Regarding the comments on the bumping in the 1500, this article came up in my Google search today and might expain part of the problem:
That's not how we roll: short-track skaters don't like roller derby comparison
JENNIFER DITCHBURN
February 17, 2010 9:00 a.m.
VANCOUVER - Here's a sure-fire way to tick off short-track speedskaters: compare their sport to roller derby.
The analogy pops up daily in reporting on the Games, particularly after the spectacular wipe-out of two South Koreans in Saturday's thrilling 1,500-metre final.
In just one of the hundreds of examples on the web, Australia's Sydney Morning Herald wrote last week that short track was "a frenzied free-for-all. Think roller derby on ice."
If it were up to the athletes, "roller derby" would be a banned phrase in speedskating coverage.
"My sport is not roller derby," Canadian short-track speedskater Kalyna Roberge said flatly, when asked what spectators should know about her sport. Roberge is a medal favourite in Wednesday's women's 500 metres.
"It's a mix between speed and technique. Technically, you need to be smart, you need to be strong, you need to skate good."
The roller derby comparison is tempting, because of the circuit format and the hair-raising passes that sometimes send the skaters careening into the boards.
But short-track speedskating is not a contact sport like roller derby, where bumping and blocking are an integral part of the "jam."
In fact, intentional pushing and blocking are not allowed in short-track speedskating. Skaters can wind up disqualified from a race if they engage in contact that impedes another athlete, or if they suddenly cross into another skater's path and block them — an infraction known as crosstracking.
More critically, short-track speedskaters don't have wheels on their feet, they have blades that can inflict terrible damage in a pile-up.
"In a race, you never want that to happen," said Canadian medal hopeful Charles Hamelin. "Not only can you lose a race, but you could injure yourself seriously. It's really terrible when that happens, everyone is disappointed and everyone is disconcerted."
Spectators might notice that short-track athletes seem to touch each other on the lower back, particularly in corners where they can come in at speeds of 60 kilometres per hour. Skaters explain that they do this to avoid bumping into their competitors when they approach at too much of a clip.
Little elbow or arm bumps in tight passes will sometimes be overlooked too. The ISU told teams competing at this year's Games that they would be less strict with this type of contact.But there's a fine calculation to be made.
A touch that causes another skater to lose their balance or position can result in DQ call. A skater who falls because of another athlete's interference can be advanced by the referee, as happened to Canadian Olivier Jean last Saturday.
And a bump can send both the bumper and bumpee on to their rears.
"It's very rules oriented," says women's team coach Sebastien Cros. "Normally contact is prohibited, but there's always a little and after it lies with the judge referees."
Canadian team leader Yves Hamelin says early comparisons to roller derby might have arisen from the more tactical style of the sport decades ago. Nowadays, there is more collegiality. Where a skater might have not allowed a rival in on a tight pass, now competitors are more careful about avoiding spills.
Hamelin adds that short-track athletes in 2010 achieve remarkable speeds and work with high-performance trainers and physiotherapists.
"You can't let yourself rely anymore on winning a race based on your finesse and your ability to manage a course tactically. Your physical condition has to be absolutely solid."
www.metronews.ca/ottawa/sports/article/454495--that-s-not-how-we-roll-short-track-skaters-don-t-like-roller-derby-comparison
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Awesome race, well take Bronze!! The Koreans are fierce!!
