Technique and Strategy

Winning in short track speed skating depends on strategy over brute strength. The fastest skaters are only 10ths of second faster than each other which is a matter of inches. Brute stength and stamina isn't going to give a big enough lead that a good strategy won't overtake at the finish line.

Consistent winning in short track goes to the smartest skater not the fastest skater. Armed with strategy and flawless technique a skater never has to set a world record in order to win.

Technique

There are different types of strides in short track. During the starting strides of the sprinting races, the skaters look like they are running on the ice. They slam their skates into the ice to help them gain the initial speed and momentum.

Racing stride occurs in the center of the race. The skaters use long powerful strokes and make the most of their muscle power. During this time the Cornering Technique may be used. The cornering technique (a.k.a. straightaway technique) is when one arm is swung in front of the body. The second arm can also swing, or be placed behind the back to conserve energy. This technique is used to maintain speed and balance.

Finishing stride is a technique the skater uses to approach the finish line. Both arms swing vigorously in front of the body as a final outburst of energy to propel the skater across the finish line.

The position of the skater's body is very important in short track. Typically, the skater will maintain a forward crouching stance with the knees slightly bent. This position helps the skater become more aerodynamic. It also provides a lower center of gravity which helps the skater maintain balance. During the curves the skaters remain in the crouched position. Sometimes they are going so fast they almost appear to be parallel to the ice during the sharp turns.

Strategy

Strategy takes into account two main things: conserving energy and avoiding falls.

Conserving energy follows a simple principle of aerodynamics: the skater in front expends more energy than the skaters behind him.

The skater in front must set a pace that conserves enough energy so as not to get passed during the sprint to the finish line. For the skaters behind, the strategy revolves around jockeying for position while conserving enough energy to pass to front before the finish.

It's during this passing and positioning that causes falls. Skaters try to skate close enough to the person in front of them so as to force anyone behind them to pass on the outside. However, they need to leave enough room between them and the skater in front so as to avoid going if should the skaters in front of them should fall.

Although a skater may go into the race with a certain strategy in mind, anything can happen. For example, a skater plans to draft in third position and conserve enough energy to sprint pass 2nd and the lead at the end. This only works if the lead doesn't try to break away from the pack. Staying in third position does him no good if the 2nd skater doesn't try to close the gap on the breakaway skater.

Competitors must always be prepared to adapt their strategy at any moment of the race to the strategies of the other skaters. Here's a few of the general strategies you'll see during the competitions:

Burning out your opponents. This is when one skater breaks away from the pack early in the race forcing the others to keep up. The purpose of this strategy may be to quicken the pace and tire out the other skaters to the point where they won't have enough energy to pass at the end. This is favored by strong skaters with alot of endurance during the longer races like the 1,500 or 3,000 meters. If the other skaters don't attempt to keep up then the skater breaking away ends up with a lap or more lead can't be caught at the end.

Drafting your opponents. Drafting is when you skate closely behind another skater in order reduce the air drag on your body. In order to maintain the same speed, the drafting skater expends significantly less energy than the skater in front of them. In the final laps, the drafting skater will use that energy they've conserved by drafting for an all out sprint to pass the skaters in front. Technique is a huge part of this strategy. If a skater can't pass well then staying behind to draft is pretty useless.

Charging the block. This maneuver is when a skater attempts and inside pass while entering the turn. Not only is it very difficult to do, it's also pretty risky. The skaters in front skate tight so as to force skaters behind them to pass on the outside which expends more energy and requires maintaining a greater speed over a longer distance in order to pass. It's usually during the turns that force skaters to skate a little wide allowing another skater to charge the blocks and pass on the inside. The amount of space to pass is usually very small and that opportunity to do so closes very quickly which makes it risky. There's a large chance that space to pass closes to quickly and the passing skater ends up bumping the person they're trying to pass which sometimes leads to the multiple skater wipes-outs.

Compressing the pack. The object of compressing the pack is to throw off the pace of the other skaters. A skater will accelerate from the rear to the front and then slow down. This forces all the skaters behind to slow down also to avoid bumping each other. The maneuvering space that the skaters behind were maintaining so they could pass is suddenly gone as they start to bunch up. As the pack bunches up, the skater in lead suddenly accelerates to gain some distance.

Varying the pace. During the longer races you'll sometimes see skaters do intervals. They'll sprint ahead and then rest as the pack speeds up to rejoins them half a lap later and then sprint out again. The purpose of this strategy is to exhaust and throw off the rhythm of the other skaters. It forces the other skaters to speed up or else let the break away skater lap them.

Lapping the pack. Lapping only occurs in the 1500m and 3000m. The shorter distances don't allow of time and enough laps to get that far ahead. If a skater gains a full lap on the other skaters, it's almost impossible to lose that lead. The lapping skater just drafts at the rear of the pack for the rest of the race. Lapping usually doesn't occur in one big sprint. The energy expended would exhaust a skater too much to keep up once they've lapped. More often skaters will sprint out half a lap and stay there for several laps to catch their breath before sprinting the remain half to the back of the pack.