Speed skating events have been held at the old rink in Calgary since 1962. The new indoor oval, constructed for the 1988 Olympic Games, was opened in November 1987. In the first World Cup event in Calgary, December 1987, six World Records were broken, and during the Olympic Games 8 out of 10 World Records were broken. Since then, it has been one of the fastest speed skating venues in the world, and a record breaking number of World Records have been set at the Olympic Oval. In 2001, the rink got competition as the World's fastest rink from another high-altitude indoor rink, the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City (USA), built for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Since 1988, Calgary has been the centre of Canadian speed skating, and the main reason of the Canadian speed skating progress during the 1990s, especially on the sprint distances.

By Bjarte Hetland, last updated December 22, 2006