The Four Continents Speed Skating Championships will be at the Olympic Oval from Friday, Jan. 19 to Sunday, Jan. 21. It features top speed skaters from North America, South America, Asia and Oceania.
Then the 2024 World Cup Speed Skating competition is the week after from Friday, Jan. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 28. Athletes from all over the world will descend on Utah to compete.
Friday admission is free. Saturday and Sunday tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for ages 6 to 12.
Casey Dawson is a Park City native who will compete in both competitions. He won a bronze medal in the 2020 World Junior Championships.
Ted Morris, the executive director of U.S. Speedskating and volunteer DJ at KPCW, said Dawson is one of around 1,200 athletes in the U.S. Speedskating system compared to around 30,000 ski athletes.
“That's a big challenge for us. And so much of it is these clubs are run by volunteers," he said. "We don't have the robust paid system that you do in so many sports, amateur sports throughout this country.”
Morris said it’s a tough sell to get young athletes to become speed skaters as there aren’t high school and college programs for it. He said a swimming athlete could compete on their high school and college teams, potentially getting college paid for, and then even become an Olympian one day.
But it’s different for speed skaters. While U.S. Speedskating athletes can take classes for free through a partnership with Salt Lake Community College, Morris said they’re still asking them to dedicate up to 12 years of their life to making the Olympic team.
“So, they can come out and take some classes, dedicate the next four, eight, 12 years to making the Olympic team and even more remotely, maybe winning an Olympic medal," he said. "That is a tough sell, and it's why we have so much respect and admiration for athletes.”
Morris encourages Utahns and visitors to support the speed skaters at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships and the World Cup Speed Skating competition coming up at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns.
