World Championships, Men
Short history
In 1889, the Amsterdamsche Sportclub organised an international speed skating meeting, which they designated as World Championships. These championships, which were not regulated by an international governing body of any kind, were also organised in 1890 and 1891, but this time under regulation of the Dutch Schaatsenrijdersbond. Another championship was planned for 1892, but could not be held because of high temperatures.
On 23 July 1892, the Internationale Eislauf Vereinigung (IEV) was founded, and official speed skating World Championships were instituted, beginning in 1893 in Amsterdam. The distances that would have to be skated were determined to be 500 m, 1500 m, 5000 m and 10000 m. The method for determining the winner has changed somewhat over the years. In the early years, up to 1907, the skater that won at least 3 of the 4 distances was declared the winner. In 1908, the method was altered: in case nobody won 3 distances, the winner would be the skater with the fewest place points, with 1 point for first, 2 points for second, etc. From 1926 to 1927, a points system which related the times to the current world records was used. In 1928, a system that is still used was introduced. The times are corrected to 500 m times, where each second is one point. The skater with the fewest points wins.
Since its inception in 1893, World Championships have been held every year, with the exception of periods around the World Wars: from 1915 to 1921 and from 1940 to 1946, no World Championships were organised. The championships from 1889 to 1891 were later also declared official. Tournaments in 1940 and 1946, which were designated as World Championships (but not organised by the ISU), are not officially recognised as such.