A speed skating rink (or speed skating oval) is an

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...

in which a

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

competition is held.

The rink

A standard long track speed skating track is, according to the regulations of the International Skating Union (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. The speed skating track is also used for the sports of

Icetrack cycling Icetrack cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on 400 m speed skating ice ovals. However, any ice sheet can be used, including ice hockey rinks and frozen lakes. History The sport of cycling on ice is probably as old as the sport of cycli ...

and Ice speedway

Measurement and demarcation

Speedskating rink 400 meters with dimensions

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 (or 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. Short track speed skating tracks have a length of 111.111 metres (364.54 ft). The rink is 60 metres (200 ft) long by 30 metres (98 ft) wide, which is the same size as an international-sized

ice hockey rink An ice hockey rink is an ice rink that is specifically designed for ice hockey, a competitive team sport. Alternatively it is used for other sports such as broomball, ringette, rinkball, and rink bandy. It is a rectangle with rounded corners and ...

Combination with other sports

Many speed skating venues have ice hockey rinks or no ice area at all inside the oval. A few are suitable also for

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

, like Hamar Olympic Hall, Ice Palace Krylatskoye, and

Medeu The Medeu (, ''Medeu'') is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley ( Medeu Valley, or the valley of Malaya Almatinka River) on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above ...

. The Beijing National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, China, which was built for the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

, is also designed appropriately for that sport. There is a growing cooperation between International Skating Union and Federation of International Bandy, since both have an interest in more indoor venues with large ice surfaces being built.kuzbassbandyclub.ru
/ref> In Norway there is an agreement in place, stating that an indoor arena intended primarily for either bandy or long track speed skating, shall have ice surface for the other sport as well.

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.Speed Skating News
/ref> *Note: The Richmond Olympic Oval was dismantled upon completion of the 2010 Winter Olympics and is no longer used for speed skating. However, if the need arises the speed skating rink can be reinstalled.

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.

References

Gallery

File:Olympic Oval.jpg, '' Olympic Oval'' (

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

) File:2010 Winter Olympics, Richmond Olympic Oval.jpg, '' Richmond Olympic Oval'' (

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

) File:Vikingskipet Hamar.jpg, '' Vikingskipet Olympic Arena'' (

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

) File:Sportforum Berlin-Hohenschönhausen.jpg, ''

Sportforum Hohenschönhausen Sportforum Hohenschönhausen, officially named Sportforum Berlin, is a multi-purpose sports complex in the locality of Alt-Hohenschönhausen of the borough of Lichtenberg, Berlin, Lichtenberg in Berlin. The Sportforum was also known as the Dynamo- ...

'' (

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

) File:Thialf stadion 2008.jpg, '' Thialf'' ( Heerenveen) File:Halifax skating oval.jpg, The Emera Oval in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

is opened for

roller skating Roller skating is the act of travelling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreation, recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on s ...

in the summertime