Short track speed skating, an exhilarating sport at EYOF, combines high-speed racing with tactical strategy on a compact ice track. Young athletes navigate tight turns and sprint to the finish, showcasing agility, speed, and nerve. Experience the intensity and thrill of short track speed skating, where every race is a test of skill and determination!  

The short track racetrack is set in a 30 m x 60 m ice rink, and athletes compete against each other in a series of direct elimination rounds in which the fastest moves on to the next round. This is a unique feature of short-track speed skating, where the skaters start in groups.  

In EYOF we have the 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and 2000 m Mixed Team Relay races. In the mixed relay, each team consists of four athletes: two girls and two boys. The athletes race in a required order: woman-woman-man-man-woman-woman-man-man.  

Helmets are required because the risk of falling is much greater than in speed skating. The tight curves and speed-to-distance ratio mean that athletes use stiff footwear to help them control their trajectory. The blades are also smaller compared to speed skating blades, which means different training is necessary to teach the athletes to lean more into the curve.

HISTORY

In short track speed skating, athletes compete not against the clock, but against each other. This introduces the elements of strategy, bravery and skill needed for racing.

Short track (or indoor) speed skating began in Canada and the United States of America, where they held mass-start competitions on an oval track as early as 1905-1906. The lack of 400 m long tracks led many North American skaters to practice on ice rinks. However, practicing on a smaller track brought new challenges, like tighter turns and shorter straightaways, which lead to different techniques in order to win on a shorter track. These countries began competing against each other on an annual basis. The sport’s rise in popularity was partly thanks to the North American racing rules, which introduced a “pack” style of racing. Capitalizing on this, the organizers of the 1932 Lake Placid Games, with the consent of the International Skating Union (ISU), agreed to follow these rules for the program’s speed skating events.  

After having been a demonstration sport at the 1988 Games in Calgary, short track speed skating became part of the Olympic program in Albertville in 1992, with two individual events and two relays. The discipline comprises men’s and women’s events. Since the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, the program of this discipline has included eight events.  

It quickly became popular with the public, who are thrilled to watch rapid races on tight tracks. The skaters race so closely to each other that collisions and falls are inevitable, which is why the walls of the speed skating oval are padded.

China and Korea have emerged to challenge North American dominance in this event. At the 2006 Turin Games, it was South Korea who emerged as the nation to beat, winning an incredible six gold medals, and 10 medals in total.

(source: https://olympics.com/en/sports/short-track-speed-skating/).