Montreal to celebrate short track speed skating

Home Montreal to celebrate short track speed skating

Speed Skating Canada – The event will take place March 16-18 at Maurice-Richard Arena

Montreal, March 14, 2018 – A few weeks after battling it out at the Olympic Games in PyeongChang, the top short track speed skaters in the world will now compete in Montreal for the ISU World Championships which is set to take place March 16-18 at Maurice Richard Arena.

A total of 132 athletes will represent 37 countries, a record number in the history of this ISU competition that will be presented this year by Patinage de vitesse international Montréal (PAVIM) on behalf of Speed Skating Canada, and which will be held for the 43rd time. These skaters will show what they can do in front of sellout crowds of 4,500 spectators per day during the final rounds.

They will face off in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m events, as well as in the 3000m Super Final that will involve the top eight athletes per gender in overall standings following the first three individual events, and also in the relay races. World championship titles will be awarded to the winner of each event and to the skaters who finish first in the men’s and women’s overall standings.

Among the athletes in action, almost all the medalists from the PyeongChang Olympic Games, including three-time medalists Kim Boutin of Canada and Arianna Fontana from Italy, will be in Montreal.

The reigning men’s world champion, Seo Yi Ra of South Korea, will vye to retain his title while on the women’s side, last year’s overall winner, Elise Christie of Great Britain, will not be on hand, giving other skaters an opportunity to go for the world title.

A sound and light experience never seen before in Montreal

Fans of speed, thrills and extreme sports will see short track speed skating like they have never seen it before as there will be a sound and light show that is unprecedented in the history of this sport in Montreal and Canada. A DJ will keep the fun going off the ice during the pauses in action on the ice.

Outside the facility, families will be able to come and have fun with inflatable games available before racing starts and to treat themselves at an exterior maple grove with its fresh maple syrup on snow and other maple products, as well as at food trucks. Inside, spectators will be able to visit numerous kiosks and concession stands.

The competition will begin on Friday, March 16 with qualifying for the weekend’s final rounds. Racing will kick off at 9:10 am and finish around 3:46 pm. Only on this day, when more than 2,000 kids will be in attendance as part of a school program, admission will be free.

On Saturday, ranking races will take place from 9:55 am to 11:38 am. The final rounds for the 1500m and 500m events, to be followed by the relay semifinals, will start at 1:32 pm on Saturday and end around 5:26 pm. They will be followed by the medal ceremonies.

And on Sunday, the final rounds for the 1000m in addition to the 3000m super finals and the relays, will go on from 1:02 pm to 4:08 pm, followed as well by the medal ceremonies.

Live on CBC Sports

For those who were unable to get tickets in time, the final rounds will be broadcast live on CBC from 5 pm to 6 pm (ET) on Saturday, March 17, and the next day from 4 pm to 5 pm (ET) as part of the weekly CBC Sports program Road To The Olympic Games. In addition, CBC Sports will webcast all the races live at cbcsports.ca as well as on the CBC Sports application for iOS and Android devices. CBC Sports was chosen by the ISU as the host broadcaster of the World Championships.

In French, the competition will be broadcast in its entirety live on TVA Sports 2 on Saturday, March 17 from 1 pm to 6 pm, and on TVA Sports on Sunday, March 18 from 1:30 pm to 5 pm.

Corporate partners and sponsors

Patinage de vitesse international de Montréal (PAVIM), the organizing committee for the 2018 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, would like to thank:

Associates for the presentation of the event: International Skating Union (ISU), Speed Skating Canada and the Fédération de patinage de vitesse du Québec

Partners from the public sector: Government of Canada, Government of Québec and City of Montreal

Official partners: KPN, Liqui Moly and Sinorama

Major partners: Tourism Montreal, Olympic Park, Hôtel Universel

Media partners: CBC Sports and TVA Sports

Supply partners: Montréal-Trudeau Airport, Li-Ning, Solotech and Spordle

Additional details are available on the website of the 2018 ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships at www.montreal2018.ca.

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For information:

Patrick Godbout

Communications & Media Relations Manager

Speed Skating Canada

Email: pgodbout@speedskating.ca