World Masters Short Track

Carnival of Short Track - Sheffield ENG

2011-01-20T17:29:00.004+08:00

Carnival of Short Track Speed Skating

To coincide with the 45th Aniversary of Sheffield Speed Skating Club, a 3 day event has been organised to run alongside the World Championships in March 2011. All the events will take place in Ice Sheffield which is 200m away from the main Arena where the world Championships are taking place

The events are as follows

Friday 11th March (7.45pm till 9.45pm)

General Skating Session for all skaters, Parents, Grandparents, Brothers, sisters, friends etc to come onto the ice and skate around for fun and enjoyment

Cost off Session £3.00 per skater

Saturday 12th March (10.00am till 1.00pm)

Will be a fun morning and hopefully involve all skaters and anyone else involved in the sport. The events are below

10.00am - 11.00am Seminar 1 (Held in the Glacier Suite in Ice Sheffield)

11.00am - 12.00pm Seminar 2 (Held in the Glacier Suite in Ice Sheffield)

Events on the main concourse (10.00am till 12.30pm)

Characature Artist, Video Wall (Showing videos from old World Championships, Olympics etc), Merchandising Stands, Ps3 Short Track Challenge, Photograph Wall and other events

Saturday 12th March (7.00pm - 10.00pm)

Ice Training Sessions

Individual training sessions will be ran with both top coaches. The sessions will be based upon ability and times and limiited to 30 skaters per session on a 1st come 1 served basis. These are open to all skaters of all levels and age groups)

7.00pm - 7.30pm (Skaters whose pb times for 500m are 60 secs above)

7.35pm - 8.05pm (Skaters whose pb times for 500m are between 55.00 - 55.99 secs)

8.10pm - 8.30pm (Skaters whose pb times for 500m are between 50.00 - 54.99 secs)

8.35pm - 9.05pm (Skaters whose pb times for 500m are between 45.00 - 49.99 secs)

9.10pm - 9.40pm (Skaters whose pb times for 500m are below 45 secs)

Cost for all skaters per training session £5.00

Sunday 13th March 2011

8.00am - 9.00am (Sheffield Speed Club Weekly Training Session)

9.00am - 10.00am To develope and encourage and promote the masters catergory there will be a specific masters skaters training session and make this a social event at the same time

Posters are being made which will be circulated when ready however in the meantine could you inform all of your club members that there will be lots for them to instead of just watching the event

Keith Wright

Recent Competitions

2010-08-16T22:43:00.003+08:00

Over the last few weeks, there have been a couple of competitions with great Masters representation.

On the weekend of the 25th & 26th of July, Australian Ice Racing ran the Duke Trophy in honour of great Australian speed skater, Len Duke.

Three state teams (Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales) competed for the prized Duke Trophy, with the winning team entitled to the bragging rights as the best short track state team for the year.

Masters compete in 12 races in three sessions over the two days, which makes for some very tired bodies, skating 2 x 1500, 4 x 500m, 4 x 1000m, 1 x 3000m and 1 x 3000m relay. The skaters race placing gains points for the overall team total, so there are no heats, or finals.

New South Wales took home the overall competition honours. Two special awards are also presented in the Spirit of the Duke Trophy for the skater who personifies the spirit of the competition and the Len Duke Fairest and Best Trophy.
Toby Dite of Victoria took out the spirit of the Duke Trophy and Frank Anderson took out the Fairest and Best award.

Duke Trophy Protocol

On the weekend of the 6th and 7th of August, the Trophée Léon Quaglia was contested in Chamonix, France.

Eight Master skaters from 5 countries, including my good friend Spaniard Marcello Bresin competing in his first ever short track event after having competed in the Masters division of LT for several years.

Barrie Barreto from Scottish Club Dundee took out the overall division win from Joel Martin of France. Barrie is a keen photographer and videographer with a full compliment of video on his YouTube page.

Congratulations Barrie.

Trophée Léon Quaglia Protocol

With the season now officially underway, I look forward to updating more results soon.

A Big Weekend

2010-04-15T08:54:00.004+08:00

It will be a big weekend of skating with the last two big events for the season being run.

The Closing Games in Turnhout, Belgium will start on Saturday but reports suggest that there will be less Masters than usual due to the fact that the British ST Championships will be held on the same dates in Nottingham, England.

Many of the regular GB Master will be competing in Nottingham as opposed to Turnhout, but both competitions expect a good turnout of Master skaters.

I can attest to the fact that Masters short track is definately growing around the world and many skaters who had thought there was no ST life after retirement from the senior divisions are starting to filter back into the sport. Any committee member of a National association that thinks that Masters are not or should not be a valued member of their ST community, should not be in a position of authority for their association. In Australia last year, the biggest division competing was the Masters! Why would you exclude such a group? Sport should not be about elitism but participation - only when you encourage ALL to participate will you find the elite amongst them.

Good luck to all skaters competing this weekend, I am extremely envious that I can't be there myself. I will post up the results after the weekend and as soon as I have them.

Frank

Ellis Edge

2010-04-15T08:38:00.006+08:00

Sue Ellis of The Ellis Edge has run training camps in North America for many years and she also has a comprehensive site with many coaching tips. I know that many skaters have really benefited from her tips so I thought it high time to share her site here.

Enjoy - The Ellis Edge

SEBRA - Cutting Edge Technology in action

2010-03-19T17:16:00.004+08:00

Barrie Barreto, a UK Master, produced this video for the new Sebra cut resistant body suits. Barrie has a YouTube account of Barraldinho with plenty of video and photo shots.

I am not normally commercially minded on the site, but I think it is a very frank video, stating what we know but never put on advertising. And anything that keeps skaters safe has to be a good thing.

www.sebrasports.com

Barrie and his partner Alison Gilkes run ALBAR Photo Media.

Sheffield Masters Event Wrap-up

2010-03-14T10:40:00.005+08:00

Four Ayrshire Flyers Master skaters travelled to Sheffield at the weekend (27th - 28th Feb 2010) for the first of its kind masters only event. Benny, Brian, Stewart and Paul took part in the event with 19 other skaters form all over the UK.

This was a packed weekend with a hard training session on the Saturday night in the pub with a pool competition which Brian Logan won.

On the Sunday, the event was full of a whole range of races, with a difference. There were 444m, 555m, 666m, 777m, distances which were competitive at all levels. There was also team pursuit races and relays.

The best race was left till last Scotland vs. England Relay - this got the crowd going with loud cheers. Scotland took the lead with 2 laps to go and managed to hold their position right to the Finish line. Well Done Scotland's Masters Team: Stewart Logan, Brian Reid, Alan Dobbie and Keith Wright.

This event was never about trophies however there was one trophy THE SKATERS/SKATER TROPHY. The winner of this trophy was voted for by the skaters for not necessarily winning but for trying hard and never giving up.

This trophy was won by our very own Paul McKeen. Well Done !!

Stewart Logan

Article and photos from Ayrshire Flyers Speed Skating Club website

Update - The Lazy Blogger

2010-02-27T22:32:00.005+08:00

I must apologise for not dedicating as much time to this blog as I have previously, but after many emails and being in contact with people who advised me that they looked to this blog for all info on Masters ST around the world, I will dedicate more time to updating it. I have been involved in a variety of other works of late, and as there were only 24 hours in any one day, some things had to give.

Please be patient whilst I catch up with and locate results from some recent events around the world. Also, for those that have emailed without a response, this was a hiccup with my email and laptop which crashed with those emails which I have now recovered and will respond to shortly!

If you have any upcoming events, or you want to publish a write up about your local event, feel free to email it to me and I will post it up ASAP. Photos and video links will be appreciated as well.

regards
Frank

Opening Games 2009 - Turnhout, Belgium

2009-10-19T20:11:00.003+08:00

Competition Report – Turnhout, Belgium, October 10th 2009

Five GB Masters competed in the event to make up a total entry of 20 masters from GB, Belgium and Holland.

Alison Gilkes competing in the Ladies category made an excellent start winning a closely competed 1000m heat to then skate an excellent 1000m final, taking maximum points. The 500m was even more closely fought, Alison winning her heat then closely beaten in the 500m final by 0.29 secs. Ladies results

After the 2 distances Alison was tied on points with Fenna Pel of Holland but was given the overall title by winning the longer distance. This was an excellent result for Alison who after working so hard during the off season saw the results of her efforts.

In the men’s category 4 skaters competed in an entry of 14. Barrie Barreto from Falkirk, Stewart Logan from Ayrshire, Steve Spence, making his international competition debut, and Keith Wright from Sheffield competed against skaters from Belgium and Holland.

In the 1000m distance the final was made up of the 4 fastest times from the heats. Stewart and Keith making the A final, Barrie making the B final and Steve making the C final. In the A final Keith took out the pace leading for 8 laps and in a very close fought race Stewart made a move on the last lap overtaking on the straight to win. In the C Final Steve skated well but found the pace difficult finishing 4th. In the B final Barrie redeemed himself skating an excellent race leading from start to finish.

The 500m was a different story. Again the 4 fastest times made the final. Barrie skated an excellent heat setting the fastest time. Stewart and Keith, racing against each other, set the 2nd and 3rd fastest times. Steve having an unfortunate fall again made the C final. So the scene was set for a high tension race with 3 GB skaters in the final. After 3 dramatic false starts to the race, Keith led from the front with Barrie in 2nd and Stewart 3rd. With 1 ½ laps to go Barrie made a move taking the lead and despite Keith’s efforts he could not get back in the lead and in a close finish Barrie won with Keith in 2nd and Stewart 3rd. In the C final Steve redeemed himself by winning in a new Personal Best in the Masters.

The Overall Standings was a clean sweep for GB on the podium: Full Results

1st - Stewart Logan
2nd - Keith Wright
3rd - Barrie Barreto
11th - Steve Spencer

In the relay Event, GB, entering a Masters team for the first time ever, competed against teams from Holland and Belgium winning from the start to establish a new GB Masters record.

Overall this was a fantastic event with a large Masters entry and hopefully many more in the future.

Article by Keith Wright

2009 Australian Short Track Championships - update

2009-10-02T18:48:00.002+08:00

Masters 500m A-Final Results:

1st Herbie Labiche
2nd Frank Anderson
3rd Michael Attwood
4th Alan Luscombe

Anderson lead the field with a quick start but Labiche fought through the field to overtake with a half lap to go. Anderson went wide then cut up the inside to almost snatch the win, missing by just centimetres.

Nationals this year is very small due to the absence of the national team and a variety of other skaters. The Masters division is the biggest division with 13 competitors but they are also supplying the greatest display of racing for the crowd.

Tomorrow morning kicks off with the 1000m heats. More for you then, hopefully with times and complete results from today.

2009 Australian Short Track Championships

2009-10-02T12:13:00.003+08:00

The first session of the Australian nationals has been skated.

1500m A Final results:

1st Herbie Labiche 2:51.707
2nd Frank Anderson
3rd Michael Attwood
4th Igor Ozerov
5th Simon Leadbeater
6th Michael Gusi

Labiche had lead out the first 5 laps when Michael Attwood overtook and increased the pace. At 4 laps to go, Ozerov, sitting 4th, moved to overtake the group on the inside whilst Anderson, in 3rd, made a move on the outside and stumbled slightly, missing his opportunity to take the lead.
Labiche then overtook Attwood and the race was on. Anderson overtook Attwood in the next straight and although he took some ground off Labiche in the final three laps, Labiche was too good and held on to win by just under a second.

Next session - 500m

Turin Olympic Oval Open for Skating

2009-09-20T13:33:00.003+08:00

I recieved an email from Paolo Gemme advising the Turin Olympic Oval is open for skating. Find all the details below:

Dear Friends,

Good news from Italy !!! The Olympic Ice Oval in Turin is open till October 18th 2009 !!!

The ice is really good and the room temperature is pleasant. We would like to inform all the Masters that is possible to skate with the following time schedule:
• Monday to Saturday: from 14:00 till 17:00
• Sunday: from 10:00 till 12:30

The entrance fee for each training session costs 8 €. The entrance of the Olympic Ice Oval is located in Via Nizza 294, Turin. If you plan to come please check with the track responsible, Mr.Davide Carta, at the following e-mail address davedany@libero.it.

A special hotel rate is available for the skaters at Euro Motel – Via 1° Maggio, 57 – Nichelino (Torino) - web: www.euromotel.it e-mail: euro@euromotel.it - that is located 5 Km from Ice Oval by car or easily joinable by bus number 14 (stop 100m from the hotel and few hundred meters from the Ice Oval).

The rates are the following (at the reservation please state that you are a skater and the prices are those agreed with Davide Carta):

• Bed & Breakfast: 25€ per person per day in double room
• Half board: 37€ per person per day in double room
• Full board: 43€ per person per day in double room
• Single room: add 20€

Only for next week end the time schedule is as follow:

• Saturday 19th Sept. from 17:00 till 19:00
• Sunday 20th Sept. from 10:00 till 12:30

Please inform the skaters of your club or country.

I wish you a nice week end.

Paolo

New World Record

2009-09-10T08:20:00.003+08:00

Brian Boudreau of Salt Lake City competed in the 2009 Desert Classic Short Track a few weeks ago and set a new world record in the 40-49 year age bracket for the 1000m.

Brian skated a 1:33.68 1000m to better the current record of Jim Lynch of 1:40.19 set in September 1995. Jim was the first ever short track world champion in 1978.

Until such time as it is ratified by US Speedskating as a National masters record, it will be recorded in red alongside Jim's record.

Congratulations Brian.

Note: The world records listed on this site have all been collected from national skating bodies as current national records. The best of these records are listed as world records. This is the only standard that has been used to record the best times and cannot be termed 'official' until a governing masters body recognises them as such.

More Upcoming Competitions

2009-09-10T07:59:00.003+08:00

Reminder: Entries for the 2009 Australian Short Track Championships close this Friday the 11th of September. There are already 14 Masters entered for this event.

The New Zealand Short Track Association is holding the 2009 NZ Short Track Championships a week before (26th & 27th Sept) the Australian Nationals. I don't have a direct link to any competition info but Igor Ozerov has posted up a comment on the WMST Forum page. If you would like to get in contact with him, please email me and I will forward his details to you.
Igor will also be making the trek to Brisbane to compete in the Aussie Nationals - after only two months back on the ice! But I'm sure his pedigree will come to forefront.

The British Masters scene is also picking up and there are a couple of events being hosted by Scottish Club the Ayrshire Flyers.

Sat 26 September 2009, Dundee Open - Dundee, Scotland
Sun 27 September 2009, Stirling Open - Stirling, Scotland
Sat 17 October 2009, Scottish Open, Dumfries, Scotland

Click on the link for a complete list of competition dates.

On a side note, I have taken over the writing and updating of the International Masters Short Track Committee website on behalf of the IMSSC. We are hoping to boost the profile of the masters in short track, and hopefully, one day, run a World Championship.

I have noticed that there are more and more Masters skating at each event, and in Australia I have another 8 or so Masters toying with getting back on the ice - so push your old skating buddies back into the scene! The more numbers we get, the more likely the ISU will cave in and allow us to use the term World Championship.

I must also apologise for my somewhat slow responses of late, but work committments and limited interent access have all conspired to slow me down, but as the season opens, I hope to keep up regular updates.

Frank

Upcoming Events - AUS and CAN

2009-09-01T14:16:00.004+08:00

Two upcoming events that have attracted a large group of masters interest over last couple of years are almost upon us again.

In the first weekend of October, Boondall ice rink in Brisbane, Australia will host the 2009 Australian Short Track National Championships.

So far, the masters division has confirmed participants from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. There is also at least one skater coming across from New Zealand in Igor Ozerov, former Russian Olympian from the 1994 WG, seeking to enter back into the sport in the masters division.

Another event that is fast gaining popularity is the 2009 Canmore Masters Ice Racing Challenge. Ian Mellors from the Canmore /Banff club has sent an extensive run down on the events to be held over the weekend of the 11th to 13th of December 2009.

For both event's information, click on the links in the 'Upcoming Events' heading in the right columns.

Once again, if you have information about any local upcoming events, please don't hesitate to email me.

Also, very shortly, I will be updating the IMSSC ST site (IMSTC)as well, so information for Masters will be blended between the two sites.

Frank

Masters Ice Racing Challenge 2009

2009-06-08T09:16:00.008+08:00

I recently received an email from Ian Mellors in regards to the Canmore Masters Ice Racing Challenge to be held in December

Frank,

I was reading your Masters Blog site, and I love the fact that someone is promoting Masters Racing.

We run a very successful race here in Canmore, Alberta, Canada for Masters Skaters, Dec 11 - 13, 2009.

The format of the race is to allow Masters to have fast, safe, close racing, so with have run an open division (you need lots of skaters to make age class interesting), and we have been rewarded with many tight finishes. We have so far been successful in attracting fast skaters, 3 skaters broke 1:40 for the 1000m last year, 4 skaters broke 1:20 in the 777m.

We run the 1000m races Friday night, then on Saturday we run the 777m, 500m and the 1500m Super Finals. The Saturday races are run in conjunction with our club's ability meet,( so any masters with kids are more than welcome).

Saturday night we have a banquet, and then on Sunday we run a skating clinic for the masters (try to maximize the ice time for all those who have travelled)

The purpose of the meet was to promote masters racing in Canada, So far we have had skaters travel over 18 hours to come to our event.

I would love to add an international flavour to this event

Attached is the annoucement from last year, I will get the new one out in a week or so.

Ian Mellors
Banff/Canmore Speed Skating Club
www.banffcanmorespeedskating.ca

Recent Competitions

2009-04-22T09:23:00.004+08:00

Unfortunately, I have been very busy of late, but I have finally managed to get some time to update the blog.

Two recent competitions that had strong masters representation are the British National Championships in Nottingham and the Closing Games in Turnhout, Belgium.

The Masters division of the British Nationals was again won by Ian Cavin on 89 points with Alan Dobbie close behind on 76 points after 500m, 1000m and 800m events.

British National Championships masters protocol

The Closing Games in Turnhout were won by Keith Wright of Great Britain and this event was closley contested with Keith on 48 points, Jacob Van Den Bosch on 46 point, and Joel Martin of France on 44 points.

Closing Games masters protocol

Photo courtesy of ShorttrackOnline

OTHER NEWS

During my February trip to Germany, I had discussions with Dr. Volker Serini in relation to the International Masters Short Track Group website and I was asked if I would write that site on behalf of the IMSSG. I agreed to do so and over the off season, I am hoping to improve that site.
I am hoping that master short trackers will come together and attempt to create some designated Masters Short Track events each season.

I would also like to encourage master skaters to utilise the forum board to discuss any issues they see fit. WMST discussion board

Happy off season for most of you for now - although the Australian and New Zealand seasons are kicking off, so I will keep you updated during this time.

Please feel free to email me with any news - my email can be found at the bottom of the right hand side bar.

Masters Not Forgotten

2009-02-10T07:03:00.003+09:00

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I have been busy with work, Xmas, New Year and personal matters, along with currently traveling through Germany skating some LT masters events, hence the lack of updates here, so sorry to all the followers.

I am trying to get back on top of things as fast as I can - starting with some coming events having been updated in the 'Coming events' heading, along with a couple of results having been updated also.

If anyone has any news or other events they wish to have listed, please feel free to email me with the details and I will post the details.

I trust everyone had a great Xmas and New Year, and I wish everyone the best for 2009,

Frank

Bryan Carbis Dies

2008-12-31T13:31:00.003+09:00

From IMSSG Site

22 Dec 2008

Bryan Carbis Died

vs. It is with great regret and sorrow that we inform you of the death of our good friend

Bryan Carbis

He died at the 3 Dec 2008 at an age of 57 years after being more than a year desparately ill. He was Vice-President of the International Skating-Club Davos (ISCD) for many years and head of the Organizing Committee of the Masters’ International Speed Skating DAVOS MEETING since 10 years. In his youth he was Short Track Champion of Scotland and later Speed Skating Champion of Great Britain. He took part in the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajewo/Yugoslavia for Great Britain where he made the acquaintance of Rita Brunner from Davos, his later wife . He founded a family in Davos and promoted Speed Skating in Davos. He was additionally starter for International Speed Skating Competitions. The International Speed Skating Masters say him many thanks for his great efforts to organize the annual Masters’ International Speed Skating DAVOS MEETING at the wonderful Eisbahn Davos with fast natural ice, situated in the middle of Davos and with the wonderful white mountains around. They had fine competitions and much fun all the years.

In my first ever venture onto a long track, I traveled to Davos and my only point of contact there on several ocassions was Bryan. He spoke of having skated against quality Australians such as Michael Richmond, Colin Coates and Jim Lynch in his day and he was very welcoming of an Australian to Davos again. In the short couple of days that I knew/met Bryan, I found him to be very devoted to the sport and I am sure that he will be a great loss to the Davos community. My greatest sympathy to his family.

Frank

Masters Ice Racing Challenge - Report

2008-12-17T12:29:00.003+09:00

The weather outside was cold (reaching a low of -35C) but the racing and the times were HOT at the 3rd Annual Masters Ice Racing Challenge.

Despite a winter storm that lowered temperatures to an unseasonably low numbers and dumping snow all over southern Alberta, eight Masters made their way to Canmore, setting the stage for arguably the fastest and most competitive Masters competition ever.

The racers skated 7 times over the weekend, running semi and finals in the 1000m 777, and 500m distances and a 1500m Super Final.

Racing started Friday night, and to set the weekend up for fast close racing, four skaters broke Masters 2 (40-49) 1000m Canadian Record, with 3 skaters going under 1:40. Randy Plett (River Heights Speed Skating - Winnipeg) won the race in an Unofficial Canadian Record of 1:39.34, winning over Guy Bushell (Banff/Canmore SSC, by a slim .26 seconds), rounding out the first three in a time of 1:39.8 was Ian Mellors (Banff/Canmore SSC)

Saturday's racing continued fast and close. In the 777m A final, 4 skaters broke 1:20, Guy Bushell in a time of 1:17.20 won over Randy Plett by just .17 seconds. Tim Cooney (Lethbridge SSC) came across third in a time of 1:17.76, and Duane Swann (Prince George Blizzard SSC) was fourth in 1:18.83.

The 500m A final was the closest of the weekend, Guy Bushell won his second Final in a time of 49.39sec, winning by just .05 seconds over Tim Cooney, with Randy Plett in third.

Randy Plett took control of the 1500m A final after 3 laps and fought off Guy Bushell for the win, Duane Swan finished a solid weekend with 3rd place. With two wins and two seconds, Guy Bushell took the overall title.

The Masters Ice Racing Challenge welcomed its first female competitor, Michelle Pepin (Burnaby SSC). Michelle skated hard against the men in the first two distances, then road a hot start, and enthusiastic cheering by the females in the crowd (including spouses of the male racers) in the 500m B final to take victory and 5th overall in the distance. Michelle finished the weekend with 3 Unofficial Canadian Records, 53.51 - 500m, 1:23.1 - 777m and 1:50.88 - 1000m. Michelle is looking forward to seeing more women attending next year.

Al Overend (Calgary SSA), Masters 3, fought his way through the snow, unfortunately missing Friday's racing, but came through with several strong performances Saturday, and a best finish of 2nd in the 500m B final in a time of 53.64.

Werner Meyer (Calgary SSA) Masters 4, thrilled the crowd, with his steady performances, never quit attitude and huge smiles.

The Masters celebrated their achievements Saturday night with a banquet, and finished off the weekend with an excellent skating clinic Sunday morning lead by Overall Winner Guy Bushell.

See attached for full results - Results link.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in 2009.

Ian Mellors
Meet Coordinator - Masters Ice Racing Challenge
Banff/Canmore SSC

Masters Ice Racing Challenge - Canmore CAN

2008-12-03T06:54:00.002+09:00

If you are intending on attending the Masters Ice Racing Challenge in Canmore, Alberta, December 12/13, please let me know the following info by Friday December 4th

Name
SSC# (or ISU country Membership #)
500m seed time
1000m seed time

Also indicate if you are interested in attending the Banquet on Saturday Night - $30/ticket and if you are going to participate in the Sunday Speed Skating Clinic.

For more details see the club website, www.banffcanmorespeedskating.ca, Press Release tab, MIRC Meet Announcement

Come and be a part of the most comprehensive Masters Short Track speed skating weekend anywhere.

Ian Mellors
Meet Coordinator

New Masters World Records in October

2008-10-28T07:01:00.002+09:00

At the recent Rochester International Speedskating Competition, Craig Pielechowski set a new world mark in the 60-69 year category for the 1000m. Craig improved his own previous world mark by a second and a half to skate a 1:44.34s 1000m. I would consider this a great time in any of the masters divisions, let alone in the 60's group!

This comes on top of Jim Lynch skating a world record 500m in the same age division earlier this month in the Australian National Championships, skating a 50.494s 500m.

I have included these times in red in the new World Masters Short Track World Records, but both times will need to be ratified as respective national records to be the sole entry.

Congratulations to Craig and Jim - rumour has it that Jim Lynch will be flying to the states to contest the North American titles coming up in December, so hopefully there will be some great racing in this age division, with some more records falling!

Congratulations to both skaters, who in their 60's, are showing that improvement can take shape at any age - a great example to the younger skaters.

Thanks to John Murphy for making me aware of Craig's achievement.

Masters Ice Racing Challenge Dec 12 - 14 2008 - Canmore CAN

2008-10-22T14:49:00.003+08:00

email forwarded from Ross Hanham at Masters Speedskating News:

I would like to welcome everyone back for the start of a new season of speed skating.

Please see the attached meet announcement and use the following link, http://www.banffcanmorespeedskating.ca/press.asp, for the meet announcement, registration form and summary sheet for our annual short track meet in Canmore, December 12 - 14th.

We are pleased to be able to offer both our one day ability meet, the Canmore Ice Racing Challenge (CIRC), and the Masters Ice Racing Challenge Weekend.

The Masters skaters will race Friday December 12th, the 1000m Semi’s and Finals. The Masters will then complete their final three distances on Saturday December 13th, running in conjunction with the ability meet. There is a banquet Saturday night for the Masters, plus any officials or volunteers who would like to attend. On Sunday December 14th, there is a half day skating clinic for Masters’ skaters, the clinic will include two on ice sessions, plus a classroom session.

For youth skaters, the Canmore Ice Racing Challenge will take place on Saturday December 13th. This will be run as a regular one day meet, skaters will compete over 3 distances. Because skaters will not have the opportunity to skate all four of their age class distances, we are happy to be able to offer 666m and 777m exhibition races Friday evening, see schedule for details. These races are available to Midget and older skaters, who would like to earn times in all four of their distances. The exhibition races do not count towards points for Saturday’s ability meet.

If you have any questions please call me at (no. in announcement), or by email (details in announcement).

Please confirm if you plan on attending, if you will be attending the banquet Saturday night, how many tickets you would need and if you plan on attending the skating clinic on Sunday.

Please pass along the meet announcement to any Masters skaters you may know, and if you could ask your provincial associations to also advertise the meet, that would be appreciated.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the races.

Sincerely,

Ian Mellors
President – Banff/Canmore Speed Skating Club

2008 Rochester International Speedskating Competition Results

2008-10-21T19:02:00.002+08:00

The past weekend saw the running of the Rochester International Speedskating Competition.

The results for all divisions can be found at Rochester Speedskating results.

As for the Masters, the overall results for each division were:

Masters Men 40-49 years Glenn CORSO - Full division results
Masters Ladies 50+ Beth TARDUNO - Full division results
Masters Men 50+ John BECK - Full division results

Thanks to Marty Medina from RSST for the links to the results - Marty is a 35-39 year competitor who skated in the Open A division, skating his way to 45.72s 500m.

Congratulations to all competitors

2008 Australian Championship Protocol

2008-10-17T18:44:00.004+08:00

The recent 2008 Australian Short Track Championships full protocol is now available by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Rochester International Speedskating Competition

2008-10-15T21:59:00.004+08:00

The Rochester Speed Skating team is hosting a USS santioned event in Rochester, New York this coming weekend. More than 200 skaters have registered for the event.

There are two Masters divisions, the 40-49 year group and a 50 years and over age group. Younger Masters will skate in either the Open A or B division of the event.

The are 4 Ladies and 9 Men in the 40-49 division and 5 Ladies and 12 Men in the 50 and over division. Here is a link to the RSST 'competitors list' for the event.

Hopefully I can get some full Masters results posted here after the event, otherwise try the link to the RSST site.

Good luck to all competitors for the weekend.

New Innovations

2008-10-13T09:33:00.004+08:00

Whilst surfing the Net and YouTube recently, I found these two interesting videos from a Dutch inventor, Ruud Wegman.

It's good to see that people are still working towards improvement in our sport and in training techniques, however radical they may seem.

Opening Games - Turnhout BEL

2008-10-11T08:50:00.003+08:00

The Opening Games start today in Turnhout, Belgium. There is a field of 8 Masters (plus 2 B Men) racing off over the 500m and 1000m distances.

Last year's event was won by Jan Celis of Belgium. This year, there are competitors from Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and France competing, so it is definately an international affair.

Here is a link to the program which will also update results 'LIVE' during the event. There is a sidebar link that will also allow you to look at the list of the competitors for each division.

Other events taking place this weekend are the Vienna Cup Danuba Open in Vienna, Austria and the Oktoberfest Short Track in Calgary, Canada. There are currently no links to these events, but the results will eventually be posted here.

Good luck to all skaters.

Videos from the 2008 Australian Nationals - Masters Division

2008-10-06T18:39:00.004+08:00

I have attached some links to the A Finals from this weekend's Australian Championships. I have only placed the links for the three short distance finals as I did not get anyone to film the 3000m super final, but as it turned out, it was one of the most competitive 3000m races of any recent competitions.

There will also be some heats, semi-finals and 'B' and 'C' finals videos on the WMST YouTube site as I load them on.

Masters 500m A Final

Masters 1000m A Final

Masters 1500m A Final

I am still waiting for the protocol to be made available, and that will be put in the 2008/2009 results column when released.

2008 Australian Short Track Championships

2008-10-05T16:24:00.004+08:00

The 2008 Australian Short Track Championships has been decided after some close racing between the 'young' masters and 'old' masters.

After some very tight racing, the overall classification was decided on count back after Frank Anderson and Herbie Labiche ended with the final same points.

The overall top 3 place getters were:
1st Frank Anderson
2nd Herbie Labiche
3rd Jim Lynch

Jim Lynch showed that he is just a freak of nature to be able to get back onto the ice, finish third in the nationals, break a world record and several Australian Masters records after just a few months back in training. Well done Jim, it was great to skate against you again. Commiserations to Herbie; I felt the same heartbreak last year after my disqualification in the 3000m final saw me finish second.

There was a strong display from Harry Spragg, known for his second place in the 1978 World Championship. Harry has been a strong skater over the years, having skated for Great Britain before moving to Australia. Harry made the A final of the 500m, and like Jim, this was after only a few months training.

The division welcomed newcomer Ryczard Jakowski whilst Marianne Reece and Alison Throssell skated again after a couple of years hiatus.

It was pleasing to see 11 masters entered this year and I know there were many more in the crowd who were thinking about pulling on the skates again for next year.

I would like to thank all the officials on behalf of the Masters for a great competition - it can be difficult at times to keep things on track, but you all did a great job - without you, there would be no competition.

I am hoping to have a copy of the protocol posted up here within the next couple of days, along with some videos. I will also post all the records that were broken over the weekend - I believe there was at least 10 records broken across all Masters age groups.
For now, I have attached a link to some photos from the Championships, mostly all from finals.

Jim Lynch Sets New 500m World Record

2008-10-04T09:19:00.005+08:00

Australian speed skater Jim Lynch set a new world mark in the 60-69 years age group category last night at the Australian Short Track Championships being held in Sydney.

Jim skated a 50.494s 500m semi-final time to better the mark of Gary Link who's record of 52.81s had held since 2005.

As you may be aware, I have compiled a list of unofficial 'world' records for Masters short track which comes directly from the the national records of various countries. I will only update the list once a record is ratified and published by the skater's national body. So, with Jim's record, the list will not be updated until such time as it is ratified by Australian Ice Racing.

With still the 3000m A and B finals to go this afternoon, I will publish the full results in the next day or so, with some videos slowly making their way up onto the WMST YouTube site.

New South Wales Championships Results - AUS

2008-09-28T18:22:00.004+08:00

This past Saturday saw the running of the New South Wales Open Short Track Championships which was the warm up for this coming weekend's Australian Open Short Track Championships. I have attached the links to the Masters 1000m and 1500m finals video on WMST YouTube site. Unfortunately, I was unable to film the 500m or 3000m finals.

There were six Masters men entered for the competition which was won by Jim Lynch after a couple of years hiatus from competition. Jim is looking fit, and I'm sure he hasn't entered the nationals to be an 'also ran'.
I do not have the protocol at this point in time but I am sure that several of the 60+ National and New South Wales masters records were broken by Jim.

I competed in the Senior men division to boost the numbers and try and keep the young ones honest, and in the process broke 2 national masters records and set 3 New South Wales Open masters records; even after getting hit by a car the previous weekend, so I was reasonably happy with those results.

There are 12 Masters entered for this weekends Nationals, so it should bring out some good racing with Herbie Labiche attempting to back up with consecutive national titles. Michael Attwood and myself will be making Herbie work if he wants that national title again this year, and I'm sure the presence of Jim Lynch will also make an impact.

Good luck to all the skaters for the Nationals. I will be sure to post as many videos and results as soon as they become available.

Frank

Saved by the Helmet

2008-09-23T12:10:00.005+08:00

I have always tried to make this site a commentary about Masters Short Track and I rarely comment about my own experiences, but today, I felt compelled to write a little about a recent Sunday experience.

I have been involved in skating and cycling for almost 25 years (less than some, more than others) and I have had my fair share of mishaps. I have always worn a helmet, even before it was law to do so in Australia. In my former role as a police officer, I had the unfortunate experience of attending two fatal 'cyclist vs motor vehicle' crashes. On each occasion, neither cyclist was wearing a helmet, but also, on each occasion, it had been through driver inattention that lives were lost.

Although I have had encounters with errant drivers whilst riding my bicycle in the past, this past Sunday really blew me away with the total disregard that some motorists have with other road users in Australia (whether cyclists or other drivers).

I had just completed a light 30km ride in Centennial Park in Sydney and was riding home when I started through an intersection on the green light. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a black 4WD coming from my left and I could tell that they were not going to be able to stop for their red light. I always look left and right going through intersections - a legacy of my pursuit training.

I managed to brake hard and the black 4WD commenced a full brake lock up and I was hit at about 40-50kmh with the front right quarter panel of this car, sending me and the bike flying into the middle of the intersection. (I can't repeat the exact words that I yelled - it may be illegal). I felt my head hit the road hard, along with sliding along bare bitumen, just to let me know I could still feel pain!

I scrambled out of the intersection and onto the kerb where a few people had come to assist me. I did the regular pat down and slow movements to ensure no limbs were pointing in the wrong direction, and was slightly relieved to feel pain in my legs and left knee, indicating that the pelvis pain may not have been serious.

All I could think of was "Two weeks to Nationals and this happens!"

Anyway, the point of the story is that later that night, I inspected my helmet, and what had not been initially obvious was that where my head had hit the bitumen, the helmet had cracked straight across the side and top of the helmet, obviously spreading the impact of it to save my head, and probably my life.

A $300 helmet - worth the expense????? I say 'HELL YEAH!' I had that helmet for 8 years - that's $37.50 a year - and the manufacturer is replacing it with a 40% discount off the new helmet.

So anyone who thinks not wearing a helmet is cool, all I say is that being dead would surely be less cool than wearing a helmet.

By the way, the driver's excuse - She was in a hurry to get home to her husband who really didn't like her being away from home and their kids because he doesn't cope with them all that well. PLEASE! I thought as a police officer, I had heard all of the excuses going!!!

Anyway, I'm still in pain, but it looks like I will still be able to skate the New South Wales and Australian Championships. Back on the ice tomorrow morning!

Keep wearing those helmets people, some of these manufacturer's have got it right.

Frank

Australian Championships Update

2008-09-20T08:40:00.003+08:00

I have received some mixed information about the competitors list for the upcoming Australian National Championships to be held in Sydney in two weekends, but I am led to believe that there is at least 7-8 entered.

I can confirm that both Jim Lynch and Harry Spragg will be competing in the Masters category, and both will be competing for the Vikings Speed Skating Club, which is entering a Masters relay team. As of yesterday, the Brisbane based Roos club has confirmed that they will also be entering a Masters relay team as well. There will also be two Ladies competing this year in Mary-Anne Reece and Alison Throssell, which is fantastic to see.

I am sure that many of you will be eagerly awaiting the results - I am expecting Jim to break a couple of the current 60+ National records (which he has already done in the 500m this season - 54.01 sec) and to give the current (unofficial) world 500m record a jolt as well. For those of you who are not aware, Jim and Harry were the 1978 World Champion and Runner-up.

I skated on the ice at Baulkham Hills last night and it felt very quick, so hopefully there will be a few National records broken across all divisions, both for the New South Wales and Australian Championships.

I will provide a comprehensive round-up of the New South Wales championships after next weekend.

Good Luck to all competitors.

Frank

Australian Division Name Change

2008-09-05T19:48:00.003+08:00

Whilst at the Duke Trophy held in Brisbane in July, I approached the president of the Queensland IRA and requested that a submission be be made on my behalf at the AGM of Australian Ice Racing, that consideration be given to renaming the 'Veterans' division in Australia to 'Masters' division.

This was accepted and it now brings Australia into line with most other countries, and I believe it better reflects and promotes the participation of skaters who have reached the age of 30, but are not inspired by being referred to as 'Veterans'.

A simple change, but one I hope will promote the division here in Australia.

National Masters Short Track Records

2008-09-03T09:20:00.003+08:00

Can you help? I am trying to source any national records lists for the masters category around the world.

I have been unable to locate any masters records for New Zealand and most European countries (except GB and Italy).

If you can help me in locating any of these records, it would be much appreciated as I have had queries about posting these records on this site,

Regards
Frank

email: thenewbordersecurity@aapt.net.au or frankanderson@aapt.net.au

Trophée Léon Quaglia 2008 - Chamonix, France

2008-08-03T20:55:00.006+08:00

This past weekend saw the running of the Trophée Léon Quaglia which is the culmination of a summer training camp in Chamonix, France.

The Masters division is run for over 40's in the men's division and over 35's for the ladies division.

There were six masters in total competing in this event, 5 men and 1 woman. Competing nations were France, Great Britain and Italy.

Cecilia Valcepina from Milan set a new Italian record in the Ladies 35-39 years, 1000m distance with a 2:09.322 which took almost 11 seconds of her previous record. The Italian records are presently not ratified, but are being kept by Stephano Dotti and also by the author of this site.

Overall, 46 year old Joel Martin from Club des Sports de Chamonix took out the Masters division in this event, which consisted of a 1000m, 500m and an 800m super-final.

This event generally marks the commencement of the northern hemisphere season, so from here in, hopefully there will be more updates on masters events around the globe for season 2008/2009.

Masters general classification results
Full competition results and classifications
Photos of the event and training camp

Thanks to www.shorttrackonline.info for the full results and photo link.

Image courtesy of www.icespeedmasteritalia.it

Frank

2008 Duke Trophy - Australia

2008-07-28T21:12:00.006+08:00

This past weekend saw the running of the 59th Duke Trophy in Brisbane, Australia - the first big competition for the southern hemisphere racing season. This competition is a State teams event, with no heats or finals but round robin style racing in all divisions, with skaters accumulating points for their respective teams.

New South Wales ran out winners from Queensland and Victoria.

A history of the Duke Trophy can be found by clicking here.

Attached is the link to Veterans protocol which has been taken directly from the full protocol of the event, which consisted of 153 races.

Each veteran skated in 11 individual races, with the Queensland and Victorian teams contesting 2 x 3000m relays over the two days.

Veteran skater Michael Attwood was awarded the Colin Coates Spirit of the Duke Trophy award. I have no doubt that Mike was awarded this due to the fact that he was always out the front of the pack hunting for the win and, having raced him in 7 of my 11 races, I can attest to him being a worthy recipient of this award. Well done Mike!

I have attached links to videos from the morning session of day 1. Hopefully by the end of the week, I will have loaded all the races onto the WMST Youtube site.

Race 1 Veteran 1500m
Race 2 Veteran 1500m
Race 13 Veteran 500m
Race 14 Veteran 500m
Race 15 Veteran 500m
Race 28 Veteran 1000m
Race 29 Veteran 1000m

The turn out of 11 veteran skaters for the twelve available spots was fantastic. Dale Blunden from New South Wales has been speed skating for six weeks and decided to fill a vacant spot in the team as he was traveling to the event to allow his son to compete.

Melissa Kah from Victoria stepped up and competed against the men with some positive results. I am expecting to see Mel and her husband Danny (former Australian Olympian) competing at the nationals in Sydney, in October.

Andrea Winzor, also from Victoria, competed in the senior woman's division as all the veteran positions were filled. Hopefully we can create enough interest for a veterans woman's division at the nationals this year.

The veterans/masters scene in Australia is getting stronger with many more skaters not being able to skate due to positions having been filled, as only 4 skaters from each state can compete in each division. With these numbers, it is likely that we could have up to 16 or more skaters for the Nationals in Sydney. Here's to hoping!

Frank

Quiet Times

2008-07-21T09:37:00.002+08:00

Well, it has been a little quiet on the masters front with the northern hemisphere just about to come out of summer hiatus and with very limited masters competitions down under.

The first event of the NH season will kick off on the 1st of August with the Trophée Léon Quaglia in Chamonix.

The SH season is about to hot up in Australia with the Duke Trophy to be held in Brisbane this coming weekend (25th & 26th). This event is a teams event with all divisions competing in a round robin style format. This lends itself to a lot of racing over the two days and with three states competing, hopefully all twelve masters positions will be filled.

The Queensland Masters contigent will be Herbie Labiche, Frank Anderson, Sean Bennett and Glen Rosenburg (back on the ice after his quadricep gash).

The Victorian Masters will be Ken Stewart, Michael Attwood, Melissa Kah and one other (maybe Wayne Dite).
With each state only being able to fill four masters spots, a couple of masters will compete in the senior ladies group for Victoria.

As yet, I am unaware of which New South Wales masters will be making the trek to Brisbane.

I skated in Melbourne the last two weekends and the Olympic Southern Flyers masters group is by far the strongest in numbers in the country, with about ten masters taking to the ice.

I would like to thank all OSF members for welcoming me in and allowing me to train with the group - although they all think I was spying for Queensland (of course I was!). Gordon Church runs a well structured training environment and the club appears to be very well supported.

My trip to Melbourne also coincided with the return to the ice of two time Olympian Richard Goerlitz (38) who is considering a return to some competitive skating. Richard is the current Australian long track national record holder in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m distances.

On another note, although I received some positive feedback about a Masters Sprint Event during the week preceeding the Australian Open (September), there was not enough committment to warrant the organisation of this event. The positive though, is that it looks like there will be a larger masters/veterans field in this years nationals with Jim Lynch and Danny Kah giving their tentative interest in competing again, and with a little more persusion, hopefully I can sell the participation factor for some of those Victorian masters to make the trek to Sydney in October along with having a ladies veteran division.

I have updated my links list with my WMST YouTube page that has some old footage from the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics and some other videos as well.
I am also hoping to start a 2008/2009 times list commencing from the 1st of July (to be published after Trophée Léon Quaglia).

I am keen to have more masters send me their profiles and times, as many readers have provided positive feedback and interest in this area.

I have been receiving some very positive feedback about the blog and although I have been busy, I am hoping that this season, I can post some interesting articles and results. Please feel free to email me at thenewbordersecurity@aapt.net.au if you have anything of interest in the masters short track arena that you would like others to know.

Frank

We're Just Wild About Harry!

2008-06-14T07:26:00.001+08:00

Great to see Harry Spragg back on the ice. Harry will be well known to those whose involvement with short track in this country (and in Great Britain) stretches into the deep dark past.

Harry was game enough to jump in the deep end - getting involved in most of our activities including accelerations and even some relay!

Photo by Ted Szukalski of Digital-photo.com.au. Harry is joined by Sebastian Szukalski, Jesse Buosi and myself.

More Short Track Information and History

2008-06-02T19:55:00.000+08:00

Mike O'Dea from England wrote to me and informed me that he has a copy of the 1978 World Short Track Championships video that he is in the process of converting and editing.

Mike has a site about UK short track which provides some information and history on speed skating in the United Kingdom. He informed me that he will be posting the video of the 1978 championships on his site in the near future, and I'll post the link here when it is completed - definitely something to look out for.

In the meantime, his site is well worth a look at with some 'back in the day' video footage in the archives.

By the way, Mike is 62 and still skating, having competed in this years British Short Track Championships held in Dundee, Scotland, finishing 6th out of 11 masters competitors - nice work!

Thanks Mike

WMST Skater Profiles

2008-05-19T20:42:00.004+08:00

In an attempt to get to know the world masters short track community, I have commenced a masters profile page which will allocate skaters by country and then age division.

I have had some submissions already but I have attached a link to what the individual page would look like - starting with my own profile.

I know that skateonline.info has profiles, but they cater to every age group and not primarily masters.

I have attached a link for a profile form to complete and email to me if you would like to be added to the list. This will become my next project and hopefully it will receive some more support. Please feel free to email the completed form to me.

Lastly, thank you for all the emails I have recieved supporting this blog - I am really enjoying supporting the masters scene, and I am learning a whole lot at the same time. Hopefully I will get to compete against some of you over the next year or so.

Happy Skating
Frank

2008 Australian and New South Wales Championships Dates

2008-05-15T13:09:00.002+08:00

The dates and venue for the 2008 Australian Short Track Championships were decided on Monday the 12^th of May at a meeting held at Canterbury Ice Rink.

The competition will be held Friday and Saturday the 3^rd and 4^th of October 2008 at the Sydney Ice Arena in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales.

I believe that it was also decided that the New South Wales Open Championships will be held on the preceding Sat and Sun the 27th and 28th of September at Canterbury Ice Rink (Sydney).

Discussions between Ellis Southee of the Sydney Ice Arena and myself lead to the idea (if international numbers made it viable) to hold a Masters International Sprint event between the two competitions, likely to be hosted by the Sydney Vikings Club and to be held at the Sydney Ice Arena. Ellis has given me an undertaking that ice time would gladly be supplied to support such an event.

Sydney is the 2000 Summer Olympic city and host to the Australian Youth Olympic Festival and is a very tourist friendly destination, with a very good public transport system and a great variety of world class tourist attractions.

There is a good amount of reasonably cheap accommodation in the Baulkham Hills/Castle Hill area, which is close to the Sydney Ice Arena or alternatively there is a great range of facilities in Sydney City, which is approximately 40km from the Sydney Ice Arena.

For those masters looking for a good amount of racing, this ‘carnival’ could be a good trip with the possibility of three events in 8 days, with rest/tourist days dotted in between. The Masters event would not be held or planned unless enough interest was shown well in advance to the proposed event

If you would consider coming to Australia to compete in this carnival, please register your interest by emailing me by the 15^th of June 2008. Registering your interest in no way binds you to attending or paying any fee.

Both of the NSW and Australian Championships will be open to skaters from midgets to masters age divisions.

As I indicated earlier, regardless of any specific masters event, the other two events will go ahead. I hope to see some 'international' flavour added to our Australian Championships.

Frank

1964 Short Track Video

2008-05-10T15:22:00.002+08:00

I have attached the link to a video of short track speed skating in 1964. Thanks to Stefano from Italian Masters Speed Skating for the link. There is no sound to the video but it would appear to be a match between Scotland and England.

Link: 1964 Short Track Video

Frank

From the Video Vault #2 - 1991 Australian Open Short Track Championships

2008-05-04T09:33:00.005+08:00

I recently found my old tapes from the 1991 Australian Short Track Championships held in Brisbane.

The two videos shown here are the 500m Veteran Mens semi-finals and final.

The final was won by Jim Lynch (1978 World Champion) and Harry Spragg came in third (1978 World Championship runner-up), so not a bad field!

For those of you skating on Pennington blades, Dennis is in the blue and grey suit, second from right in the second semi-final. Dennis was also a reserve for Australia during the 1978 World Championships

1991 - Veteran Mens 500m Final - Australian Short Track Championships

1991 - Veteran Mens 500m Semi-Finals 1 & 2 - Australian Short Track Championships

Frank

Have you got the edge?

2008-05-01T14:41:00.003+08:00

So you think you have good edge control?

I was surfing the net and came across this interesting site that shows some very nice skills in a funky little video.

International Twin Track Association

Happy watching!
Frank

Season 08/09 Events Progress

2008-04-23T19:17:00.012+08:00

The IMSSG has released a draft program of long track events for the coming season. Some events have been highlighted as being locked in and others are awaiting confirmation. All dates should be confirmed by October 2008. (2008/2009 IMSSG season)

On the short track front, Stefano Dotti of the Italian Masters Speed Skating Club has written to the officers in charge of masters speed skating in Europe with a proposed list of events for masters in the 2008/2009 European season.

Leon Quaglia in Chamonix (France) at the beginning of August 2008, (2007 results)
Opening Games in Turnhout (Belgium) beginning of October 2008, (2007 results)
Danish International in March 2009, (2008 results)
Italy International in April 2009,
Closing Games in Turnhout (Belgium) in 2009. (2008 results)

Stefano has a great photo gallery on his site with photos from a lot of the European events this season.

The Australian Open Short Track Championships are to be held in Sydney, Australia on the 26th and 27th of September 2008. Last year there was a field of 7 masters/veterans and all world Master skaters are invited to attend. In fact, being an open event, skaters from all divisions are invited to skate.

The competition is likely to be held at the Sydney Ice Arena (home of the Sydney Vikings) in Baulkham Hills but exact venue in Sydney will be confirmed in the coming months.

I will try and post more information in regards to short track events a little later in the year or as more information becomes available.

If you are aware of any proposed or programmed events for your region, feel free to drop me a line - email address in my profile.

Frank

Lars Wins Again

2008-04-13T06:44:00.003+08:00

The Closing Games were held this weekend in Turnhout, Belgium with a field of 7 skaters in the veterans division.

The event consisted of a 1000m and 500m event with Lars Oritsland taking out both distances with season best times and Belgium skater Martijn Proost taking out overall 2nd place. Although there was only 7 skaters, there was a good mix of countries represented with competitors from Italy, Netherlands, France and Denmark, as well as two local skaters from Belgium.

For the full Veterans results, click here to be taken to the shorttrackonline link.

Frank

Results Updates

2008-04-04T12:57:00.005+08:00

This post is to advise of the most recent additions/updates to blog. All these results can be opened in the side bar.

Located in 'Results'

2008 British Short Track Championships Masters results
2008 Dutch Masters Sprint Event - LT
2008 Ontario Regional Masters event
2008 Danish International Veterans Championship results
1978 World Short Track Championships - Mens and Ladies

Located in 'Records'

World Masters Short Track Records - Unofficial
Canadian Masters Short Track Records
Ontario Masters Short Track Records

Frank

Ian Cavin wins Masters Division at British Short Track Championships

2008-04-04T03:51:00.003+08:00

Ian Cavin of Dundee Speed Skating Club has taken out the Masters division of the British Short Track Championships held in Dundee 29-30th March, 2008.

Ian edged out Alan Dobbie and Barrie Barreto to take out the title.

It's always pleasing to see that the old boys can still go under the 50sec mark in the 500m.

Ian has some history here in Australia, having skated in the National Championships back in 1995, making the final of the 3000m.

The full masters results are listed in the results column.

Frank

Danish International Results

2008-03-30T14:21:00.003+08:00

Attached is the link for the Veteran results from the Danish International Short Track event held in Odense, March 1-2, 2008. It appears like a small field but the times indicate there was some close racing.

Congratulations to the overall winner, Lars ØRITSLAND.

Danish International Veteran Results

Frank

Thanks to Ross for the link info (http://mastersspeedskatingnews.blogspot.com)

World Masters Short Track Records

2008-03-21T14:24:00.004+09:00

I have compiled a list of world best times based on the list of Masters national records that I have access to. World Masters Short Track Times

Obviously it is not totally comprehensive as far as world records, but it is start towards compiling a list of such times as I am unaware of any such list.

All the records listed are from the current national records of Canada, United States, Australia, Scotland and England. Some records of England and Scotland have not been included as I could not verify the age of the competitor at the time of the record (different age brackets) but if I am advised of the skaters DOB at the time, I will happily include the times.

If anyone has access to other country's records, please feel free to direct me to where I can locate them.

Remember, these times are unofficial as far as being world records.

Frank

Jim Lynch Turns 60

2008-03-16T09:34:00.004+09:00

I received a post this morning from Jim Lynch's brother Warwick letting us all know that it is Jim Lynch's 60th Birthday today. Congratulations Jim, we can't wait to see you back at Nationals this year in Sydney.

I think I will be safe in saying Happy Birthday from the World Masters Short Track and Short Track Australia communities. Feel free to post birthday messages here for Jim.

Happy birthday to the first ever short track world champion. See 1978 World Championship post.

Frank - www.worldmastersshorttrack.com

'Just an update on Jimmy.
It's his 60th birthday & we, (His cousins, 3 brothers & our wives) are giving him a restaurant "roast" in Wollongong today.

He is still very active & loves water skiing as well.
He is so fit we're going to try & slow him down. LOL.

Regards Warwick (Lynch) '

16th March 2008

Masters Speed Skating Camp - Calgary

2008-03-10T20:47:00.003+09:00

There is a Masters Speed Skating Camp to be held at the Calgary Oval from the 21st-26th July 2008 for over 30's.

Of course, I think it will be a little too far for me to attend but the link will provide most of the details for anyone wishing to make the trek to Calgary.

It is my understanding that it will cater for both long and short track components. Registration for the event can be found at the above site.

Frank

The Dangers of Short Track

2008-03-10T18:00:00.007+09:00

I was training at a Roos club session a couple of Sundays ago when a fellow veteran skater, Glen Rosenburg, had a lane marker get caught under his boot and he ended up in the boards.

The result was an amazing 10cm laceration across the inside of his right quadriceps muscle, from his left blade hitting the thigh when he went into the boards. With my trauma first aid background, the initial care came down to me and it was clear that it was going to need some surgical intervention.

This photo is obviously post operation! (See link below for the before photo)

Glen ended up with a severed sartorius muscle and some minor damage to the vastus medialus muscle. The wound required 15 external stitches that a rug maker would be proud of!

The pre-operation picture is pretty graphic so only click here if you are not too squeemish!

Glen didn’t ask the surgeons too many questions so he is not sure of whether he had internal stitches as well, but having seen the injury first hand, I imagine he needed several.

Anyway, it just shows how easily a gentle training session can become a lifestyle changing event, even if only for a couple of months.

It was good to see him back the following Sunday supporting his daughter from the sidelines.

I’m sure everyone wishes Glen a speedy recovery and hopefully he will be ready to take a place in the Queensland team to compete in the Duke Trophy state teams event to be held in Brisbane in July.

Frank

New Scottish Record

2008-02-29T13:29:00.003+09:00

Alan Dobbie of Falkirk and Stirling Short Track Speed Skating Club set a new Scottish record in the 3000m on the 22nd of February in Dundee.

Congratulations Alan! The records list has been changed to reflect this new time.

Frank

1978 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships

2008-02-27T16:12:00.004+09:00

I have managed to locate the Mens and Ladies protocols from the first ever World Short Track Championships held in Solihull, England.

The winners were Jim Lynch from Australia in the men’s division and Sarah Doctor from the USA in the ladies division. (Is there anyone that can provide a short biography on Sarah and what her skating history was after this event? It is my understanding that she was only 15 years-old when she won this title).

If you look at the recently posted Australian Veteran's records, you will see that Jim Lynch remained very competetive for a long time. He also features in the 1000m semi-final video featured previously under the 1995 Australian ST Championships video post.

Harry Spragg from England was second in the men’s event and he later became a regular addition to the Australian short track scene.

Hopefully some people will find the results and times interesting.

Frank

Masters Personal Best Times List - 2008

2008-02-18T14:19:00.005+09:00

Well, the Australian racing season kicks off in Brisbane this coming weekend with the Roos club racing event and hopefully we can have a good masters turnout, along with all the other grade skaters of all ages. I am lucky enough to be across here from Perth to skate the opening round and I can't wait!

I am hoping to compile a list of world master skater's PB's during 2008, very similar in format to the Racing Time Analysis used here in Australia, although it will be an honour system for skaters wishing to list their times. If you wish to submit your year's PB times for listing, please email them to the address listed in my profile.

The distances that I will record times for will be 500m, 777m, 1000m, 1500m and 3000m as these appear to be the most common distances in the masters grades.

If you wish to submit your club skaters times for the Masters division, please email me the skater's age, the distance, the time, their club and country, place set and date. If yours/their time is a record of some sort, such as a club, state, provincial or national record, please indicate this as well.

The feedback I have received so far has been positive and I have also had feedback that some skaters would like to be able to compare times and I think this would be a good medium.

I have received a couple of emails from people who have expressed an interest in contributing items on behalf of their skaters and clubs and I very much welcome this. I truly wish this to be a forum for all master skaters around the world and not just Australia. If you have news that you wish to contribute, don't hesitate to email me,

Frank

From the Video Vault - 1995 Australian National Chamionships

2008-02-16T23:01:00.013+09:00

I was hunting through a heap of old videos and I found a few skating videos from the 1995 Australian National Championships held in Brisbane, Queensland.

I have included the 1000m metre semis as well as there are a couple of good races, along with the first ever short track World Champion, Jim Lynch skating. Jim was well into veteran category during these nationals, but he was always trying to keep the younger guys honest.

And I think the most popular suit that year was Richard Nizielski's purple and orange number.

I think all these guys would be of veteran/master status now (I'm pretty sure Warren B would just sneak in or be close to it!)

The overall champion for 1995 was Steven Bradbury.

I have only loaded the 500m and 1000m semis for now as I have had some trouble with the uploader.

Happy watching
Frank

500m Final

Skaters: Richard Nizielski, Warren Bradbury, Steven Bradbury, Richard Goeriltz.

1000m Semi-Finals

Skaters - semi #1: Steven Bradbury, Kieran Hansen, Warren Bradbury, Andrew Jovecevic.
Skaters - semi #2: Richard Nizielski, Jim Lynch (in red), Richard Goerlitz, Nick Heinecke.

European Trip

2008-02-07T19:00:00.001+09:00

As I indicated in an earlier post, I spent the Christmas break traveling through the south western part of Europe, namely France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

Although the trip was primarily a family holiday, I made sure that I got my share of winter sports in under my belt.

Here is a video, albeit very grainy, of me skating my first ever long track event - the 500m of the Swiss Masters Individual Distance competition. Once again, a lot of one sided cheering from my support crew!

The technique certainly needs some transition work from short to long track but it was all good fun, even in ST skates with a 9m radius!!!

Day two was a bit heavy on the old snow and it definately kept the track stewards busy. You can see from this photo how deep the snow was getting - it just never let up. I have an amazing appreciation for the old time long trackers who skated these types of outdoor arenas, but it was a great experience.

Prior to the competition, I managed to sneak in 7 days of skiing at Puy St Vincent. The view was amazing and it wasn't overly expensive. Although the room was quite small and run down, it was all we needed at the end of a day of skiing and a couple of glasses of Gluwein.

After Davos, we drove to Munich and Frankfurt where I was able to attend a couple of training sessions. I really enjoyed Munich, both for the city and for the training facility. Apparently, you can train on the oval each night from 5.30 to 8.30pm and pay nothing except your club fees at the start of the season, which was 85 Euro.

Hopefully next year we can travel to North America and have a skate around up there. I guess it just means working more overtime again for this year!

Anyway, I would really love to hear from other skaters about their travels and results.

Frank

2007 Australian Short Track Championships Video

2008-02-03T11:09:00.000+09:00

I have finally got around to transferring and converting the video from the 2007 Nationals held at Boondall in Brisbane in October.

The video is a little shaky at times due to my inexperienced videographer wife and there is also a little bit of one sided barracking, but you get that. Happy watching!

Results:

Overall National Champion - Herbie Labiche - Roos Club QLD
2nd Overall - Frank Anderson - Roos Club QLD
3rd Overall - Alan Luscombe - Sydney Arrows NSW

Frank

1500m Veterans Final - 2007 Australian Nationals - Winner: Herbie Labiche

500m Veterans Final - 2007 Australian Nationals

500m Veterans Final Restart - 2007 Australian Nationals - Winner: Frank Anderson

1000m Veterans Final - 2007 Australian Nationals - Winner: Herbie Labiche

2008-01-29T21:14:00.000+09:00

Hi all. Sorry for no recent posts but I have been away since mid December on a family skiing holiday and another three weeks away in Adelaide for work on a Krav Maga course.

Whilst away, I managed to get in some racing on the Davos oval in the Swiss Masters Individual Distance Championship. It had always been a goal of mine to have a race in a long track event and at 36 I finally managed to do it, and I must admit that I am hooked and hopefully I can get away to Europe or North America for some long and short track masters events early next year - any other Aussie masters keen to join me?????. Anyway, I managed to chalk up a second place in the 500m but the distance events were a non-event for me as I only had fixed short track blades, but in the end, it was all about participation.

I then managed to have a skate on the Munich and Frankfurt ovals and was welcomed with open arms at both venues. The reception was warm at both places, although everyone was slightly surprised to have an Aussie keen on having a skate on the ovals. It was really nice to have some old boys asking about Danny Kah, Mike Richmond and Colin Coates when in Davos – great to see that these Aussies have a good name overseas long after their heyday.

Anyway, I ended up with some nice photos and some video of races so hopefully I will post those when I get home from this Law Enforcement Krav Maga course in Adelaide.
I will be home for two weeks then I’m back off to Brisbane to skate with my club – The Roos and my first club racing for 2008. Hopefully I can better those Aussie records again!

Frank

Center State Speed Skating Results - December

2007-12-22T04:38:00.000+09:00

The results from the recent above meet will be found in the results tab to the right.

Thankyou to Jenn Barber for the results,

Frank

World Winter Masters Games 2010?

2007-12-08T09:41:00.001+09:00

Exert copied from shorttrackaustralia.com

World Masters Games

From Ellis Southie:

Hi Everyone,The 2009 Sydney Masters Games organisers have advised that Short Track will not be part of the program of events due to the policy of having only summer sports.However they have announced that the town of Bled in Slovenia will host the first World Winter Masters Games in 2010 and that Short Track will most likely be one of the sports on the program.

Regards
Ellis

I suggest this gives all the world masters time to save up to make it to the first World Winter Masters Games and to make them a success.

Here is a site for Bled in Slovenia. Thanks to Andrew McNee for providing this information.

http://www.bled.si/en

Frank

National Records

2007-12-08T09:29:00.000+09:00

I have started a list of the different national records that I have located off the net. The first ones posted are the British and Scottish records.

If anyone has access to their country's masters national records that are not listed here, please let me know and send them to me and I will post them up.

I will post up the Australian masters records as soon as they are updated by the AIR as a restructure of the age groups has seen new records set over the last few months and these need to be ratified.

Frank

Australian Masters

2007-12-04T21:05:00.000+09:00

Although this site is dedicated to short track speed skating, I will be slowly adding a list of Australian speed skaters and their past successes in both short track and long track.

All these skaters will be at least in the 35-and-over age bracket, but their results have shaped the sport in Australia, some with their skating, and then later contributing as world-class equipment producers.

If there are any Australian skaters that you would specifically like researched, then drop me a line and I'll do my best to supply their skating bios.

Frank

Welcome

2007-12-03T22:27:00.000+09:00

I wanted to commence a blog after a fellow skater, Andrew McNee, started a very successful site about Australian short track speed skating.
Just over twelve months ago, I got the old skates back on and remembered the fun of skating around that 111m oval.
Now that I'm a veteran/master class skater and just starting to travel the world, I have found that there is very limited information about events for us older class of skater who want to have some seriously fun racing.
My goal is to use this blog as an information sharing portal for all areas of the world. I use for example, the fact that I will be travelling to Europe in a few weeks, but I have found very little information about any short track events, and found it even harder to try and find a long track event to skate at.
Feel free to post any competitions or results or send me an email with details or news at thenewbordersecurity@aapt.net.au,

Cheers
Frank

2008 Australian Short Track Championships - Masters