 Competitions were held around tracks of varying lengths—the 1885 match between Axel Paulsen and Remke van der Zee was skated on a track of 6/7 mile (1400 metres)—but the 400-metre track was standardised by ISU in 1892, along with the standard distances for world championships, 500 m, 1500 m, 5000 m, and 10,000 m. Skaters started in pairs, each to their own lane, and changed lanes for every lap to ensure that each skater completed the same distance.Competitions were exclusively for amateur skaters.Peter Sinnerud was disqualified for professionalism in 1904 and lost his world title.