NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Inline speed skating

Inline speed skating is the sport of racing on inline skates. It is often called inline racing by participants. Although it primarily evolved from racing on "quad" roller skates, the sport is similar enough to ice speed skating that many competitors are now known to switch between inline and ice speed skating according to the season. Image File history File links Patinaje_Euro2004. ... The roller skate is a type of skate with wheels to be used on solid ground (as opposed to the ice skate which is to be used on ice. ... The roller skate is a type of skate with wheels to be used on solid ground (as opposed to the ice skate which is to be used on ice. ... Speed skating, or long track speedskating, long track speed skating, is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. ...

The skate

An inline speed skate is a specialized version of the inline skate. The boot or shoe is close-fitting, without much padding and usually made of leather and/or carbon composites. For best performance the boot must conform closely to the shape of the foot, so most inline speed skating boots are heat-moldable, which allows the user to re-shape the boots to some extent when heat is applied. Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. ... A cloth of woven carbon fiber filaments, a common element in composite materials Composite materials (or composites for short) are engineered materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties and which remain separate and distinct on a macroscopic level within the finished structure. ...

The frame (sometimes called the chassis or plate) which holds the wheels is made of aircraft-quality aluminum and sometimes magnesium and usually mounts three, four to five polyurethane wheels of between 78 mm and 110 mm diameter. Each wheel contains 2 precision bearings with an aluminum spacer. The three wheel frames are used primarily for smaller skaters and the five wheel frames are not being used near as much. Currently (2007) most speed skaters are using 100 or 110mm wheels. Aluminum is a soft and lightweight metal with a dull silvery appearance, due to a thin layer of oxidation that forms quickly when it is exposed to air. ... A polyurethane is any polymer consisting of a chain of organic units joined by urethane links. ... For other uses, see Wheel (disambiguation). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Bearing sizes have been standardized around the 608 series, though some manufacturers have tried 688 series or smaller in hopes of reducing weight. These smaller bearings have been met with limited success due to frame design issues and the need for proprietary design wheels. Bearing precisions run from ABEC-1 to ABEC-9. While the ABEC system characterizes most bearings, some quality bearings do not have an ABEC rating. Rather, they may simply be described as "Swiss" bearings. Additionally, bearings with ceramic balls have been marketed since the late 1990s. These do not have the potential corrosion problems of metal ball bearings and are said to create less friction, but they come at a significantly higher purchase price. Ceramic bearings are also considered more fragile and less durable than metal bearings. A bearing is a device to permit constrained relative motion between two parts, typically rotation or linear movement. ... ABEC, stands for Annular Bearing Engineering Council, that standards defines tolerance (engineering) classes for major dimensions and characteristics of steel ball bearings. ...

Wheels made for inline speed skating tend to have a higher durometer, so they are harder than recreational wheels but less hard than aggressive wheels. The higher durometer contributes to less wear and greater speed, but also less resistance, a factor that can increase a skater's endurance. Different wheels types are designed for particular skating conditions, such as indoor or outdoor, road or track, wet or dry, and rough or smooth surfaces, cement or asphalt. Pro skaters sometimes combine different wheels on the same skate in an attempt to achieve the best combination. The recent introduction of a dual-durometer wheel (where the wheel contains an inner layer or urethane with a different durometer than the exterior layer) has compounded to the dizzying number of choices available. A durometer is a tool used to measure hardness. ...

Although clap skate frames similar to those used in long track ice speed skating have been designed for inline racing, they have so far not proven to be superior to the normal fixed frame that inline racers use. In the past, most speed skaters used either four or five 80 mm wheels. Beginning in about 2002, elite inline speed skaters began employing fixed-frame "big-wheel" skates which have recently become the standard. These frames hold three, four or five wheels that may be from 84 mm to 110 mm in diameter. Clap skates (also called clapskates, slap skates, slapskates, from Dutch klapschaats) are a type of ice skate used in speed skating. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

A somewhat different form of inline speed skate uses a monocoque design. The boot and frame are made as one piece of carbon fiber material and offer noticeable savings in weight. They are, however, not widely used because they cost about four to five times the price of a high-quality standard boot-frame combination and require custom casting of the skater's feet, which is a costly and laborious process. Monocoque (French for single shell) is a construction technique that uses the external skin of an object to support some or most of the load on the structure. ... Graphite-reinforced plastic or carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP or CRP), is a strong, light and very expensive composite material or fibre reinforced plastic. ...

Technique and control

Mechanically, strokes in speed skating are deeper and faster (to a sharper angle, closer to the point of losing traction) than recreational skating but not as deep or as fast as in ice speed skating. This is because of the greater frictional forces in the direction of travel and lesser ability to apply friction without slipping of wheels on a hard surface compared to a steel blade on ice. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x650, 338 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Inline speed skating ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x650, 338 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Inline speed skating ...

Speedskaters may also move each foot across the centerline of travel, leading to the double push method popularized by the United States skater Chad Hedrick. The technique literally allows for two pushes in each stroke of the skate. However, it can also be tiring and even pro-elite skaters will often save it until needed, such as the latter stages or final sprint of a distance race. The double push is usually only used for outdoor racing. Double push or DP is an inline speed skating technique. ... Chad Hedrick in GroÃŸ-Gerau, Germany, in 2005. ...

Turning is significantly more difficult with inline speed skates than recreational skates because of more and larger wheels, creating a longer wheelbase. The wheel profile, that is, the cross-section, is parabolic, with a sharper shape than recreational or aggressive wheels, allowing the skater to essentially skate on a smaller, and hence more agile, wheel when leaned over in a turn.

Brakes are not generally used on speed skates so various other techniques to slow down are used, such as slaloming (skating s-curves) or v-plowing, where the heels are pushed outward and the toes inward. It is not readily obvious to an observer from a skater's stance that the skater is v-plowing, if it were the skater would quickly crash. The v-plow is often the stop used in situations where there is little lateral and forward room to stop. One technique is the T-stop, essentially dragging one foot perpendicular to and behind the other, however this wears the wheels of that skate quickly. Another stop involves picking up one foot and setting it down quickly and repeatedly somewhat perpendicular to the forward motion while keeping weight on the other foot. Hockey stops are possible on speed skates, but require a very deep lean in order to cause the wheels to lose traction and slide, also the fact that wheels are sliding means that the wheels are also wearing down very quickly. Grass runouts are always a last option, given an adjacent grassy area.

An inline speedskater takes much time to stop and often has still fewer options in an emergency, often taking several hundred feet on a level surface to come to a stop at a full, controlled deceleration. Thus, a skater should be familiar with and proficient in stopping techniques before attempting difficult situations such as heavily travelled roads or hills.

A resource book on inline racing technique and training is Speed on Skates by Barry Publow (ISBN 0-88011-721-4). Although dated because it was published in 1999 prior to significant changes in skate designs, the book nevertheless remains a valuable resource and is the only inline racing text widely available in North America.

Race venues and formats

Inline speed skating races are held in a variety of formats and on a variety of surfaces.

Indoor races are most common in the United States, which has a long tradition of racing on skates at rinks. The competitions are generally held at roller skating rinks with plastic coated wood floors and less commonly, a plastic coated cement floor. The track is about 100 m in circumference. At USARS (USA Roller Sports) events, tracks are marked by four pylons set in a rectangular shape, while at [NIRA] (National Inline Racing Association) events, tracks are marked by multiple pylons that create an oval shaped track. Events, or meets, are typically structured so that members of numerous age groups race in three or four distances. For the more populous divisions, there may be a number of heats in order to qualify for the final race. To some extent, indoor inline races are similar to short track speed skating. USA Roller Sports (USARS), formerly the United States Amateur Confederation of Roller Skating, is the national governing body of competitive roller sports (inline skating and roller skating) in the United States. ... Short track speed skating (also Shorttrack speedskating) is a form of competitive ice speed skating. ...

Outdoor races may be held on regular pavement on city streets or park roads, or they may be held at specialized venues similar to velodromes, sometimes called patinodromes. A patinodrome is generally about 400 m in circumference and may be surfaced with asphalt, concrete or similar material. The curves may be banked. Such specialized skating tracks are relatively common in Europe but rare in the United States. Look up velodrome in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Time trials: Held "against the clock", each skater races individually or in pairs over a distance of 100 m to 300 m, attempting to establish the best time. Time trials are occasionally held over longer distances, but they are very physically demanding and not popular.

Sprints: Skating in small groups of about a half dozen over a distance of 500 m to 1500 m, skaters advance in a series of heats to a final round.

Elimination races: In these moderate-distance races, also known as last man out, the hindmost skater is eliminated from the competition each time the pack of skaters complete a lap or when they complete certain specified lap numbers. At one or two laps to before the finish, the group has usually been pared down to four or five skaters. At this point the first across the finish line is the winner.

Points races: In these moderate-distance races, the first, second and third skaters to cross the start/finish line at certain specified laps are awarded points. Laps late in the race are worth more points, with the final lap worth the most points of all. It is possible to win a points race without actually being the first to cross the finish line at the end.

Points-elimination races: A combination of elimination races and points races.

Relays: Relay events include teams of two to four skaters each. Indoor meets may include "mixed" relay events in which teams have either one girl and one boy OR two girls and two boys, but outdoor relays (usually held on tracks) are usually if not always single-sex events. In a mix relay, it is traditional that a female goes to the starting line as the first skater to race.

Criterium races: Instead of racing a specified distance or number laps, the skaters skate for a certain amount of time, then plus a (small) number of laps. The time is typically between 15 and 45 minutes, after which a bell is rung and the skaters informed the race is over when they skate one or two more laps around the course. The portion of the race skated after the bell is rung is known as the bell lap (or laps).

Distance races: Although events such as points-elimination races and criteriums may cover a distance of 10 to 25 km, a distance race usually refers to a race over a set distance of about 5 km or longer and without specialized points or elimination rules. The event may be truly point-to-point or may held on a repeating course with a circumference of at least 1 km. Distance races are often marketed to the general populace and not just to members of inline racing clubs.

In the early days of inline racing, sponsors of distance races were often also running event organizers, and the races they organized were commonly the same distances as those of running races, about 5-10 km. By the mid-1990s such events were proving to not be very popular and in the United States, where sales of inline skates were also beginning to slip, there was a decline in participation at races. However, at about that time in Europe, where inline skate sales were beginning to rise, race sponsors began to regularly organize longer events, particularly inline marathons. Such events proved to be enormously popular among fitness skaters, with some events such as the Berlin Inline Marathon and the Engadin Inline Marathon in St. Moritz, Switzerland, regularly attracting over 5000 skaters each year. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Modern day marathon runners The word marathon refers to a long-distance road running event of 42. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Lej da Segl and Lej da Silvaplauna, Upper Engadin Piz Roseg and Vadret da Roseg as seen from Fuorcla Surlej The Engadine (German: Engadin, Romansch: Engiadina) is a long mountain valley located in the canton of GraubÃ¼nden in southeast of Switzerland. ... St. ...

In about 2000 American event sponsors followed suit, and inline half-marathons and marathons were scheduled more and more frequently around the country. As in Europe the events proved a big draw with fitness skaters looking for events which would give their training a focus. However, by 2005 this surge was tempered as some major events were either postponed for a year or cancelled permanently. In the United States the most popular inline marathon has continued to be the [NorthShore Inline Marathon] in Duluth, Minnesota. Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Duluth is the county seat of St. ...

Dryland triathlons: Occasionally organized by triathlon sponsors, these events substitute inline skating for the swimming component of the race. These event were infrequent even during the mid 1990s boom in inline skating participation. Today they are rare to non-existent. The three components of triathlon: Swimming, Cycling, Running A triathlon is an athletic event consisting of swimming, cycling and running over various distances. ... Swimmer redirects here. ...

Downhill races: An event most popular in the Alpine countries of Europe, these races are timed events down a steep course. Racers usually skate alone and the event commonly uses the best time of two heats to establish the winner. Downhill inline racers usually wear skates much more like "regular" inline skates than inline speed skates, along with extensive body covering and protective gear, and strong helmets. They may reach speeds of up to 130 km/h. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Tactics

Tactics in outdoor inline racing are similar to those of marathon ice speed skating and of road bicycle racing. Skaters tend to form packs or pacelines in which skaters line up behind a lead skater, thereby saving energy by skating in his draft. Sportsmanship requires that skaters in the paceline share the duty as paceline leader. Those who never take a pull at the front will likely find other skaters tacitly working together to defeat them. Bicycle racers at the 2005 Rund um den Henninger-Turm in Germany Road bicycle racing is a popular bicycle racing sport held on roads (following the geography of the area), using racing bicycles. ...

During the course of a race skaters may make attacks, speeding up the pace in an effort to weed out the weaker and slower competition. These attacks may include breakaways and fliers, in which skaters try to create new smaller and faster packs or else to escape entirely from the other skaters. Depending on the length of the race and the skills and the cooperative effort of the chasers, these breakaways may or may not prove successful. If a skater escapes a pack in order to join a successful breakaway group, it is known as bridging up.

When skaters who are member of teams participate in a race together, they often have pre-determined roles. One or two would be designated attackers whose role it is to tire out the competition. Another skater may be the designated winner for the team, and he may avoid chasing any breakaways until late in a race, possibly until the final sprint if the lead pack has never broken up. Professional teams usually also include skaters whose role is to slow down the chase group when it looks like a team member is on a potentially successful breakaway.

Olympic status

Attempts by the world governing body for roller sports, the International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS), to gain Olympic status for any of its disciplines were distinctly insufficient in the closing decades of the 20th century. Most notably, it failed to capitalize when rink hockey (a form of roller hockey) appeared as a demonstration sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. For the stock index, see FIRS The International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) is the world-wide governing body of all disciplines of roller sports, which are sports based on roller skating, whether on traditional quad or inline skates. ... Rink hockey is a variant of Roller hockey and is one of the three most popular hockey variants, along with Field hockey and Ice Hockey. ... Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using skates with wheels. ... The 92 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were held in 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001â€“08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ...

Efforts by FIRS to obtain Olympic status became more coherent in about 2000, with inline speed skating promoted as the roller sport best suited for the Olympics. However, the federation faces competition from approximately 20 other sports also seeking entry into the Olympics, while at the same time the president of the International Olympic Committee has expressed a desire to reduce the size of the summer Olympic Games. Stamp The International Olympic Committee (French: ComitÃ© International Olympique) is an organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on June 23, 1894. ...

Because inline racing does not have Olympic status, a number of inline speed skaters have switched to ice speed skating in order to have a chance at attending the Olympics. The first of these was KC Boutiette, who made the switch in late 1993 and skated at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. This migration to ice proved successful in 2002 when three former inline speed skaters from the United States won five medals in long track speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. They were Derek Parra, Jennifer Rodriguez and Joey Cheek. In late 2002, American inline champion Chad Hedrick similarly switched to ice, and in February 2004, he won the World Allround Speed Skating Championships. He was the first American to win that event since Eric Flaim in 1988. In 2006, Hedrick and Cheek also won one gold medal each at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Speed skating, or long track speedskating, long track speed skating, is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. ... KC Boutiette (born April 11, 1970) is an American speed skater from Tacoma, Washington and four-time Olympian. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, were celebrated in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. ... County Oppland District Gudbrandsdal Municipality NO-0501 Administrative centre Lillehammer Mayor (2005) SynnÃ¸ve Brenden Klemetrud (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area - Total - Land - Percentage Ranked 211 477 kmÂ² 450 kmÂ² 0. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games, and with the theme slogan Light The Fire Within, were celebrated in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. ... The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Salt Lake Citys top tourist draw. ... Derek Parra (born March 15, 1970) is a Mexican-American speed skater from San Bernardino, California who won two medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics, held in Salt Lake City, Utah. ... Jennifer Rodriguez (Miami, June 8, 1976) is an American speed skater. ... William Joseph Cheek (born June 22, 1979 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American speed skater and former inline speed skater. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Chad Hedrick in GroÃŸ-Gerau, Germany, in 2005. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The International Skating Union has organized the world championships since 1893. ... Eric Joseph Flaim (born 9 March 1967 in Pembroke, Massachusetts) is a former American speed skater. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Neve and Gliz, the 2006 Olympics mascots, on display in Turin The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, were celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. ... For other uses, see Turin (disambiguation). ...

USA Roller Sports is the official American national governing body recognized by the US Olympic Committee. Inline Hockey USA Roller Sports (USARS) is the national governing body of competitive roller sports (inline skating and roller skating) in the United States. ...

External Websites

World Records

Track

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Road

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