Speed skaters are the most enthusiastic of all skaters who participate in the branches of roller skating. The challenge, skill, and the heat of competitive fire that is evident as each individual in the pack thunders to the finish line, in a seemingly desperate, frenzied effort to cross it first, are shared by the spectator in complete communion with the competitor. From time immemorial man has worshipped at the altar of speed, and speed-skating followers are acquainted with the fact that man can move faster under his own power on a pair of roller skates, doing a mile in well under three minutes.

If you aspire to become a speed skater, you must learn well the funda­mental balance on all edges. Almost perfect balance is required to start driving your strokes coming off a corner, and the slightest hesitation will doom your hopes for victory.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

To become a good speed skater you must have stamina. You must be in excellent health, with good lung capacity and good muscle tone to stand the rigors of competition. The legs and lungs tell the story of speed skating. Build the proper leg muscles so that they can deliver the thrust required on the track. Bicycle riding is an excellent conditioner for developing the extensor and flexor muscles in much the same pattern as they must be developed for speed skating.

Since speed skating calls for tremendous amounts of energy, your diet as well as your physical condition needs special attention. Cut down on the fried and fatty foods, and eat plenty of energy-producing proteins and carbohydrates. And get plenty of regular sleep.

EQUIPMENT

Your speed skates must fit perfectly. When you select them, wear the same weight of socks you intend to use for skating so that the fit will be exact and comfortable. Low-cut shoes on your skates are recommended so that when you crouch at the corners you will have freedom around the ankles. High boots provide too much leverage at the critical corners.

Hard maple, loose ball-bearing wheels, mounted on long cones, permit a good roll. Some skaters use precision bearings, but the tolerances or clearances inside the bearings are so close that a speck of dirt may cause a drag or a bind and hinder you in a race.

RACING  TECHNIQUE

Competitive distances range from Senior requirements of five miles, two miles, one mile, 880 and 440 yards, to Juvenile one-sixteenth mile and one-half mile. Each competitor is required to skate a sprint, a medium distance, and a long distance; and the starting technique becomes more important as the distance becomes shorter. The sprint is won more often than not by the first skater to reach the first pylon, so drill on quick starts and experiment with them until you can get away very quickly.

Starts

The three fundamental starts are the full face, semi side, and full side: They are shown in Figs. 12, 13, and 14, and instructions on how to take each start accompany the photographs. Each type has its followers. You will have to decide which one suits you best. The most popular for sprints and distances, until the advent of toe stop running starts, was the semiside start.

Taking a Corner

Cornering is the place where the most skillful skater has an advantage. The groove to follow on a corner is this: skirt the first pylon just close enough to prevent a trailing skater from passing on the inside, free-roll (coast) on two feet for one-half of the distance between the corner pylons, then sprint out of the corner just skirting the second pylon. Try not to free-roll any longer than necessary, or someone will step past you on the inside or outside.

Passing

Your assignment is to come in first in the race. Hence, when skating in a trailing position, you must actively think about the problem of how to get past the skater in front. Study his stride and movement. If he sways slightly outward on his right foot, sprint past on his left—but time your sprint carefully. If you have good reserve and room, drive by on his right. This latter is the harder way but has the element of surprise; he can cover his left with skill but the right is always open.

Take your place at the starting line with the left toe directly over the line and facing directly into the straightaway. Place the right foot on the floor, aiming into the straightaway, with the toe wheels opposite the heel wheels of the left foot. Crouch down so that chest and thighs are at about an angle of 45 degrees to the hips. Twist the shoulders to the right about 45 degrees from the starting line. Extend the right arm to the rear at shoulder level and the left arm forward and parallel to the left thigh. Press the majority of the weight onto the right foot, ready to spring over the line on signal.

FIG. 12. Full-Face Starting Position.

Take your place at the starting line with the left outside forward wheel tangent to the line and the left foot at about a 45-degree angle to the starting line. Place your right foot on the floor about two inches from the left foot and parallel to it. Crouch down so that the chest, thighs, and calves are angled about 45 degrees for good spring. Twist the shoulders to your right until your left arm is directly over the line and the right arm is extended to the rear and parallel to the floor. Press the majority of the weight onto the right foot, ready to spring over the line on signal.

FIG. 13. Semiside Starting Position.

Take a place at the starting line with the outside wheels of your left foot parallel to the starting line and tangent to it. Place your right foot on the floor about two inches from the left foot and parallel to it. Crouch down so that the chest, thighs, and calves are angled about 45 degrees for most efficient spring. Twist the shoulders to your right until the left arm is directly over the line and the right arm is extended toward the rear and parallel to the floor. Press the majority of the weight onto the right foot, ready to spring over the line on signal.

FIG. 14. Full Side Starting Position.

Finishing

As you approach the finish line, drive on until you are over it—never let up for an instant. In longer races be sure you have completed sufficient laps. If in doubt about this, and many skaters often are, keep going until an official calls you off the track.

SPEED  TRACK

A speed track is a measured course of travel laid inside a rectangle. The skater must go around four corner markers (pylons). These should be no higher than 12 inches and made of rubber or soft plastic. For safety these pylons should be placed no closer than fifteen feet from the barrier or wall. Attach a short rope to the pylons so that they can be pulled out of the way quickly. The racing proceeds around the course in a counter­clockwise direction, and the pylons are numbered 1 to 4 around the course (see Diag. 33). Pylons 2 and 4 are inset approximately four feet farther from the end and side of the barrier or wall than pylons 1 and 3. This makes it possible for a skater to enter the straight portion of the course with greater speed.

Protective padding should be placed along the fence or barrier, to protect the skaters as they come off each corner into the straightaway on each side, and should extend about one-third the length of the straightaway on each side. Wrestling or tumbling mats are ideal for this purpose.

The length of the course can be determined by rolling a calibrated wheel around the course at a distance of one foot outward from the pylons, except that on the ends the calibrated wheel should follow a curve, the radius of which is approximately the distance from the center of the rectangle to pylon 1 or 3. Tracks for official tests and competitions should be laid out by a surveyor and approved by the official skating association.

DIAG. 33. Race Track.

OFFICIALS

For official races the following officials are essential:

Referee—the chief officer who decides all disputes. He should be on skates.

Starter—he starts the contestants and also is the judge of whether a fall inside the thirty-foot fall line is intentional or not. Multiple shot .22 or .32 calibre guns and blanks are recommended for starting races. (Check with local police officials to see whether a permit is needed.) A whistle with a loud distinctive sound may be substituted, if necessary.

Pylon judges—one for each pylon who watches for any foul or irregularity.

Patrol judge—this official moves around the inside of the track and observes the conduct of the competitors.

Lap card holder—he holds up large numbered cards which indicate the number of laps a skater still has to complete.

Timekeepers—three should time the race. Watches should be graduated to one-tenth of a second. If two watches agree and a third is different, the time of the agreeing watches is accepted. If all disagree, the intermediate time is accepted.

Place pickers—four should be assigned, each to pick one place from first to fourth.

Scorer—he keeps the record of the contest. He may need assistants to perform the clerical work required.

False start—crossing the starting line before the gun calls for a penalty. The offender is put one yard back for the first offense, two yards back for the second offense, and completely disqualified from the race for the third false start.

Blocking—weaving from side to side to prevent a skater from passing. This calls for disqualification from the race.

Intentional fouling—tripping, deliberate falls in the starting zone, deliberate contact with another skater, deliberate slowing up to cause a pile up, cutting inside the corner pylons, or deliberately knocking them down. Any one of these fouls calls for disqualification.

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