Speed Skating Discussion | Qualification to Winter Olympic Games Milano-Cortina 2026 Road to Milano-Cortina 2026

[heywoodu 15,145]

2 hours ago, hckošice said:

From this winter flag will enter in the Speed Skating circuit thanks an import.

 

Former Junior world champion Lukáš Steklý has decided to switch nationality and will compete from this year under Slovak flag..

 

We do not have a single spped skating oval and apart him I am not even sure we do have at least one other active skater...

 

 

The news appeared on several czech sites https://isport.blesk.cz/clanek/ostatni-zimni-sporty-rychlobrusleni/453414/juniorsky-mistr-sveta-meni-cesko-za-slovensko-hazeli-mi-klacky-pod-nohy.html

 

Gotta start somewhere though, always cool to see a new country added to the ranks in speed skating  

[heywoodu 15,145]

14 minutes ago, copravolley said:

I think that our speed skating staff is doing a great job under Marchetto's leadership. At least 1 covered ice track is missing, so that we don't have to train all summer and autumn in Inzell. Unfortunately, Turin 2006 was a great missed opportunity and that object is no longer used for sports purposes. In 2026, unfortunately, it may be similar, which is why I regret that a covered track wasn`t built in Collalbo - I find the arguments that it`s a small town funny, since we train in Inzell - similarly, a small village in Bavaria.

I was in Collalbo last year and was so glad it wasn't covered  

 

Even in summer it felt like a magical place, I could see the first big succes of Sven Kramer and the legendary fight between Ireen Wüst and Martina Sablikova in my mind again, almost 20 years ago already. It's sadly unlikely, but I so much hope to see a big event there again (or in Almaty, that'd also be amazing).

[copravolley 269]

12 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

I was in Collalbo last year and was so glad it wasn't covered  

 

Even in summer it felt like a magical place, I could see the first big succes of Sven Kramer and the legendary fight between Ireen Wüst and Martina Sablikova in my mind again, almost 20 years ago already. It's sadly unlikely, but I so much hope to see a big event there again (or in Almaty, that'd also be amazing).

The track in Inzell was also once open but the Germans decided to cover it and now they make money on the fact that, for example, the Italian team trains there in the summer. If the Italians had such a good approach to business, they would build a covered track in Collalbo themselves and, for example, other nations would train here, e.g. Poland, the Czech Republic, etc. The Olympics in 2026 should be an impulse for such action but unfortunately in Italy is miss wise and competent managers.

Edited October 17 by copravolley

[Grassmarket 3,409]

Not quite sure why more countries don't have open air tracks. All you need is a 30cm deep pond & a week.of frosty nights.  OK, not world class but good enough for a training group.  Would work even in 

[copravolley 269]

8 minutes ago, Grassmarket said:

Not quite sure why more countries don't have open air tracks. All you need is a 30cm deep pond & a week.of frosty nights.  OK, not world class but good enough for a training group.  Would work even in 

Perhaps because of the increasingly warmer winters? From a competitive sports perspective, you need to train indoors to be successful these days: training takes place all year round + you are free from weather conditions. I suspect that until the end of the 20th century there were a lot of open ice rinks - the weather allowed it then.

Edited October 17 by copravolley

[heywoodu 15,145]

6 minutes ago, copravolley said:

The track in Inzell was also once open but the Germans decided to cover it and now they make money on the fact that, for example, the Italian team trains there in the summer. If the Italians had such a good approach to business, they would build a covered track in Collalbo themselves and, for example, other nations would train here, e.g. Poland, the Czech Republic, etc. The Olympics in 2026 should be an impulse for such action but unfortunately in Italy is miss wise and competent managers.

Yep, I am well aware of that, sadly  

 

As a lifelong fan of speed skating, I think the 2005 world single distance championships there are one of my fondest speed skating watching memories. That was fantastic, the world titles for the likes of Even Wetten, Barbara de Loor, Rune Stordal....

 

Nothing in speed skating beats outdoor events. The Universiade in Almaty...damn, that was just amazing, just like the one in Lake Placid!

[copravolley 269]

4 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Yep, I am well aware of that, sadly  

 

As a lifelong fan of speed skating, I think the 2005 world single distance championships there are one of my fondest speed skating watching memories. That was fantastic, the world titles for the likes of Even Wetten, Barbara de Loor, Rune Stordal....

 

Nothing in speed skating beats outdoor events. The Universiade in Almaty...damn, that was just amazing, just like the one in Lake Placid!

Are conditions used for skating in Netherlands in winter time, now? I read that it some time ago to be very popular. How is it now? Secondly, how does the covered track in Heerenveen earn money outside of competition days? Do other teams from other countries train there or can private people just skate there?

Edited October 17 by copravolley

[heywoodu 15,145]

4 minutes ago, copravolley said:

Are conditions used for skating in Netherlands in winter time, now? I read that it some time ago to be very popular. How is it now? Secondly, how does the covered track in Heerenveen earn money outside of competition days? Do other teams from other countries train there or can private people just skate there?

 

Speed skating is relatively popular here (but definitely not like cycling and, as almost everywhere in the world, football). Conditions to skate outside are very rare, we almost never have an actual cold winter, sadly, and we as humans have made them even more rare (and hot summers more common, sadly).

 

Not sure about Thialf/Heerenveen, but I assume they also make money from stuff like people going there to skate and train. The many teams in the Netherlands (we don't have a national team) for sure, but if I want I can also go there and go skate  

 

We have a few more covered tracks, but they're not really a big deal and more of a local thing and part of the national marathon cup. Single distance, sprint and allround championships are basically always in Heerenveen.

Edited October 17 by heywoodu

[copravolley 269]

1 minute ago, heywoodu said:

 

Speed skating is relatively popular here (but definitely not like cycling and, as almost everywhere in the world, football). Conditions to skate outside are very rare, we almost never have an actual cold winter, sadly, and we as humans have made them even more rare (and hot summers more common, sadly).

 

Not sure about Thialf/Heerenveen, but I assume they also make money from stuff like people going there to skate and train. The many teams in the Netherlands (we don't have a national team) for sure, but if I want I can also go there and go skate  

 

We have a few more covered tracks, but they're not really a big deal and more of a local thing and part of the national marathon cup. Single distance, sprint and allround championships are basically always in Heerenveen.

And when was the last time you had a winter where you could skate outside? Is`t more like 10 or 30 years ago?

[heywoodu 15,145]

8 hours ago, copravolley said:

And when was the last time you had a winter where you could skate outside? Is`t more like 10 or 30 years ago?

Not sure about the year, but the last time we could actually do that on a lake was somewhere in the last 6 years, for a few days  

 

Almost every winter there are some outdoor competitions, mostly marathons, but that's on a track where they only need to freeze like 2cm of ice. For that you don't really need a 'strong' winter, unlike what you need for things like lakes to freeze.