Adrenaline Packed Short Track Racing
Short Track is a fast and exciting Olympic sport with racing taking place on an oval ice track 111m long. 4 to 6 skaters in races with lots of overtaking, thrills and spills and reaching speeds of up to 45 km/hr on a 1 millimetre thick blade.
Race take place on a 111.12m oval track.
This track fits inside a standard Olympic-sized ice hockey rink.
Racing is always in an anti-clockwise direction.
Competitions have a knock out format, with the top two finishers from each heat normally advancing to the next round.
Passing strategies and pacing are important components of the sport.
Distances
Races take place over the distances:
500m (4.5 laps)
1000m (9 laps)
1500m (13.5 laps)
2000m (18 laps) – Junior D
2000m (18 laps) – Mixed gender
3000m (27 laps) – Men/Women
5000m (45 laps) – Men
- The race season usually begins in September.
- Depending on the competition, the categories can sometimes also be split into Boys and Girls.
- Novice races may also take place.
Age Categories
Junior E
Under 11
PeeWee 2
222m
333m
500m
Junior D
11 – 12
PeeWee 1
333m
500m
777m
Junior C
13 -14
Juvenile
500m
777m
1000m
Junior B
15 – 16
500m
1000m
1500m
Junior A
17 – 18
500m
1000m
1500m
Senior
19 – 34
500m
1000m
1500m
Masters
35+
500m
777m
1000m
The cut-off date for the age is 1st July.
Equipment
- Short Track has specialised equipment for speed and safety.
- Because of the sharp turns at high speeds specialised boots and blades are used:
- Boots are hard
- The blades are on pillars, and off set to the left, so the boot is less likely to touch the ice on fast turns
- Blades are bent, to the left, as skaters normally only turn to the left
- Skaters wear helmets, cut proof suits and gloves.
- Falls are common so there are pads on the track walls.