We have three speed skaters here at Doherty. The three speed skaters at Doherty are all inline skaters. The speed skaters are Greyson Losey, Renee Losey, and Ryland Winterbottom.

“I speed skate because it helps you make many friends and have many opportunities,” said Ryland. Greyson Losey is tied for first place in 13-17 in Colorado with another kid named Todd Crawford Jr. They both run low nine second laps, and they are both very competitive with each other. When either one of them wins, it is by tenth of a second.

Greyson also runs track and field as well as cross country when it’s not speed skating season to stay in shape. Greyson has gone to Nationals as well as other outside of the state races. When Greyson goes out of state, he tends to do very well in his races. “ I love speed skating because it is fun and it is also a good environment,” said Losey.

If you haven’t heard of speed skating, you have now. Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating or inline skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, inline, and marathon speed skating.

Speed skating is full of many long races, short races, marathons and more. What is an inline speed skate? An inline speed skate is a specialized shoe version of the inline skate. The boot or shoe is close-fitting, without much padding and usually made of leather, carbon fiber, and/or fiberglass composites. For best performance, the boot must conform closely to the shape of the foot, so most inline speed skating boots are custom-fitted or else heat-moldable.
Speed skating boots are low-cut and offer little ankle support, allowing the skater extra ankle movement. Skin blisters due to friction can be a problem, and common solutions include neoprene or silicone ankle bootee such as Ezeefit double thin synthetic socks, smaller boots, improving technique, re-moulding the boots and use of advanced healing plasters to help recovery.

The frame that holds the wheels may be made of aircraft-quality aluminum, magnesium, or possibly carbon fiber. Frames flex during skating, and the amount of flex can be a personal factor in which frame choice to use. Very “stiff” frames may be favored by heavy skaters. A frame that is too stiff for a particular skater may feel unstable on corners, while a frame that is not stiff enough will be slower. Frame stiffness also works along with boot and wheel stiffness, so there are many possible variations. Nevertheless, a light frame is desirable. Ideal frame length is affected by foot size and wheel size. A slightly shorter frame may be preferred for the tight curves of smaller tracks; a longer for Inline.
Indoor races are common in the US and use a 100-meter oval track with plastic-coated floors. Skaters compete in individual and relay events over different distances and age groups.

Outdoor races may be held on city streets, park roads, or specialized venues called patinodromes. These are about 200-meter oval tracks with asphalt, concrete, or similar surfaces. The curves may be banked. Race formats include time trials, where skaters race individually or in pairs over a short distance; elimination races, where the last skater in each lap is eliminated; points races, where skaters earn points for their position in each lap; and marathon races, where skaters race over a long distance (usually 42 km).

Inline speed skating requires skill, speed, stamina, and strategy. It is similar to ice speed skating and some skaters switch between the two sports. It is also a fun, exciting, healthful, and social sport that builds discipline and sportsmanship.ame may be preferred for longer distance events. The frame position can usually be adjusted with respect to the skate to adjust for a skater’s individual foot, ankle and leg characteristics. Frame positioning is very critical as even a minor change from the skater’s actual frame position can lead to severe foot pain. Also, many times it leads to ‘locking’ of the skater’s ankle and/or calf muscle, thereby restricting its movements. It may take a skater several weeks to get used to new frames or new positions.

Mechanically, strokes in speed skating are deeper and faster 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.

Speed Skaters move each foot across the centerline of travel, leading to the double push, a method named by United States skater Chad Hedrick (this is a normal efficient skate technique that is learned as skaters get comfortable with skates). The technique allows two pushes in each stroke of the skate. However, it can be tiring for inexperienced skaters who have improper technique and they will often save it until needed, such as the latter stages or final sprint of a distance race. With proper execution, the double push is an energy saver. The double push is mostly used in outdoor racing and the straightaways of indoor skating.

During sprints, skaters need to initially push their body with force to get a jump start. For this they tend to take quick and sharp strides. Once they have achieved a good pace, they move to taking comparatively longer strides. Speed Skaters also need to take care of their body posture during all of this. They usually bend from their knees to maintain a low posture. This has two advantages. First of all, it increases the reach of the skater’s legs, which results in even more powerful strides. Secondly, a low posture reduces the total surface area of the skater’s body that comes in contact with the resistive air, thus providing an aerodynamic advantage.

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 for better maneuver at high speeds. Inline speed skating is a roller sport where skaters race on inline skates on various surfaces and tracks. Indoor races are common in the US and use a 100-meter oval track with plastic-coated floors. Skaters compete in individual and relay events over different distances and age groups.Outdoor races may be held on city streets, park roads, These are about 200-meter oval tracks with asphalt, concrete, or similar surfaces. The curves may be banked.

Race formats include time trials, where skaters race individually or in pairs over a short distance; elimination races, where the last skater in each lap is eliminated; points races, where skaters earn points for their position in each lap; and marathon races, where skaters race over a long distance (usually 42 km).Inline speed skating requires skill, speed, stamina, and strategy. It is similar to ice speed skating and some skaters switch between the two sports. It is also a fun, exciting, healthful, and social sport that builds discipline and sportsmanship.

In outdoor inline racing events, team tactics may apply. Skaters tend to form packs or “pacelines”, or “pelotons”, in which skaters line up behind a lead skater and match their stride, thereby saving energy by skating in their draft. 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. 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.

Training in Inline speed skating requires professional athletes to go through intense physical training. A strict diet and a rigorous training schedule has to be followed. The training schedule is mainly designed to build and maintain strong thighs and calves. But skating, just like swimming, requires the use of the whole body. Therefore, it is critical that the whole schedule is well balanced to attain and maintain a sturdy upper-body too. Also, a flexible upper body is preferred, which could help in maintaining the balance of the body in a better way. A heavy, protein-rich diet is required to be followed.
Usually, skaters have two sets of skates/wheels, one for training and the other for races and competitions. Wheels and bearings used for practice generally require much more efforts to gain some momentum and speed, as compared to the ones used in competitions. Ultra distance training requires years of training, time, and dedication to reach world class levels.

Bont Skates is a pioneering skate manufacturer that has introduced many major improvements in the industry. They were the first to use materials like fiberglass, and Carbon Fiber in their boots. They also invented heat moldable boots and were the first to make skates with adjustable blades and frames. Bont continues to push the limits of technology in their skates to help their customers perform at their best.

Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating or inline where athletes race against each other over a certain distance on skates. There are many types of speed skating: long track speed skating, short track speed skating, marathon speed skating, and more. The ISU ( International Skating Union) World Cup Speed Skating is a series of international speed skating competitions that takes place annually across North America, Europe, and Asia.

If you want to look into speed skating even more here are the resources I used
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inline_speed_skating
https://bont.com/#:~:text=SKATE%20TECHNOLOGY&text=Bont%20Skates%20invented%20heat%20moldable,aluminum%20strengtheners%20in%20the%20boots.
https://olympics.com/en/sports/speed-skating/
https://www.teamusa.org/us-speedskating