Speed Skating

I

Introduction

Speed Skating, racing competition conducted on outdoor or indoor ovals, often with artificially frozen ice, in which skaters vie to set the best time over a prescribed distance. Speed skating claims the honour of being the fastest human-powered, non-mechanical sport with sprint skaters reaching speeds of more than 60 km/hr (37 mph). The movement across the tract of ice is by means of skates, each of which is composed of a steel blade fastened to the sole of a boot.

II

Equipment and Clothing

Skaters are equipped with a skin-tight racing suit, including a hood, which decreases air resistance. During competition the skater who starts in the outside lane wears a red armband for identification and the skater on the inside lane wears a white armband.

Traditionally, speed skaters wore fixed blades. However, modern competitors use clap skates. They differ in that the heel of the blade is not attached to the boot and is therefore flexible; when the skater steps forward the blade remains in contact with the ice (and not the air) for longer and gives a greater purchase on the track. The name for clap skates comes from the noise when the boot resumes contact with the blade. The steel blade itself measures between 42 and 46 cm (16 and 18 in) long and about 1.2 mm wide.

III

Rules of the Sport

Speed skating competition once took place outdoors but now is more usually held in an indoor rink. The oval-shaped course measures 400 m. Skaters race in pairs (unless there is an odd number of competitors in which case one skater must skate singly), each in a lane that measures 4 to 5 m (13 to 16y ft) wide. Starts are staggered. When the skaters reach the back straight they cross over lanes so that the advantage of the inner lane (the shorter distance) is evened out during the course of the race. The skater passing from the outside lane to the inside lane has priority and skaters wear differing coloured armbands to denote in which lane they started. Two false starts lead to disqualification.

In competition each skater races once and the winner is the one that posts the best time. In competition over 500 m (the shortest race distance), skaters race twice, with their cumulative times counting. When speed skating was held outdoors the skaters were frequently at the mercy of the elements, with strong sunshine, for example, melting the surface and creating softer, slower conditions.

Skaters travel the oval in an anticlockwise direction and crouch forward to create greater speed and tuck their left arm over their back to remain aerodynamic; they need to be expert at cornering and adopt a body lean of more than 45 degrees to counteract the centrifugal forces.

The 1932 Olympic Games speed skating events (held in Lake Placid, United States) were held according to North American rules of “pack racing” or “mass starting”, where every competitor starts together. Many Europeans boycotted the Games in response to the change of rules but the mass start stayed with the sport in North America. Eventually, it was adopted as the method of starting for short-track speed skating.

The governing body for speed skating is the International Skating Union (ISU), based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

IV

History

There is evidence to suggest that rudimentary skates were used for travel in Scandinavia as long as 3,000 years ago. Skating also proved a viable method of getting about in the Netherlands, on the frozen lakes and later the canals. In early times the ribs or shinbones of animals were bound to the feet, and skaters glided on these by propelling themselves with the aid of a spiked stick. Later, iron or steel blades were introduced. Records suggest that races were already taking place in the Low Countries in the 13th century and by 1676 there were major competitions. From the Netherlands the sport spread to the rest of northern Europe, including Germany and Scandinavia. In Britain the centre of skating was in the Fenland, where the frozen Fens provided suitable conditions. It is suggested that competition has been held there since the late 18th century. The first recorded competition in speed skating took place in Oslo, Norway, in 1863 and the popularity of the sport spread to North America.

Skating marathons are popular in the Netherlands and Canada and often take place on frozen stretches of water when conditions allow. The most famous race is the 200 km (124 mi) Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour), held in the Friesland region of the Netherlands. It was last held in 1997. Also, the International Big Rideau Lake Speed Skating Marathon in Portland, Ontario, Canada, is a day race that takes place on a 1-km-long oval.