Canadian Roller Speed Championships

The Canadian Roller Speed Championships took place on August 6 and 7, 2022, at the Emera Oval in Halifax, organized by Roller Sports Canada Speed/Vitesse and The Speedy Kids Oval Program Society, with support from Speed Skate Nova Scotia.

Venue

Emera Oval, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Rules

The rules governing the Canadian Roller Speed Championships can be found on the Roller Sports Canada website. International rules for inline speed skating can be found on the World Skate website.

Age Category events are held on Day 1 of the Championships, and Open Category events are held on Day 2 of the Championships.

Age category is determined by the age of the participant on December 31, 2022. An “Introduction” category is available for less experienced skaters in Freshman and older age categories. Age categories range from Mini (ages 8 & under) to Veteran (ages 56 & older). Our youngest competitor was 6, and our oldest competitor was 61.

The Emera Oval is a standard 400m ice speed skating oval. Racing was carried out on a 387.46m track (the inner lane for Olympic Style racing on ice). Day 1’s time trial for all age categories was 300m.

Schedule

How do the elimination and points races work?

• 15km elimination race (Junior/Senior): The last elimination lap is at 3 laps to go, so to leave 5 skaters in the race. With 9 skaters entered in the race, the last-place skater is eliminated with 9 laps to go, 7 laps to go, 5 laps to go, and 3 laps to go. If a skater falls, is DQd, quits, etc., that replaces an elimination. The bell rings at the beginning of each elimination lap, so with 10 laps to go, 8 laps to go, 6 laps to go, and 4 laps to go. The bell also rings with 1 lap to go for the remaining 5 skaters.

• 5km points race (Juvenile/Freshman): During the race, the 1st-place skater receives 2 points and the 2nd-place skater receives 1 point at 10 laps to go, 8 laps to go, 6 laps to go, 4 laps to go, and 2 laps to go. At the finish of the race, the 1st-place skater receives 3 points, the 2nd-place skater receives 2 points, and the 3rd-place skater receives 1 point. The bell rings at the beginning of each points lap, so with 11 laps to go, 9 laps to go, 7 laps to go, 5 laps to go, and 3 laps to go. The bell also rings with 1 lap to go. Since age categories were combined in this event, skaters who were lapped were only removed from the race if there were safety issues involved.

• 10km points race (Adult): During the race, the 1st-place skater receives 2 points and the 2nd-place skater receives 1 point at 22 laps to go, 20 laps to go, 18 laps to go, 16 laps to go, 14 laps to go, 12 laps to go, 10 laps to go, 8 laps to go, 6 laps to go, 4 laps to go, and 2 laps to go. At the finish of the race, the 1st-place skater receives 3 points, the 2nd-place skater receives 2 points, and the 3rd-place skater receives 1 point. The bell rings at the beginning of each points lap, so with 23 laps to go, 21 laps to go, 19 laps to go, 17 laps to go, 15 laps to go, 13 laps to go, 11 laps to go, 9 laps to go, 7 laps to go, 5 laps to go, and 3 laps to go. The bell also rings with 1 lap to go. Skaters who are lapped twice in the race are considered distanced and removed from the race, forfeiting all points earned. Skaters who are lapped once in the race are removed from the race at the discretion of officials if there are safety issues.

• 2km points race (Youth): During the race, the 1st-place skater receives 2 points and the 2nd-place skater receives 1 point at 3 laps to go, 2 laps to go, and 1 lap to go. At the finish of the race, the 1st-place skater receives 3 points, the 2nd-place skater receives 2 points, and the 3rd-place skater receives 1 point. The bell rings at the beginning of the first point laps, so with 4 laps to go, and again at the beginning of the final lap, with 1 lap to go. There were two racing groups for Youth, an A and a B final, based on ITT results. Since male and female categories were combined, skaters who were lapped were only removed from the race if there were safety issues involved.

Results

Media

Thanks to reporter Jen Taplin and photographer Tim Krochak of the Chronicle Herald for the great lead-up article about the championships.

Thanks to Patricia Lee for taking photos during the competition!

Dinner

Thanks to Olga Lucia Torres for arranging Saturday night’s dinner at Evan’s Seafood at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. Thanks also to Evan’s owners, cooks, and wait staff for the enjoyable meal!

Clinic

Thanks to Pierre Laurent for staying after the competition to put on a clinic and share his knowledge and experience with us!