Short-Track Speed Skating

I

Introduction

Short-Track Speed Skating, competitive sport in which skaters race each other around an oval track; it is sometimes known as indoor speed skating though it has relatively little in common with the sport of speed skating, where skaters compete against the clock and not against each other.

II

Clothing and Equipment

Skaters wear hard-shell helmets as falls are commonplace, and skintight suits to cut down on air resistance. Gloves are worn to protect skaters' hands from accidental injury from blades and are also important as the left hand touches the ice when cornering. Further protection is offered by shinpads, kneepads, and neckguards. The boots and blades differ from those used in speed skating. First, the boot is laced higher to help protect the forces playing upon the ankles when cornering; secondly, the blades are placed off-centre to enable skaters to move into the turns without the boot scraping the ice and they are also not straight but gently curved in the direction of the cornering. Blades measure between 40 and 46 cm (16 and 18 in).

III

Rules of the Sport

In short-track speed skating the racers compete around an oval track that measures 111.12 m (365 ft) in circumference with straights that are not less than 7 m (23 ft) in length. The course is marked on the ice rink with small rubber blocks. Competitors skate outside the line of the blocks in an anti-clockwise direction. In competition four to eight skaters engage in a mass start and race over distances ranging from 500 m to 5,000 m. The winner is the first skater to cross the line at the end of the race. A skater lapped twice has to leave the race. In competition, there are elimination heats that lead to semi-finals and a final.

Disqualifications are relatively common and skaters can be eliminated for a number of fouls including pushing, obstruction, and tripping. Two false starts also lead to the disqualification of a skater. The cut-and-thrust nature of the sport, the tightness of the track, and the closeness of the competitors leads to a high number of collisions and spectacular crashes. Skaters have to be particularly adept at cornering, where the body is inclined at around 30 degrees.

As well as individual events there are also relay races. Teams comprise five competitors of whom four are eligible to race. Handovers are made with the outgoing skater giving the incoming team-mate a push to increase his or her acceleration. There are no rules as to how many turns a skater must complete but the same skater must complete the final two laps.

The world governing body for short-track speed skating is the International Skating Union (ISU), which was founded in 1892 and now has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

IV

History

Short-track (or indoor) speed skating was first documented in Europe at the end of the 19th century, from where it quickly spread to the United States and Canada. The first American competitions were held in the early years of the 20th century. Competitions in the US were held indoors at such venues as Madison Square Garden. The sport revived in the 1970s when specialized tracks were constructed and World Championships were instituted (although not recognized officially for a number of years).