The Essent ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships 2014 will be held in accordance with the 2012 Regulations of the International Skating Union (ISU) and relevant ISU Communications, in particular ISU Communication No. 1810.
Participation in the Championships is open to skaters who belong to an ISU Member (Rule 130, paragraph 1) and who have met the qualification criteria according to Rule 208 and ISU Communication No. 1810.

Nagano Olympic Memorial Arena (M-Wave) is an indoor artificial ice rink with a standard track of 400 meters and inner and outer curves with radii of 26 and 30 meters respectively. The width of the inside training track is 6 meters.

The winners of the Championships are the Skaters with the lowest total of points after 4 distances have been completed (Rule 265, paragraph 2 and 268, paragraph 1).
The winner will bear the title: “Lady World Sprint Speed Skating Champion for 2014” and “World Sprint Speed Skating Champion for 2014”, respectively (Rule 133, paragraph b), and will each be awarded the ISU Championships gold medal. The Skaters placed second and third in the final classification after 4 distances will be awarded the ISU Championships silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Prize money will be awarded according to ISU Communication No. 1509.

Entries can only be made using the ISU Online Entry System for Speed Skating Events available at www.isu.org, section Speed Skating or at www.k4sport.ru/login.php.
Each ISU Member may enter 1 Lady and 1 Man, subject to achieved qualifying times as defined in ISU Communication No. 1810.
According to ISU Communication No. 1801 and Rule 208, paragraph 6, the following ISU Members have the right to enter more than one Competitor per gender:

Each ISU Member may enter substitutes corresponding with the number of ordinary entries.

The Preliminary entry with the number of Competitors & substitutes and the number of coaches and other team staff, as well as provisional names of the Competitors and team leader must be communicated to the Organizing Committee at the latest by December 31, 2013 (See Rule 208, paragraph 8).

Final entries including the names of the Competitors and available substitutes, as well as the names of the team leader, coaches and other team staff for whom an accreditation is required must reach the Organizing Committee at the latest by 12:00 noon (local time) on January 15, 2014 (See Rule 208, paragraph 9).

Please note that for all persons entered by the Members the procedures regarding the Declaration for Competitors and Officials (all team Officials requiring an accreditation) entering ISU Events (Rule 131) as outlined in ISU Communication 1628 need to be strictly observed. For more details please refer to Rules 115, 131, 208 and ISU Communications No. 1628 and 1797.

In accordance with Rule 109 of the ISU Regulations and ISU Communication No. 1420, all Skaters who do not have the nationality of the Member by which they have been entered or who, although having such nationality, have in the past represented another Member, must produce an ISU Clearance Certificate.

The drawings will be made in accordance with Rules 239. For grouping and drawing Rule 242, paragraphs 1 and 2 apply.

Anti-doping tests will be carried out in accordance with the valid ISU Anti-Doping Code (ISU Communications No. 1693, 1694, 1765 and 1800 or any further updates of these Communications).

In accordance with the ISU General Regulations (Rule 119), the ISU, Japan Skating Federation and the Organizing Committee assume no responsibility for or liability with respect to bodily or personal injury or loss of property or damage incurred in connection with this Championship. Each Member is solely responsible for providing insurance coverage thereto.

The speed skating track will be open for training for entered Competitors from Tuesday, December 4, 2012 . Trial starts will be organized on Friday, December 7, 2012 .
Only accredited Competitors, substitutes and team officials will be allowed to enter the ice-rink during the official training hours.

The Organizing Committee will be responsible for expenses for board and lodging at the official hotel from lunch on Friday, January 17, 2014 until lunch on Monday, January 20, 2014 (Rule 137 paragraphs 10 and 14) for all Competitors participating in the Championships and 1 team leader or coach for each ISU Member. Expenses of other Skaters and officials (i.e. coaches, other team staff members and accompanying persons) other than those mentioned above, and expenses before or after the period mentioned above, will be at their own expense.

Please make all hotel arrangements directly with Japan Skating Federation prior to December 11, 2013.

The Organizing Committee will arrange hotel reservation for all Skaters and officials at the

Hotel Kokusai 21
576, Agata-machi, Nagano City, Nagano Pref., 380-0838, Japan
tel: +81 26 234 1111 fax: +81 26 234 2365 website: http://www.kokusai21.co.jp

Hotel Saihokukan
528-1, Agata-machi, Nagano City, Nagano Pref., 380-0838, Japan
tel: +81 26 235 3333 fax: +81 26 235 3365 website: http://www.saihokukan.com

Hotel prices:
Single room for 1 person - 16,800 JPY (per person per night, Prices including three meals)
Double room for 2 persons - 13,650 JPY (per person per night, Prices including three meals)

All entries, hotel reservation and other inquiries should be addressed to:

c/o Japan Skating Federation
Kishi Memorial Hall 1-1-1, Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8050, Japan
Telephone: (+81) 3 3481 2351
Fax: (+81) 3 3481 2350
E-mail; entries-ss@skatingjapan.or.jp

Media accreditation requests for ISU Championships must be submitted via the ISU Online Media Accreditation System http://www.wingsmedia.it/isu/

Information for the media will be available on the ISU website in due time.

For further information contact the OC Press Officer:

c/o Japan Skating Federation
Kishi Memorial Hall 1-1-1, Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8050, Japan
Telephone: (+81) 3 3481 2351
Fax: (+81) 3 3481 2350
E-mail; entries-ss@skatingjapan.or.jp

Information concerning the competition will be available at the following website: http://www.skatingjapan.jp/