What is short track speed skating?

Speaking of ice skating, I believe everyone is familiar with it. Almost everyone has skated on roller skates, real ice, etc. But not many people know about short track speed skating, which is a difficult sport that requires training and has a long history. Now there must be a lot of people who want to understand and learn this sport. This sport has become a more leisure type of sport. Let’s talk about what short track speed skating is.

What is short track speed skating

Short track speed skating, abbreviated as short track speed skating, originated in Canada. In the 1880s, Canada built an indoor ice hockey rink, and some speed skating enthusiasts often went there to practice. By the mid-1990s, indoor speed skating competitions began to appear in Canadian cities such as Montreal, Quebec, and Winnipeg. Canada held its first national short track speed skating championship in 1905, and it was later widely developed in Europe and the United States.

In 1969, Canada distributed the "Rules of Short Track Speed ​​Skating" to the delegates at the 33rd International Skating Union Congress. In 1975, the International Skating Union established the Short Track Speed ​​Skating Technical Committee. The first international short track speed skating competition was held in Champs-Elysées, Illinois, USA in 1976, but it was not until 1978 that the Short Track Speed ​​Skating Championships were officially recognized and hosted by the International Skating Union. The International Skating Union began hosting the World Short Track Speed ​​Skating Championships in 1981.

The competition venue is 30 meters x 60 meters, and the circumference of each lap of the track is 111.12 meters. The competition adopts an elimination system with group preliminaries, second rounds, semi-finals and finals, and the lanes are determined by drawing lots. When the race starts, multiple athletes start at the same starting line, and they can overtake their opponents at any time during the gliding process. Athletes must wear protective helmets, protective gloves and cut-resistant clothing when participating in the competition. Short track speed skating first appeared at the Winter Olympics in 1980 as a demonstration event. It was listed as an official event in the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics, with four events: men's 1000 meters, women's 500 meters and men's and women's relay. In 1994, Lillehammer added six events to the men's and women's 500 meters, 1000 meters and men's and women's relay. The 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics added the men's and women's 1500 meters, and short track speed skating has increased to eight events.

Short track speed skating competitions are competed by groups of 4 athletes (sometimes 5 or 6), who start together and skate in a counterclockwise circle. This is a multi-round elimination tournament, with the top two teams in each round advancing to the next round until the final. Overtaking in short track speed skating is very difficult. Overtaking usually occurs on the outside lane of a straight, but can also be accomplished on the inside lane of a bend if the leader leaves a large gap. Falls often occur during matches, which can result in a considerable number of appeals and disqualifications. The relay race is completed by four team members in a predetermined order, with each baton sliding one and a half or two circles. The baton is passed in a relay by one team member pushing another. While his teammate was gliding, the remaining three team members were waiting on the inside of the track.

From the above, it can be seen that short track speed skating is a difficult sport. If you want to learn professional short track speed skating, you need to undergo professional training and persevere. Short track speed skating has many years of history, and the number of competition events is still increasing, which requires people who learn it to work harder and be more patient to complete training. Only those who persevere to the end can achieve success.