Section 5: Rules of Play
5.1 Lane Change Rules
Rule 254, paragraph 5.a requires the inner-lane skater to move to the outer lane on the crossing straight — the straight between the end of the curve (marked by movable blocks) and the beginning of the next curve (marked by a cone) — and the outer-lane skater to move to the inner lane, every lap. The exception is the first straight of the 1000 m and 1500 m on a standard 400 m track, where no lane change occurs (Rule 254, paragraph 5.b). At the crossing point, the skater moving from the outer to the inner lane must not be hindered by the skater moving from the inner to the outer lane; the skater leaving the inner lane bears responsibility for any such obstruction unless the other skater acts obstructively (Rule 254, paragraph 6). Cutting the inner line of the lane in, through, or exiting a curve is separately forbidden under Rule 254, paragraph 7.
5.2 Individual Distance Races
Rule 200, paragraph 1 lists the standard International Competition distances as 100, 500, 1000, 1500, 3000, 5000, and 10 000 m. World Championship single-distance titles (Rule 201, paragraph 1.2) cover 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, 5000 m, and 10 000 m for men, and 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, and 3000 m plus 5000 m for women, alongside Mass Start for both. The 500 m is contested as a pure sprint with reaction time critical at the start; the 1000 m and 1500 m each require one lane change; the longer distances (3000 m/5000 m/10 000 m) reward pacing and negative splits.
5.3 Team Pursuit
Rule 256, paragraph 1.1 permits Team Pursuit teams of either 3 or 4 skaters; in both cases "the finishing time of the Team will be determined as the finishing time of the third Skater in the Team." The two teams start simultaneously at each side of the track, at the middle of the straights (paragraph 1.2), skating single file with the lead rotating to share the aerodynamic burden. Where the competition is run as elimination heats, a team that overtakes the other — defined as its third-positioned skater passing the other team's third-positioned skater — is declared the winner of that heat immediately, before the full distance is skated (paragraph 1.5). Each skater on a team wears distinct identification: No. 1 white armbands, No. 2 red, No. 3 yellow, and (for 4-skater teams) No. 4 blue (paragraph 1.6).
5.4 Mass Start
The Mass Start track is laid out without separate racing lanes, and the race distance is specified as a number of laps, with the countdown starting the first time skaters cross the finishing line (Rule 257, paragraph 1.1). During the first lap, accelerating before a distinct sound signal is forbidden and is a disqualifying offense (Rule 257, paragraph 4.1). Competitors who are lapped by the leading skater (or by a defined number of leaders) must move to the coaches' area and abandon the race within one full lap, without skating through the finish line; failing to do so results in disqualification (Rule 257, paragraph 4.4).
Where the race format includes intermediate sprints, Rule 265, paragraph 6.3 governs scoring at the OWG, World and European Championships, and ISU World Cups: three intermediate sprints are contested at the finishing line after laps 4, 8, and 12, in addition to the final sprint. Intermediate-sprint points are awarded 3–2–1 to the first three finishers of each sprint, and the final sprint awards points to the first six finishers on a 60–40–20–10–6–3 scale (Rule 265, paragraph 6.3.b). At the Olympic Winter Games, the Mass Start is additionally run through a semi-final elimination stage: competitors are seeded by ranking into two semi-finals (no more than one skater per ISU Member in each), and the 8 best-ranked finishers from each semi-final advance to the Final (Rule 241, paragraph 5).
5.5 Start Procedure
On the Starter's command "Go to the start," competitors take a stable position between the pre-start line and the starting line (2 m apart); on "Ready," they hold their starting position, with all skate blades entirely behind the starting line, until the shot fires (Rule 253, paragraph 3.2.a). A distinct interval of 1 to 1.5 seconds must separate the "Ready" position from the firing of the shot (paragraph 3.2.b). A false start is declared if a competitor is deliberately slow to set (paragraph 4.1.a), breaks early and pulls the other competitor with them (paragraph 4.1.b), or leaves position after "Ready" but before the shot (paragraph 4.1.c). The Starter warns the competitor responsible for the first false start in a pair or heat; any competitor committing a further false start in that same pair or heat is disqualified from the race (Rule 253, paragraph 4.3).