Welcome to our fast family
Experienced skaters can reach speed in excess of 30mph on 14 to 18-inch razor-sharp blades.
They are very different to public hire, hockey or ice dance skates and are specialised in the sport.
Experienced members wear cut-proof catsuits, neck guards, shin protectors, gloves and helmets to protect the skater from the mishaps that sometimes happen in a fast-paced Winter Olympic sport.
​
Don't let this put you off, our normal sessions are more slowly paced where you can learn strength, technique and the rules of short track at your pace, you will get all the safety equipment on loan from us to begin. You can use the on and off-ice sessions we run for fitness too. Many of our members choose not to take part in competitions or training camps and come to our club for the fitness and social side of being a member, we are more of a family than a club.
We welcome any person, any age and any ability - just give it a go.
Where we train
We train every Sunday from 8:15 pm to 9:15 pm at Planet Ice, Altrincham, with skaters arriving at around 7:30 pm to get ready for the session.
Our club rents the ice rink for our sessions and this allows us to have the best ice preparation, facilities and dedicated time to train.
We also have off-ice fitness sessions in Altrincham.
​
It's not all about skating and fitness as we have many social events throughout the year, such as club bbqs and the odd visit to a local pub for the over 18s.
​
You might get the opportunity to train or compete overseas, or Nationally.
​
Equipment
For those trying out the sport, we provide all of the basic equipment that you will need to get started, after 4 weeks, you will be invited to join as a full club member and then you can decide to begin to purchase the equipment you will need.
You don't need to do this all at once, we can still loan you some items.
​
Equipment for speed skating includes:
-
Catsuit (cutproof, all in one)
-
Helmet
-
Neck guard
-
Shin guards
-
Skates & skate guards
-
Gloves
-
Safety goggles (optional)
-
Jig and stones for skate sharpening
-
Water bottle
-
Skating rucksack or suitable bag
-
Chocolate, cake or other treats
The short track
The track for our sport is 111.12m in length and at Altrincham, we make use of a standard ice hockey ice pad. Small rubber blocks at either end mark out the track and we skate anti-clockwise around the track.
​
It is a non-contact sport and follows strict rules for safety and fairness.
​
Competitions for individuals are held over:
222m (2 laps)
333m (3 laps)
500m (4.5 laps)
777m (7 laps),
1000m (9 laps)
1500m (13.5 laps)
Some competitions have a 3000m race (27 laps)
The distance that you skate during a competition depends on your age and type of competition. Shorter distances are for the younger skaters.
During training sessions, we work on skating, technique, strength, starts, rules and put you in groups of equal ability. You might get a chance to have a race during a session or play an on-ice game.
​
Give it a go..
