1642 The first known skating club, the Skating Club of Edinburgh, was formed.

1763 The world's first organized speed skating race was held on the Fens in England , covering a distance of slightly more than 24 kms.

1850 The fledgling sport found its way to North America , where a lighter, sharper and longer all-steel blade was first produced.

1889 The Dutch organized the first world championship with skaters covering four distances — 500 m, 1,500 m, 5,000 m and 10,000 m.

1892 The International Skating Union (ISU) was formed in the Netherlands

1854 Canada 's first recorded ice skating race took place on the St. Lawrence River when three British army officers raced from Montréal to Québec City .

1887 The Amateur Skating Association of Canada , the young country's first sport association, was formed. in

1887 They staged their first official championship.

1894 They became the first non-European body to join the ISU.

1897 Three countries, Norway , Germany and Canada , contested the World Speed Skating Championship in Montréal with the world title going to Winnipegger Jack McCulloch.

1905 The sport of short track speed skating, characterized by the mass start, originated in Canada and the United States

1909 The first known short track competition took place.

1920's & 1930's Crowds regularly packed New York's Madison Square Gardens in anticipation of the thrills and spills that characterize the sport of short track speed skating. At the same time, it was gaining popularity in Great Britain , Japan , France , Belgium , and Australia

1960 The name of the Amateur Skating Association of Canada was changed to the Canadian Amateur Speed Skating Association.

1967 Short track speed skating became part of the ISU although it would be some time before ISU-sanctioned competitions were organized on a world-wide basis. In the meantime, Great Britain , Belgium , France , Australia , New Zealand , Canada , and the United States competed among themselves.

1977 An official ISU competition was launched.

1981 The first short track World Championship was held at Meudon-la-Forêt , France .

1984 The name of the discipline was changed to Indoor Short Track Speed Skating and the use of a hard shell helmet became mandatory.

1988 Short track speed skating made its Olympic debut as a demonstration event at the Calgary Winter Olympic Games.

1992 Short track speed skating received full medal status came at the Albertville Winter Games. This catapulted short track into the public eye and the sport arena. Canada captured three short track medals: silver in the men's relay, Frédéric Blackburn's silver in the 1,000 m and gold in the women's relay.

2000 The name Canadian Amateur Speed Skating Association was changed to Speed Skating Canada

Despite its relatively short history, short track speed skating has produced many illustrious moments — many of which have belonged to Canadians. In the early days, it was common for world long track champions to race in short tracks. One of the first stars was Lela Brooks, who is still regarded as one of Canada 's foremost female athletes.

Domination of the discipline has seesawed between Canada and the United States with the Canadians taking the early honours and the Americans dominating the scene from 1940 to 1960. For the next couple of decades, titles were shared between Americans and Canadians, with such familiar names as Gaétan Boucher and Sylvie Daigle taking world titles. At the same time, Japan began to emerge as a powerhouse.

At the 1994 World Championship, Marc Gagnon became the first male back to back World Champion, while Frédéric Blackburn and Derrick Campbell finished 2nd and 4th overall. Nathalie Lambert captured her third World Championship title, while the women's relay team won its 9th consecutive relay title. The Women's team also captured the World Team Championship in Cambridge, Ontario. The Men's team finished second.

The 1994 Olympic Games were also very good for the short track team. Nathalie Lambert won one individual silver medal in the 1,000 m and the women's relay team won a silver despite a fall. Marc Gagnon won a bronze medal in the 1,000 m while the men's relay team finished 4th

In 1995, the men's team became the World Team Champion and in the process broke the World Record in the 5,000 m Relay. Marc Gagnon and Frédéric Blackburn finished 2nd and 3rd respectively at the World Short Track Championships. The women's team also finished third at the World Team Championships. Finally, Patrice Lapointe and Jonathan Guilmette both finished 2nd overall at the Junior World Championships while Catherine Dussault finished third on the women's side.

In 1996, Marc Gagnon regained his World Championship title while the men's team successfully retained its World Team Champion status. Isabelle Charest broke the World record in the 500 m and finished third overall at the World 78 Championships. Jean-François Monette won the Junior World Short Track Championships. 1997, Marc Gagnon finished 2nd overall the World Short Track Championships and Derrick Campbell finished 3rd overall. At these Championships, Isabelle Charest broke the World record in the 500 m, the women's team captured the gold in the relay and the Men's team finished 2nd in the relay.

The 1998 season was another successful year for the Canadian Short Track team. The 5,000 m relay team of Marc Gagnon, Derrick Campbell, Éric Bédard and François Drolet won the Olympic and World Championships Gold medals. Mathieu Turcotte joined them in winning the World Team Championships. Éric Bédard surprised many in winning a bronze in Nagano in the 1,000 m in only his first full year on the Canadian team. Marc Gagnon regained his overall World title, his fourth in six years, by winning the 1,000 m and 1,500 m races, and Éric Bédard claimed a silver in the 500 m at the Worlds. Annie Perreault became one of the most decorated female Winter Olympians that Canada has ever known by winning the 500 m gold medal in Nagano and teaming up with Isabelle Charest, Tania Vicent and Christine Boudrias to win a bronze medal in the 3,000 m relay. She followed up her Olympic performance by bringing home a silver medal in the 500 m from the World Championships.

The women's team placed third at the World Team Championships. François-Louis Tremblay finished first overall at the World Junior Championships and Andrew Lahey came in third.

The 98-99 season was crowned with success. Both the men and women's teams finished 2nd at World Team Championships. Andrew Quinn won bronze at the World Champion-ships, finishing 3rd in the 1,000 m. François-Louis Tremblay finished 3rd at the Junior World Championships and Marie-Êve Drolet finished 2nd in both the 500 m and 1,500 m. The 99-00 season was also very good for Canadian short track speed skaters. Éric Bédard finished 2nd overall at the World Championships. During the same competition, the women's relay team finished in 3rd position. At the World Team Championships, the men's team finished 1st. Marie-Êve Drolet won the World Junior Championships and Andrew Lahey finished in 3rd place.

Today, the sport of short track speed skating is developing rapidly in the Netherlands and Italy as well as China , South Korea , and more recently, Russia and Hungary . And many great young Canadian skaters are rising to the challenge to maintain a leadership role in the sport.

Source: Speed Skating Canada.