Event Recap: Denis Harris Cup Inline Speed Skating
The Denis Harris Cup is an action-packed weekend of races that has been a highlight competition on the Skate Australia Victoria Speed Calendar for a number of years now. Run in honour of the man himself, Denis Harris has dedicated a large number of years to the promotion and support of Speed Skating as a whole within Australia.
Taking place over a 2 day weekend, the event is full of races and despite the fact that it doesn’t count towards the overall scoring done in the year, it is still as big of an event as the Victorian Championships. With medals being awarded for each race event, competitors put everything on the line and try and win.
Taking place across two days, the Saturday is generally reserved for outdoor races, while Sunday see racers take to the indoor track.
The following outdoor races took place on Saturday. While all of these races are demanding events, the blistering 35 degree sun that we had on the Saturday certainly added an extra element of difficulty.
- 1 Lap
- 1000m
- 5000m
- 3000k Relays
The second day on Sunday was our indoor track day, and although we were glad to be out of the sun, the indoor environment was not without its challenges and this turned out to be a very humid day. Despite the intense weather racers took part and gave it their all in the following events
- 100m Flying laps
- 500m
- 1000m
- 5000m
Overall it was a great day with a lot of effort put in by all, and the majority of people got something worthwhile out of it. Social events like this, while not counting towards competitive standing, are a great opportunities for the speed skating community to come together to celebrate our sport, and in the case of the Denis Harris Cup, acknowledge outstanding members of the community and thank them for their contributions
About the photographer: Bernadine Geary has been capturing Victorian and Australian speed events longer than anyone. Not only that, she shares her high quality work for the speed community to celebrate their wins! Check out the shop on Insta @BernadineGearyPhotography and also check out her Pixieset website.
About the author: Daniel Garton races with a number of Victorian speed clubs and is quickly progressing through Senior B. He works at Bayside a few days a week and only dons the Batsuit when his city truly needs him.