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you only live twice
one life for yourself and one for your dreams
What, you say, are parallels between short track speedskating and horse racing?
One reason why I like to watch short track is because it's just like watching horse racing! Well, almost anyways!! They are both really exciting! Short track skaters have to have a smart strategy and clever moves to maneuver through the field like how the jockeys in a good, deep horse race have to place their mounts at the ideal spots within striking position. If you're like me and like horse racing, then you'll definitely like short track cuz the fields are always full and the finished are always close!
Short Track is skated on a 111 meter track inside an international size hockey rink that is 30 x 60 meters, as opposed to long track that is contested on a 400 meter track. Call it bull ring versus a mile long oval if you wanna use horse racing lingo. Just like in horse racing, winners are determined by order of finish as the skaters compete against each other and time is kept only for the purpose of records. The skater finishes the race when the tip of the blade on the skate hits the wire, like how horses' noses determine who finished first. Disqualifications happen all the time, maybe even more than in horse racing. Deliberately pushing, blocking, or colliding with another skater is grounds for a dq. Cross-tracking, the equivalent to the often heard "failure to maintain a straight course," is also a disqualifiable offense. Unlike horse racing where the stewards' decisions can be challenged under certain circumstances, in short track the referee's rulings are final and cannot be challenged. One thing that I find interesting is the fact that in short track, the judges and referees do not use video when making decisions. This is markedly different from horse racing where the stewards watch video of the race from all different angles to make sure they are seeing all there is to see. I guess the referee better be watching carefully then!
Racing surface is also important in both sports. Most horses will be able to run at their best when the track is labeled "fast," in other words dry and just the right amount of hardness. Speedskaters, unlike figure skaters want the ice to be hard and fast so their blades won't sink in. Soft ice with lots of water on it will slow down a skater just like a muddy or sloppy track will slow down a horse.
Just like horses who do well racing on bull rings, short trackers have good turn of foot. Think of short trackers as quarter horse built as opposed to long trackers who are slimmer like thoroughbreds. Some jockeys ride acey-deucy, so do short trackers compared to long trackers. The blades in short track are firmly mounted on the boot and they are also offset to the left to allow greater lean and balance in the tight turns. In addition to that, protective equipment (helmet, gloves, neck and shin guards) is required. A racehorse rider's protective equipment are helmet and flak jacket.
check out Tyler Baze, horse racing's own Apolo! ^_^
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