Official's Guide to Speed Skating Canada Short Track Officiating 2026-27

Yes at sanctioned events. Red Book C5-100 says officials at SSC sanctioned competitions and events must hold an active, issued membership with Speed Skating Canada. This applies to the Meet/Event Coordinator, Chief Referee, Assistant and Video Referees, Chief Starter and Assistant Starters, Competitor Stewards, Heat Box Stewards, Finish Line Judges, Timers, Photo Finish Judge and E-Timer, Track Stewards, Track Judges, Lap Scorers and Recorders, and Announcers.

At Ability and Age Class sanctioned events, officials are assigned by the event host and must be members in good standing with SSC (B6-500, B7-700). At SSC Championships and National sanctioned events, officials are appointed through the selection procedure in the Red Book's Appendix A, administered by SSC staff, and their expenses are reimbursed under SSC's financial policies and volunteer expense reimbursement guidelines (B5-900, B8-500).

Red Book C5-313 lists the officials required whatever timing system is used:

• Chief Referee
• Assistant Referee(s)
• Starters (Chief and Assistants)
• Competitor Steward(s) / Competition Coordinator(s)
• Heat Box Steward
• Lap Scorer
• Lap Recorder
• Announcer
• Track Stewards

Timing roles are added depending on the system: Chief Timer and Timers with a Chief Finish Line Judge and Finish Line Judges for manual timing; a Chief Photo Finish / E-Timer and Assistant Photo Finish for photo finish; an E-Timer for transponders or video timing. A Video Referee sits with the video review system when one is used.

The Chief Referee decides all points of dispute and infringements of rules that can result in a penalty, and the decision is final (Red Book C5-301). In addition to the duties in ISU Rule 286, the Chief Referee:

1. Ensures a safe and welcoming environment for all participants and volunteers.
2. May alter the announced program if it does not conflict with the regulations. At SSC Championships and selection events (Canada Cups) this can only be done in consultation with the SSC Technical Representative(s).
3. May add a skater who was in a qualifying position to the next round, solely at their discretion, if the skater was prevented from qualifying by an offence resulting in a penalization or by any other reason not caused by the skater's own direct or indirect action.
4. Calls out of a race any competitor the referee disqualifies.
5. Suspends an entrant from that day's remaining events if they fail to compete in a race they qualified for, unless adequate reason is given.
6. May prohibit any competitor, official or coach from attending part or all of a competition for abusive language, disrespect or dangerous behaviour toward officials or competitors. The incident is reported in the Chief Referee's report to SSC.
7. Ensures only authorized skaters and officials are on the track during a race.

The Chief Referee also carries out the technical inspection of facilities and equipment, whose approval is needed before the competition starts.

Under Red Book C5-302 and ISU Rule 286, the Assistant Referee(s):

• Report to the Chief Referee any infringement of the rules throughout the competition.
• May be positioned off the ice, as the Chief Referee decides, to best serve the event or race.
• Direct skaters to their starting positions over their starting dot and make sure they are ready to start.
• Record their observations, either electronically or in writing, and report them to the referee (verbally after each race if written).

The Video Referee is located where the video review system is set up and must be able to communicate with the Chief Referee. At ISU level, assistant referees video watch the video replay system during all races and report to the referee. The referee may view the replay at full speed, slow motion or still picture, except for detecting false starts.

Starter (Red Book C5-303, ISU Rule 286):

• Decides all disputes relating to the start.
• Controls the starting procedure and takes a position with a clear view of all skaters starting.
• May use a starter pistol, a whistle or another approved signalling device.
• In relays, fires the gun to signal the last three laps after being warned by the lap scorer.
• Can recall a start, or designate another starter to call skaters back after a false start.

Assistant Starter (C5-304): may recall the race if a false start occurs.

SSC publishes a Manual for Starters (January 2022) and a Starter Competition Assessment form on its officials resources page.

Competitor Steward (SSC) / Competition Coordinator (ISU): if no Competitors' Steward is named to a competition, the Competition Coordinator takes over the duties (Red Book C5-305). Duties include checking skater eligibility, making up the races for each round from the results, drawing the order of races and telling skaters which race they start in (ISU Rule 286). Before the first round, if no seeding criterion is set, the Competitors' Steward randomly assigns starting positions using competition software, or by lot if the software cannot be used (C6-200).

Heat Box Steward: works in the staging area called the heat box and checks that the skaters for the upcoming race are on the ice before closing the entrance to the ice. Any omission is reported to the referee before the race.

Announcer: keeps spectators, officials, coaches and skaters informed, and announces sanctions if the referee asks. At SSC Championships and Canada Cup events announcements must be in English and French. At other events they are made in the official language(s) of the province or territory hosting the event, and may also be made in additional languages (Red Book C5-311).

Track stewards work on the ice, at the ends of the track, and replace missing track blocks.

Numbers (Red Book C5-312):

• SSC Championship, national and international sanctioned events: preferably three, but at least two, at each end of the track.
• Other events: a minimum of one track steward, where the speed and ability of the skaters do not justify more support.

Requirements: track stewards must be experienced skaters and able to communicate effectively with the referee. They are positioned so they do not interfere with skaters and officials but can readily replace missing blocks. They are among the few officials allowed on the ice while a race is running (with the referee and assistant referees).

It depends on the timing system (Red Book C5-313 and C5-308):

• Photo finish (primary): a Chief Photo Finish / E-Timer and an Assistant Photo Finish. The photo finish judge reads the photo and reports the order of finish and times.
• Manual timing (primary or backup): a Chief Timer and Timers, plus a Chief Finish Line Judge and Finish Line Judges.
• Transponders (backup timing and live stream data): an E-Timer.
• Video timing (backup only): an E-Timer, or a Timer under the E-Timer's supervision.

The Chief Finish Line Judge determines the official order of finish when there is no photo finish system, or if the system fails.

Lap officials (required regardless of timing system): the Lap Scorer shows the laps still to skate by the leading skater, turning the lap board each time the leader passes, and rings the bell for the last lap. The Lap Recorder keeps a lap-by-lap written record of the leader's lap times and checks the Lap Scorer (ISU Rule 286).

The Red Book says short track officials' duties follow the ISU Special Regulations and Technical Rules Short Track (2026 edition; Rules 295 and 296 cover racing and sanctions).

Infractions (ISU Rule 295.2): Off-Track, Impeding, Assistance, Kicking-Out and Embellishment. They are sanctioned only if the facts are clear and obvious and no shared responsibility is established. The general racing rule is that skaters must contribute to the honest, sporting and safe progress of the race so the result is decided on its merits. Relays also have Relaying Non Touch and Relaying During the Last Two Laps.

Sanctions (ISU Rule 296):

• Penalty: for a racing rule infringement. The skater is disqualified from that race and excluded from the next round of that distance.
• Yellow card: for an unsafe, unsportsmanlike, harmful or hazardous offence, or for more than one independent Impeding and/or Kicking-Out penalty in one race.
• Red card: for an infringement deemed dangerous or grossly negligent, for two yellow cards in the same event, or for non-compliance with an official's instructions or a breach of the ISU Code of Ethics.
• Shared responsibility: if simultaneous actions of two or more skaters cause a minor contact with no effect on the result, the referee may decide that no penalty is given to anyone.

The referee's decision on an infringement is final and cannot be protested. Sanctions are announced at the end of each race, before the official results.

Under Red Book C11-200:

• Yellow card: the skater is penalized in that race and forfeits prior points or results over that distance (a distance is the set of seeded races from the first round to the final). Results from earlier distances are not affected.
• YC-2: a single yellow card given for two racing rule infractions in the same race.
• YC-B (behavioural yellow card): a yellow card for a behavioural offence unrelated to racing rule infractions.
• Double yellow: two yellow cards in the same competition automatically become a red card. The skater is excluded from the competition immediately and is not ranked in the final classification.
• Reporting: at national-level competitions the Chief Referee, or the Competitor Steward on the Chief Referee's behalf, reports yellow and red cards to SSC.
• Suspension: two red cards or four yellow cards within 12 months means an automatic 60-day suspension from all SSC sanctioned competitions. Days between the last sanctioned event of one season and the first of the next do not count.
• Card list: SSC keeps a national list of carded skaters and sends it to the Competitor Steward and Competition Coordinator for each national event. It must not be shared with the Chief Referee before or during the competition, so as not to bias the referee.

At SSC Championship, national or international events, a behavioural red card in short track also applies in long track, and vice versa. Competition bulletins can vary these rules, particularly for high performance or youth events.

Helmet: the Red Book (D4-100) requires all on-ice short track officials to wear a helmet that is ASTM F 1849 certified or CSA approved. That means a speed skating, hockey, snowboard/ski or skateboarding helmet, securely fastened under the chin at all times.

Skates and dress (ISU Rule 286): on-ice officials should be appropriately dressed and must wear speed skates.

Who is on the ice: only the referee, assistant referee(s) and track stewards may be on the ice while a race is running. Other officials, for example to operate equipment, need the referee's permission. The Chief Referee must also ensure nobody except authorized skaters and officials is on the track during a race (Red Book C5-301).

Speed Skating Canada (SSC) publishes them on its officials resources page, https://speedskating.ca/resource-categories/officials/. It lists:

• Procedures and Regulations ("Red Book"), version July 16, 2026, plus a Summary of Changes 2026.
• Manual for Starters (January 2022).
• Assessment forms for starters, referees and competitors' stewards.
• Short track track diagrams for 26m x 60m and 30m x 60m rinks.
• SSC Penalties Template for the 2026-27 season.
• 2026-27 SSC officials' assignments (team lists).

The Red Book says officiating procedures are contained in the officials manuals for each specialty, and that short track officials' duties follow ISU Rule 286 except where the Red Book adapts them for Canada.