Hello competitors!
Please review these rules of skating and if you have any questions, you can ask senior skaters, coaches, long-time member parents. We are here to help!
Race rules 101
Penalty (may still be called disqualification or DQ)
The general racing rule is that the skaters by their way of skating shall contribute to the honest sporting and safe progress of the race in order to determine the result of the race on its merits.
Actions that can cause a skater to be penalized:
- Missing Equipment– helmet, helmet cover, glasses, glasses strap, neck guard, gloves, ankle guard, all skin from neck down must be covered.
- Removal of any Equipment when on ice surface.
- False start– skater moves or touches the start line before starter gun has been fired. First false start in a race no penalty. Second false start in a race, the racer responsible is disqualified.
- Off track –racers need to skate around all the blocks. If skater goes inside they must backtrack and go around block on the outside.
- Passing –is allowed at all times, but until the skaters are beside each other the responsibility for any obstruction or collision falls on the skater making the pass (provided the skater being passed does not act improperly).
- Impeding, blocking, charging, or pushing another skater with
- any part of the body. Interfere with another skater by crossing his/her course thereby causing contact.
- Assistance–Each Skater shall compete as an individual. Any assistance from other Skaters will be cause for sanctions of all skaters involved. This will not apply to the push the skater receives from their Team-mate in a Relay race.
- Kicking out –any skate during any part of a race thereby causing danger including at the finish line or throwing the body across the finish line is forbidden.
- Abusive language towards the officials/dangerous behavior or actions towards other competitors or misconduct.
Penalty outcomes:
- Skaters will be penalized for part (Yellow card) or the whole of the competition (Red Card). In the case of a Red Card, a description of the incident shall be included in the Chief Referee’s report to be sent to SSC Head Office for further action and distribution to the appropriate committee(s), if warranted.
- Penalty in a heat will be placed into the lowest final.
- Penalty in a semi-final will be placed into the lowest eligible final.
- Penalty in the final, will receive last place points for that final, behind any skaters who did not finish (DNF) the race, but ahead of skaters who did not start (DNS) the race. All disqualified skaters in a final receive last place points.
- Order of finish – DNF – DQ – DNS.
FYI
- At a meet if a skater fails to compete in any race for which he is qualified, the Referee shall suspend him from further competition in that day’s events unless adequate reason is given for his not having competed, prior to the race being missed.
- Recalling the Start–If a skater is interfered with and falls within ten (10) meters of the start, the race may be called back at the discretion of the Starter.