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Speed Skating
Photo from the Special Olympics International web
site at
http://www.specialolympics.org (click on "sports" then "speed
skating"). |
Speed
skating is an official Special Olympics winter sport.
.
Did you know?
Athletes with physical disabilities may
participate in a form of speed skating called ice sledge racing.
Sledge racers sit on narrow sleds and propel themselves using
short pick-ended poles. |
|
Athlete Eligibility and Classification
Speed skaters who compete in Special Olympics
events must have a primary diagnosis of mental retardation. They are
classified according to a process called divisioning in which
athletes are grouped by ability level for competition. Divisioning is
described on the SOI web site at
http://www.specialolympics.org.
Click on "games and competitions," then choose "general rules" from the
drop-down menu, then go to "Section V - Special Olympics Divisioning."
Events
 | Individual races: 100m, 111m,
200m, 222m, 300m, 333m, 500m, 777m, 800m, 1000m, and 1500m. |
| Unified Sports events: 20-lap
relay short track format, 2-person 500m or 1000m combined short track
format, 1000m or 1500m combined short track format, 4x400m relay long
track format, 4x500m relay metric format, and 2-person 500m or 1000m
combined metric format. |
| Developmental events: The 25m
straight-away and 55m half-lap race are offered for athletes with
lower ability levels. |
Playing Area
The competition area for speed skating is an ice
rink. Depending upon the size of the ice surface, either a 100m or
111.12m (short track) or 400m (long track) oval is marked on the ice
using moveable rubber markers. Safety mats on the side walls of the rink
are recommended.
Rules
The object of speed skating is to skate the
required distance as fast as possible. The Special Olympics speed
skating rules (http://www.specialolympics.org)
are based upon International Skating Union (ISU) rules. Important
excerpts from the Special Olympics rules follow:
| Competitors start a race with both skates
behind the start line and finish when the blade of one skate crosses
the finish line. |
| No more than four skaters compete on the track
at one time. |
| Skaters within a division are assigned to
starting positions by random draw. |
| Disqualifications include: (a) an overtaking
skater not yielding right of way to an opponent; (b) deliberately
impeding or pushing another skater to gain an advantage; (c)
unnecessarily slowing down causing other competitors to slow down or
collide; (d) impeding, interfering, or improperly crossing the course
affecting race results; (e) receiving physical assistance during a
race; (f) intentionally moving the corner track markers or failing to
skate outside the markers; and (g) deliberately kicking out a skate or
throwing one's body across the finish line, endangering another
skater. |
Equipment
| Skates. Speed skaters wear special skates that have a leather boot with long steel blades
attached to the bottom. The long blades help speed skaters to attain greater speed than hockey or figure skaters.
|
| Clothing. Speed skaters wear
form-fitting skin-tight racing suits that do not restrict movement and
which help to reduce wind resistance. |
| Protective gear. Helmets, neck guards,
shin/knee guards, and gloves/mittens are required in Special Olympics
competition. |
Links
Page prepared by Kelly Bonnar and revised by Gail
Dummer |
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