5,000 meters and all-around. It was the first and only time an all-around Olympic gold medal was awarded in speed skating. Speed ​​skating is also a sport in today’s Olympic Games.

Norwegian and Finnish skaters all won gold medals at world championships between the world wars, while Latvians and Austrians were on the podium at the European championships. However, races in North America were usually run in a pack style, similar to the marathon races in the Netherlands, but the Olympic races were to be run over the four distances sanctioned by the ISU. The ISU agreed to the proposal that speed skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics be held as a pack-style race, and the Americans won all four gold medals. Canada won five medals, all silver and bronze, while defending champion Clas Thunberg stayed at home protesting the form of racing. At the world championships held immediately after the games, the Norwegian racers won all four distances without the American champions and took the top three places in the all-around classification.

Norwegians, Swedes, Finns and Japanese skating leaders protested to the USOC, condemning the nature of the competition and expressing their wish that mass start races should never again take place at the Olympics. However, the ISU took over the short track branch in 1967, with mass start races on shorter tracks, organizing international competitions from 1976 and bringing them back to the Olympics in 1992.

Technical developments[edit]

Artificial ice found its way into long track competitions with the 1960 Winter Olympics, and the 1956 competitions on Lake Misurina were the last Olympic competitions on natural ice. In 1960 the first Olympic winter competitions for women took place. Lidia Skoblikova won two gold medals in 1960 and four in 1964.

More aerodynamic skating suits were also developed, with Swiss skater Franz Krienbühl (who finished 8th in the Olympic 10,000m at the age of 46) spearheading development.[11] After a while, national teams took over the development of full body suits, which are also used in short track skating, but without headgear attached to the suit – short trackers wear helmets instead, as falls are more common in mass start races. Suits and indoor skating, as well as the clap skate, have helped lower long-distance world records significantly. From 1971 to 2009, the average speed in the men’s 1500 meters was raised from 45 to 52 km/h. Similar increases in speed can be seen at the other distances.

Professionalism[edit]

After the 1972 season, European long-track skaters formed a professional league, the International Speedskating League, which included Ard Schenk, three-time Olympic champion from 1972, as well as five Norwegians, four other Dutch, three Swedes and a few other skaters. Jonny Nilsson, 1963 world champion and Olympic gold medalist, was the driving force behind the league, which closed in 1974 for economic reasons, and the ISU also banned courses hosting professional racing from future international championships. The ISU later organized its own World Cup circuit with cash prizes, and by the 1990s full-time professional teams were developing in the Netherlands, leading them to a dominance on the men’s side, second only to Japanese 500m racers and American inline skaters who switched to long distances to win Olympic gold.

North American professionals[ edit ]

During the 20th century, roller skating also developed as a competitive sport. Roller skating was professional from an early age.[13] Professional world championships were arranged in North America between the competitors at this circuit.[14] Later, roller derby leagues emerged, a professional contact sport that was originally a form of racing. The FIRST world championship in inline speed skating dates back to the 1980s,[15] but many world champions, such as Derek Parra and Chad Hedrick, switched to ice to win Olympic medals.

Like roller skating, speed skating was professional in North America. Oscar Mathisen, five-time ISU world champion and three-time European champion, renounced his amateur status in 1916 and traveled to America, where he won many races but was beaten by Bobby McLean of Chicago, four-time American champion.[16] in one of the races. Chicago was a center of speed skating in America; The Chicago Tribune sponsored a competition called the Silver Skates from 1912 to 2014.

Short track enters the Olympics[ edit ]

In 1992, short track was recognized as an Olympic sport. Short track speed skating has had few followers in the long track speed skating countries of Europe such as Norway, the Netherlands and the former Soviet Union, as none of those nations have won official medals (although the Netherlands did win two gold medals when the sport was a demonstration event in 1988) . The Norwegian publication Sportsboken spent ten pages detailing the long track speed skating events at the Albertville Games in 1993, but the short track was not mentioned verbatim, although the pages of results appeared in that section.

Although this form of speed skating is newer, it is growing faster than long track speed skating, primarily because short track can be skated on an ice hockey rink rather than a long track oval.

Rules [edit]

short haul [edit]

The races are held counter-clockwise on a 111-metre track. Short track races are almost always held in a mass start format, where two to six skaters can race at the same time. Skaters may be disqualified for false starts, interference, and cuts within the course. False starts occur when a skater moves before the gun goes off at the start of a race. Skaters will be disqualified for interference if a skater cuts in front of another skater, causing the first skater to stand up to avoid a collision or fall. Intraline cutting occurs when a skater’s skates clip into the blocks that mark the lane on the ice. If the skater is disqualified, they are awarded last place in their run or final.[18]

Long track[edit]

The races are held counterclockwise on a 400 meter oval. In all forms of individual competition, only two skaters are allowed to start at the same time. Skaters have to change lanes every lap. The skater who moves from the outside lane to the inside lane has the right of way. Skaters may be disqualified for false starts, interference, and cuts within the course. If a skater misses their race or falls, they have the option to re-race their distance. There are no heats or finals on the long track, all rankings are by time.

The starting process for speed skating on the long track consists of three parts. First, the referee tells the athletes to “go to the start”. Second, the referee tells the athletes to “get ready” and waits until the skaters have stopped moving. Finally, the referee waits for a random duration of between 1 and 1.5 seconds and then fires the starting gun.[19] Some argue that this inherent timing variability may penalize athletes who start after extended rest periods due to the alerting effect.[20][21]

The only non-individual form of competition, the team pursuit, allows two teams of three to four runners to compete simultaneously. Both teams stay in the inside lane for the duration of the race; They start on opposite sides of the ice rink. If four skaters are racing, one skater is allowed to drop out and end the race. The clock stops when the third skater crosses the finish line.

Team tracking[ edit ]

Sven Kramer, Jan Blokhuijsen and Koen Verweij (NED) in the team pursuit at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

The Team Pursuit is a team competition in speed skating and is ridden by teams of three. Races are similar to team pursuits in track cycling.[22] Two teams race at the same time, starting at a line down the middle of the straight. A team starts on each side of the track. Only the inner track is used. The distance is eight laps for men and six for women. The team’s time is the third skater to cross the finish line.

There are several formats for team tracking. The Olympic format is unusual in that it is a cup format with multiple elimination rounds between two teams. At World Cups and World Championships, a race is run and the teams are ranked according to their finish time. In the Olympic format, if a team overtakes the other, it automatically wins the race and the remaining distance is not run. In practice, the distance is so short that this rarely happens unless a team falls.

The team pursuit is a new event in major international competitions. The event was introduced at international level at the World Junior Championships around the turn of the millennium and at the 2003 World Championships, but was not considered an official ISU event until around 2004 and was finally introduced at the 2006 Olympics.

Equipment [ edit ]

Speed ​​Skates Speed ​​skates are very different from hockey skates and figure skating skates. Unlike ice hockey and figure skates, speedskates are cut off at the ankle and built more like a shoe than a boot to allow for more ankle compression. The runners have a length of 30 to 45 cm, depending on the age and size of the skater. Short track runners are attached to the shoe at the heel and just behind the ball of the foot. Long track skates, also known as clap skates, attach to a hinge at the front of the boot. The heel of the boot detaches from the runner with every hit by a spring mechanism on the front connector. This lengthens the skater’s stroke by keeping the blade on the ice longer. Speed ​​skates are manually sharpened with a jig to keep them in place.

Short Track All short track skaters are required to have speed skates, a spandex skin suit, a safety helmet, special cut resistant skating gloves, knee pads and shin pads (inside the suit), a neck brace (bib style) and ankle guards. Goggles are mandatory. Many skaters wear smooth ceramic or carbon fiber tips on their left glove to reduce friction when their hand is on corners on the ice. All skaters racing at the national level must wear a cut-resistant Kevlar suit to protect themselves from being cut by another skater’s blade.

Long Track Long track skaters should wear the same gear as short track racers, with the exception of a helmet, shin guards, knee pads and neck brace, which are not required; along with their blades. Long track skaters skate on so-called “clap blades”. These blades have hinges under the boot to the rear. It is described in more detail above. Safety goggles are not required. The suit doesn’t have to be Kevlar either. Long track skaters wear a hood integrated into the suit.

See also[edit]

References and Notes[edit]

Further Reading[edit]