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Winter Sports - Speed Skating

A lot of risk is involved in this sport  and hence it should not be practiced withoutproper training.  It is a very interesting sport and we can enjoy watching speed skating in the Winter Olympics.  The name of the sport itself indicates that it involves high speed that is more than 30 miles per hour.  More speed means that the injuries are also going to be more disastrous powerful-.  Never try to pursue this game on your own as it may lead to great disasters and might even  put your life at risk.  

Safety Equipment

Safety equipments are necessary for all kinds of winter sports including speed skating.  Safety gear is very important and it has to be worn throughout the event.  Usually safety gear consists of a helmet, Elbow Pads and kneepads that provide safety and reduce the risk of injuries.  Always use the ice track instead of a  frozen pool.  Ice rinks are mainly designed for the purpose of speed skating and it would be safe to practice the game on them.

Types Of Races In Speed Skating

You can find many different types of races in this kind of winter sports.  Usually in professional speed skating, you will find pairs of competitors on the ice track.  There are two lanes in each track.  Each person in a pair is provided with a specific color band.  At a given point, the skaters will have to change lanes.  The colored band helps the judges to identify that the skaters were in  which lane when they started in the beginning.  It also helps to ensure that same amount of distance is covered by both  the skaters.   
In the other case, if the race is between a pair of teams then they are positioned on the track at different locations.  This is done to avoid their coming in each other's way .  The judges track the time and distance covered by each pair of team.
You will find one more type of racing in winter sports known as marathon speed skating.  Here you will find that all the participants start from the same location and they try to get ahead of each other.  Generally, there is a lot of pushing and bumping involved in the process.

Types Of Skates In Speed Skating

As there are various events involved in the winter sports, the type of event determines the type of skates that you have to use in speed skating.  You can find the regular ice skates, however if you are planning forlong distance speed skating then clap skates will be the ideal choice for you.  It consists of a hook on the boot attached to the blade.  As the blade has a continuous contact with the ice this hook assists the skater to get more control over the skates and allows him to move faster.

The increasing popularity of speed skating is encouraging more and more people to participate  in this event.  However if you want to engage in this sport then firstly you have to choose the right skates for the particular type of skating event that you prefer.  Then make sure to wear all the safety equipments and take all the precautionary measures meant for winter sports.

About the Author

Derek Mason is from the great north, When he's not freezing in his down parka, he enjoys traveling and writing. His current projects include writing a book on how to stop panic attacks.

speed skating

This entry was posted on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 2:30 am and is filed under inline skates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.