Section 4: Players & Officials
4.1 Competitors
Individual races are skated in pairs, one skater in the inner lane and one in the outer lane, changing lanes each lap (Rule 254, paragraphs 2 and 5). Team Pursuit races may be entered with either 3 or 4 skaters per team; regardless of team size, the team's finishing time is fixed as the time of the third skater to cross the line, and a team finishing with fewer than 3 skaters is disqualified as not having completed the race (Rule 256, paragraph 1.1). Mass Start races may carry up to 24 entered competitors (Rule 208, paragraph 2.1.1), lining up in rows of maximum 6 skaters for a simultaneous start (Rule 257, paragraph 3).
4.2 Officials
Rule 210, paragraph 1 sets the minimum roster of officials for a competition: one Referee, one Assistant Referee, one Starter with an assistant, one Finishing line judge, a Chief Timekeeper plus at least four manual timekeepers, Lap Scorers, and Track Judges (two Corner Judges, a Crossing Straight Judge, and a Finishing Straight Judge); ISU Events additionally require an Ice Technical Expert and a Competition Coordinator.
The Referee's powers under Rule 216 include disqualification decisions for breaches of the Sports Rules (paragraph 1.e), approving ice and safety conditions before racing (paragraph 2.a), stopping a race in progress for a fallen or injured competitor (paragraph 2.i), and issuing a Referee warning or a Yellow Card for unsportsmanlike conduct (paragraph 2.e-f). The Starter separately controls all disputes arising during the starting procedure itself, from the moment competitors go to their lane until a valid start is completed (Rule 217, paragraph 2).
4.3 Pairing and Draw
Team Leaders confirm final entries and withdrawals at a Team Leaders' meeting before the opening draw (Rule 239, paragraph 1). For World Championships single-distance and individual races, competitors are grouped by seasonal best time in groups of 6, with the fastest group's pairs skating last (Rule 240, paragraph 5.b). In the 500 m and other single-race sprint formats, lane assignment carries particular tactical weight because the inner lane requires fewer crossover steps on the opening curve.