How a match works, in a minute

How roller speed skating works

Skaters race on inline skates, on a banked oval track or a road circuit, always anticlockwise.
Short-distance races, from 100 m to 1,000 m, are raced in heats or against the clock in time trials.
Long-distance races are raced in a pack. In an elimination race the last skater over the line at set laps is knocked out; in a points race skaters score at set sprints and the highest total wins.
In a race to the line, a skater's place is set when the front wheel of their front skate crosses it. A photo finish decides close races.