What is Speed Skating?

Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the skaters race each other over a predetermined distance. Speed skates, with their long thin blades, allow the skaters to move with both speed and grace. While racing for the fastest time offers a great opportunity for competitive minds, speed skating is also a great conditioning and strength training for the whole body, suitable to all ages and skill levels. There are two types of speed skating—long-track speed skating and short-track speed skating.

Long-track speed skating requires a specialized 400-meter ice oval. The closest indoor (year-round) rink of this kind is located in Inzell, Bavaria. However, each winter in Switzerland, you can skate outdoors on two 400-meter long-tracks for as long as weather permits; one of these tracks is located in Davos, the other one is prepared right on the frozen lake in St. Moritz.

Where Can You Do Speed-Skating in Basel?

While Basel doesn’t have a 400-meter ice oval, the unique set-up of the three ice rinks side-by-side at the Kunsteisbahn Margarethen in Gundeli allows for a quasi-long-track oval that is 240-meters long. Every Sunday morning, the doors are open on all three rinks creating an oval ice-field that attracts a die-hard community of speed skaters that act out their need for speed. All levels are welcome so if you think that you would enjoy the fresh wind in your face while you glide along the track on a quiet Sunday morning, why not give it a try? To come for trial on a Sunday morning, write an email to schnelllauf@ecbb.ch (German or English) and provide your shoe size to borrow the specialized skates.

Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive speed skating that usually involves multiple skaters on a hockey-sized skating rink. The Eislauf Club beider Basel (Skating Club of both Basels, https://www.ecbb.ch) would like to generate interest in this sport and will be offering a free short-track speed skating trial at the Kunsteisbahn Margarethen on October 21 from 18:45 – 20:45. Entrance and specialized skate rental will be free for this event. All levels and ages are welcome, as are English-speakers; simply use the QR code to register your interest (and shoe size), fill out the form at https://forms.gle/e2gbETZ9bTCrzWJS6, or send an email to schnelllauf@ecbb.ch. For any other questions about the offers of the ECBB you can also contact them at info@ecbb.ch.

Ice Sports in Basel

Ice season is officially open in Basel! To learn all about all of the different ice sports on offer—from ice hockey to figure skating and curling—see our post “Ice Sports in Basel.” To learn more about the six ice rinks in the region, see the article “Ice Rinks in the Basel Region.”

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