clhs sciblog

One of the most important parts in speed skating or any skating is the skates. There is short-track speed skating and long-track speed skating. The shape of the skates plays an important part in both events. In short-track speed skating, speed is the most important thing. The whole track is pretty much corners. the two main features of the shape of the skates for cornering are the rocker and the bend. The rocker refers to the small arc of the bottom edge of the skate blade. the bend is the small bowing of the whole blade as it just barely curves along the length of the boot. In short-track, the athletes have to lean the direction they are turning. So the blade has to have the arc cut into it if they carve around in a circle. Long-track speed skaters used a fixed blade that was fully attached to the boot of the skate in the late 1990s. A new design called the klapskate added a hinge and improved speeds. The advantage of the klapskate is that it extends the duration of the push. The klap lies between the boot and skate blade. That allows the skaters to raise the heel of their back foot during their stride without removing the blade from the ice. The klap lets skaters change their form, extending the stride by flexing the foot and calf muscles. To read more, click here.

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