Speed Skating Canada
Encyclopedia
Speed Skating Canada is the governing body for competitive long track and short track speed skating
Speed skating
Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...

 in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was founded in 1887, five years before the International Skating Union
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...

 of which SSC later became a member in 1894.

History

In 1854, three British army officers raced on the St. Lawrence River, going from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 to Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

, which marked Canada's first recorded ice skating race. It is believed that from then on, ice skating races became a part of Canadian culture
Culture of Canada
Canadian culture is a term that explains the artistic, musical, literary, culinary, political and social elements that are representative of Canada and Canadians, not only to its own population, but people all over the world. Canada's culture has historically been influenced by European culture and...

.

In 1887, the Amateur Skating Association of Canada was formed. That year, the first official speed skating championships took place. At that time, figure skating and speed skating shared an organization, however the needs of the speed skaters were predominant. In 1894, the Amateur Skating Association of Canada became the first non-European organization to be a member of the International Skating Union
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...

.

In 1905, short track speed skating
Short track speed skating
Short track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m...

 was created and gaining popularity in Canada and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

In 1939, the figure skaters formed their own organization and thus the Amateur Skating Association of Canada was made up of speed skaters only. Now that it was a speed skating only organization, the name was changed to the Canadian Amateur Speed Skating Association (or CASSA) in 1960.

It was not until 2000 that CASSA changed their name, yet again, to Speed Skating Canada.

Structure

The organization is governed by the Board of Directors which is elected by the members. It is composed of the President, the Athletes Director, the Treasurer, and five Directors at Large.

Branches

Speed Skating Canada is split up into thirteen branches, each representing a Canadian province or territory
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

, as follows:
  • Alberta Amateur Speed Skating Association
  • British Columbia Speed Skating Association
  • Manitoba Speed Skating Association
  • Newfoundland & Labrador Speed Skating Association
  • Nunavut Speed Skating Association
  • NWT Amateur Speed Skating Association
  • Ontario Speed Skating Association
  • Quebec Speed Skating Federation
  • Saskatchewan Amateur Speed Skating Association
  • Speed Skate New-Brunswick
  • Speed Skate Nova Scotia
  • Speed Skate PEI
  • Yukon Amateur Speed Skating Association
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