Speed skating rink
Encyclopedia
A speed skating rink is an ice rink
Ice rink
An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...

 (but also a sport venue
Sport venue
Sport venue is an arena, a stadium or similar building in which a sporting competition is held.-Types of sports venues:*Sport hall*Motorsport venues *Horse racing venues *Swimming pool*Shooting range*Bullring...

) in which a speed skating
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...

 competition is held.

The rink

A standard speed skating track is, according to the regulations of the International Skating Union
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...

 (ISU), a double-laned track with two curved ends each of 180°, in which the radius of the inner curve is not less than 25 metres and not more than 26 metres. The width of the competition lanes is 4 metres. At the opposite straight of the finishing line, there is a crossing area, where the skaters must change lane.
At international competitions, the track must be 400 metres long, with a warm-up lane at least 4 metres wide inside the competition lanes. For Olympic competitions, the track must also be enclosed within a building.

The design and dimensions of a speed skating track have remained more or less unchanged since the foundation of ISU in 1892.

Measurement and demarcation

The measurement of the track is made half a meter into the lane. The total length of the track is the distance a competitor skates each lap, i.e. the length of two straights, one inner curve and one outer curve, in addition to the extra distance skated when changing lanes in the cross-over area, which on a standard track equals 7 centimeters.
  • A 400 m track with inner radius 25.0 m has 113.57 m long straights
  • A 400 m track with inner radius 25.5 m has 112.00 m long straights
  • A 400 m track with inner radius 26.0 m has 110.43 m long straights


The demarcation of the competition lanes are made by painted lines in the ice (ot a set of painted marks) and movable blocks of rubber. On outdoor tracks, snow may also be used for demarcation of the competition lanes.

Alternative speed skating tracks

Although ISU regulations state that minimum measures for a standard speed skating track, alternative track lengths may be used for competition. The minimum requirements are track length on 200 meters, radius of inner curve of 15  meters and width of the competition lanes 2 meters.

Indoor speed skating tracks

Below is a complete list of the indoor 400 m speed skating tracks around the world. The data presented are retrieved from the online database Speed Skating News.
Country City Track name Altitude Finished
  Belarus Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...

 
Minsk Arena  209 2010
  Canada Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

 
Olympic Oval
Olympic Oval
The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a covered speed skating oval built for the 1988 Winter Olympics. It is the official designated training center for Speed Skate Canada and the Canadian National Speed Skating team. It is located on the University of Calgary campus...

 
1105 1987
  Canada Fort St. John
Fort St. John, British Columbia
The City of Fort St. John is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Peace River Regional District, the city covers an area of about 22 km² with 22,000 residents . Located at Mile 47, it is one of the largest cities along the Alaska Highway. Originally...

 
Enerplex Arena 671 2009
  Canada Richmond
Richmond, British Columbia
Richmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, while the Strait of Georgia forms its western border...

 
Richmond Olympic Oval
Richmond Olympic Oval
The Richmond Olympic Oval , or the Richmond Oval is a facility in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It was the venue of the speed skating events and the official Olympic anti-doping lab of the 2010 Winter Olympics...

 
4 2008*
  China Changchun
Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and...

 
Jilin Provincial Speed Skating Rink 210 2005
  China Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...

 
Heilongjiang Indoor Rink 141 1995
  China Qiqihar
Qiqihar
- Subdivisions :Qiqihar is divided into 16 divisions: 7 districts , 8 counties and 1 county-level city .-Economy:...

 
Indoor Icerink 146 2007
  China Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...

 
Bayi Speed Skating Oval 48 1999
  Germany Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 
Sportforum Hohenschönhausen
Sportforum Hohenschönhausen
Sportforum Hohenschönhausen is a multi-use sports complex in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen, Germany that includes facilities for speed skating, athletics, cycling, and other sports.-Ice sports arena:...

 
34 1985
  Germany Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...

 
Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann Halle 214 2001
  Germany Inzell
Inzell
Inzell is a municipality in the district of Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany. It is known for the Eisstadion Inzell, an outdoor artificial ice rink that has been used for many international speed skating championships....

 
Eisstadion Inzell
Eisstadion Inzell
Eisstadion Inzell is a stadium located in Inzell, Germany, best known as a speed skating venue. It is an outdoor, artificial ice, rink, located 690 metres above sea level and has a capacity of 20,000 people...

 
690 2011
  Italy Torino  Oval Lingotto
Oval Lingotto
Torino Oval Lingotto is an indoor arena in Turin, Italy. It was built for use at the 2006 Winter Olympics, during which it hosted speed skating events...

 
233 2005
  Japan Nagano  M-Wave
M-Wave
is an indoor sporting arena located in Nagano, Japan.Opened in 1996, the arena has a capacity of 10,000. It hosted the speed skating events of the 1998 Winter Olympics. The M-Wave is equipped with movable stands and an automatically winding artificial lawn machine...

 
346 1996
  Japan Obihiro  Meiji Hokkaido-Tokachi Oval 79 2009
  Kazakhstan Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...

 
Indoor skating stadium 348 2011
  Netherlands Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...

 
SpaarSelect Kunstijsbaan 5 2001
  Netherlands Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...

 
IJsbaan Twente 27 2008
  Netherlands Groningen  Kardinge 0 1993
  Netherlands Heerenveen
Heerenveen
Heerenveen is a town in the Heerenveen municipality of the province of Friesland , in the north of the Netherlands.- History :The town was established in 1551 by three lords as a location for the purpose of digging peat which was used for fuel, hence the name...

 
Thialf
Thialf
Thialf is an ice arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands. The stadium is used for long track speed skating, short track speed skating, ice hockey, figure skating, and non-sports events. The outdoor rink was opened in 1967, and the indoor stadium was opened in 1986. Several world records were set in the...

 
0 1986
  Netherlands Tilburg
Tilburg
Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....

 
Ireen Wüst IJsbaan 13 2009
  Norway Bjugn
Bjugn
Bjugn is a municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Fosen region. The village of Botngård is the administrative centre of Bjugn municipality...

 
Fosenhallen
Fosenhallen
Fosenhallen is an indoor multi-use ice rink in Bjugn, Norway. It consists of a speed skating rink, with an ice hockey rink and a football field in the middle, as well as a curling rink. It opened on 14 September 2007.-External links:*...

 
8 2007
  Norway Hamar
Hamar
is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849...

 
Vikingskipet
Vikingskipet Olympic Arena
Vikingskipet , officially known as Hamar Olympic Hall , is an indoor multi-use sport and event venue in Hamar, Norway. It was built as the speed skating rink for the 1994 Winter Olympics, and has since also hosted events and tournaments in speedway, rally, association football, bandy, ice sledge...

 
125 1992
  Norway Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...

 
Sørmarka Arena
Sørmarka Arena
Sørmarka Arena is an indoor multi-purpose ice rink located in Stavanger, Norway. It consists of a 400-meter speed skating rink, an ice hockey rink, six curling rinks, and a "penguin rink" for newbeginners. There is also a tall climbing wall...

 
48 2010
  Russia Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...

 
Uralskaya Molniya 222 2005
  Russia Kolomna
Kolomna
Kolomna is an ancient city and the administrative center of Kolomensky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, southeast of Moscow. The area of the city is about . The city was founded in 1177...

 
Speed Skating Centre 120 2006
  Russia Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 
Krylatskoye Skating Hall 127 2004
  South Korea Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

 
Taereung Indoor Ice Rink 63 2000
  USA West Allis
West Allis, Wisconsin
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 61,254 at the 2000 census. Its name derives from Edward P. Allis, who started the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company in the 19th century. The site of the town was...

, Milwaukee 
Pettit National Ice Center
Pettit National Ice Center
The Pettit National Ice Center is an indoor ice skating facility in West Allis, Wisconsin featuring two international-size ice rinks and a 400-meter speed skating oval. Located adjacent to Wisconsin State Fair Park, the center opened on December 31, 1992, and was named for Milwaukee philanthropists...

 
216 1993
  USA Kearns
Kearns, Utah
Kearns is a township and census-designated place in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. Named after Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns, it had a population of 35,731 at the 2010 Census.This was a 6.2 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 33,659...

, Salt Lake City 
Utah Olympic Oval
Utah Olympic Oval
The Utah Olympic Oval, an indoor speed skating oval built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, is located southwest of Salt Lake City, in Kearns, Utah. The Oval hosted the long track speed skating events for the 2002 games. Inside the facility the 400-meter skating track surrounds two international sized...

 
1423 2000
  • Note: The Richmond Olympic Oval was dismantled upon completion of the 2010 Winter Olympics and is no longer in existence.

Other major speed skating tracks

In the table below, some of the world's major outdoor speed skating tracks still in use are listed. This is not a complete list of speed skating venues, but lists most of the outdoor tracks used for world cup competitions and championships the past years. The data in the table are retrieved from the Speed Skating News database.
Country City Track name Altitude Finished Other
  Austria Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...

 
Olympia Eisstadion 586 1963
  Canada Québec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

 
Centre National Gaétan Boucher 103 1978
  Finland Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

 
Oulunkylän Liikuntapuisto 39 1977
  Finland Seinäjoki
Seinäjoki
Seinäjoki is a city located in Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bruk iron and gunpowder factories founded in 1798. Seinäjoki became a municipality in 1868, market town in 1931 and town in 1960...

 
Jääurheilukeskus 44 1952
  Hungary Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

 
Városligeti Müjégpálya 115 1968
  Italy Baselga di Pinè
Baselga di Pinè
Baselga di Pinè is a comune in Trentino in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 12 km northeast of Trento...

 
Ice Rink Pinè 998 1985
  Italy Collalbo  Arena Ritten 1173 1989
  Kazakhstan Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...

 
Medeo
Medeo
The Medeu , or Medeo , is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world...

 
1691 1972 Reopened
  Netherlands The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 
De Uithof 0 1989 Semi-covered
  Norway Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 
Frogner stadion
Frogner stadion
Frogner stadion is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. It is located close to the Frogner Park, between the park and Majorstuen.-History:It opened in 1901, and was built by Kristiania Skøiteklub. In 1914, the stadium was moved to its current position, due to the Oslo Jubilee exhibition...

 
42 1914 Reopens with artificial ice in 2010
  Norway Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 
Valle Hovin
Valle Hovin
Valle Hovin is both a bandy and speed skating rink in cold weather, and an outdoor stadium for concerts in warm weather, in Oslo, Norway.The Bandy World Championships has been held here....

 
92 1966
  Poland Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

 
Tor Stegny 82 1979
  Poland Zakopane
Zakopane
Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...

 
Tor Cos 932 1956
  Gothenburg Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

 
Ruddalens skrinnarhall 40 2002 Semi-covered
  Switzerland Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...

 
Eisstadion Davos
Eisstadion Davos
Vaillant Arena is an arena in Davos, Switzerland. It is primarily used for ice hockey and is the home arena of HC Davos. It holds 7,080 people, of which 3,280 are seated...

 
1560 1894 Natural ice
  USA Lake Placid
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....

 
James B. Sheffield Olympic Skating Rink  568 1977
  USA Roseville  John Rose Minnesota Oval  276 1993
  Netherlands Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...

 
IJsbaan Kennemerland  0 1977 Semi-covered

See also

  • Long track speed skating
    Long track speed skating
    Speed skating is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as short track speedskating, inline speedskating, and quad speed skating are also called speed skating...

  • Ice hockey rink
  • Ice rink
    Ice rink
    An ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...

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