Corporate Hospitality

Short track speed skating takes place on a 111.12-metre oval track within a hockey rink. Tight corners make it difficult for skaters to maintain control. A boardless padding system is now used replacing the stand-alone board system. This ensure an increased safety for the athletes. Short track speed skaters compete against each other, rather than the clock. The competition consists of a series of heats with four or six athletes. The first two athletes in each heat advance to the next round until only four skaters remain for the final.

The men’s and ladies’ short track relays take place over two days and consist of semi-final and final competitions. Eight teams of four skaters plus a substitute take part in the relay. The teams decide how many laps each of their members will race, with the understanding that the final two laps must be covered by the same skater. It is unusual for an individual athlete to exceed 1.5 laps, meaning there are some seven or eight relay exchanges per athlete. Instead of passing a baton, the skater on the ice needs to only tag the next skater to complete an exchange. In order to maintain momentum, however, it is more common for the next skater to crouch and receive a push from behind.