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Qualification to the Olympic Winter Games

Qualification System for the 2026 Winter Olympics: Individual Events

NOTE: This guide describes the entry qualification process for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Rules may be different for other Winter Olympic Games.

Information in this guide is summarized from this document.

See also: Introduction to Figure Skating Competitions, More introductory guides

LAST UPDATED: Nov. 27, 2024

ATHLETE QUOTA & ELIGIBILITY

The total number of skaters/teams that can compete in the individual events at the 2026 Winter Olympics is as follows:

  • Men’s singles: 29 skaters

  • Women’s singles: 29 skaters

  • Pair skating: 19 teams

  • Ice dance: 23 teams

Each federation can send a maximum of 3 skaters/teams per discipline to the Olympics. All skaters who compete in the individual events at the Olympics must have obtained the minimum combined technical element score (SP + FS) at ISU competitions during the Olympic season or preceding season. The TES minimums for the Olympics will be announced by the ISU at the beginning of the Olympic season.

To be eligible for the Olympics, a skater’s age must be 17 or older before July 1, 2025.

All Olympic spots are allocated to national federations, not individual athletes. The athletes on each federation’s Olympic team are determined by the federation.

QUALIFICATION PHASE 1: THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The following number of Olympic spots will be allotted based on the results of the 2025 World Championships:

  • Men: 24 skaters

  • Women: 24 skaters

  • Pairs: 16 teams

  • Ice dance: 19 teams

The number of spots that each national federation earns depends on the placements of their skaters at Worlds.

The following chart shows the number of points a skater earns for their placement at the World Championships (with 30 hypothetical skaters/teams in each discipline). The top 24 singles skaters, top 20 pairs, and top 20 dance teams after the short program qualify for the free skate. Skaters who qualified for the free skate, but placed 16th or lower, will automatically earn 16 points. Skaters who did not qualify for the free skate automatically earn 18 points.

CRITERIA FOR EARNING SPOTS

ISU Members who have earned the necessary points according to Rule 378, paragraph 3. will have the right for two or three entries if, in addition, they had two, respectively three Skaters/Pairs/Couples qualified for the Free Skating/Free Dance in the World Senior Championships immediately preceding the OWG. The remaining entries under this paragraph 3 will be attributed to the ISU Members with the best placed and qualified for the Free Skating/Free Dance Skaters at the World Senior Championships immediately preceding the OWG. (ISU Rule 400, paragraph 3)

The following criteria must be met in order for a federation to earn more than one spot:

If a fed has 1 skater/team in a discipline at Worlds:

  • To earn 2 spots: Skater/team must earn 10 points or less to earn 1 spot from Worlds. The fed has a chance to earn a second spot at the ISU Qualifying Competition (see next section).

  • To earn 3 spots: Not possible under current rules.

If a fed has 2 skaters/teams in a discipline at Worlds:

  • To earn 2 spots: The two skaters’/teams’ points must add to 28 or less, and both skaters/teams must qualify for the free skate. If the two skaters/teams earn enough points for two spots, but only one skater/team qualifies for the free skate, the fed has another chance to earn a second spot at the ISU Qualifying Competition.

  • To earn 3 spots: The two skaters’/teams’ points must add to 13 or less. Both skaters/teams must qualify for the free skate for this to be true. The fed earns two spots from Worlds and has the chance to earn a third spot at the ISU Qualifying Competition.

If a fed has 3 skaters/teams in a discipline at Worlds:

  • To earn 2 spots: Top two skaters’/teams’ points must add to 28 or less, and at least two skaters/teams must qualify for the free skate. If the top two skaters/teams earn enough points for two spots, but only one skater/team qualifies for the free skate, the fed has another chance to earn a second spot at the ISU Qualifying Competition.

  • To earn 3 spots: Top two skaters’/teams’ points must add to 13 or less, and all three skaters/teams must qualify for the free skate. At least two skaters/teams must qualify for the free skate in order to earn 13 points or less. If the third skater/team does not qualify for the free skate, the fed has another chance to earn a third spot at the ISU Qualifying Competition.

Spots in each discipline are allocated to feds in order of their highest-placing skater/team who qualified for the free skate until the quota for Worlds is filled, or until there are no more feds that qualified for the free skate. Feds that earned 3 or 2 spots are allotted spots before those that earned one spot. If a skater/team qualifies for the free skate but is lower in the standings, they might not earn any spots if the Worlds quota is already filled by skaters ahead of them. A fed will have another chance to earn a spot at the ISU Qualifying Competition if they do not earn any spots in a discipline from Worlds.

EXAMPLES

  • A fed has 1 skater and they place 6th. They earn 1 spot for the Olympics, and a chance for the fed to earn a second spot at the ISU Qualifying Competition.

  • A fed has 1 skater and they place 11th. They earn 1 spot for the Olympics.

  • A fed has 2 ice dance teams who place 1st and 12th. The sum of their points is 1 + 12 = 13 and both teams qualified for the free skate. The fed earns 2 spots for the Olympics and has a chance to earn a third at the ISU Qualifying Competition.

  • A fed has 2 men’s skaters who place 12th and 20th. The sum of their points is 12 + 16 = 28 and both skaters qualified for the free skate. They earn 2 spots for the Olympics.

  • A fed has 2 women’s skaters who place 15th and 23rd. The sum of their points is 15 + 16 = 31. They earn 1 spot for the Olympics.

  • A fed has 3 pairs teams who place 6th, 7th, and 11th. The sum of the top 2 teams’ points is 6 + 7 = 13 and all 3 teams qualified for the free skate. They earn 3 spots for the Olympics.

  • A fed has 3 men’s skaters who place 3rd, 5th, and 26th. The sum of the top 2 skaters’ points is 3 + 5 = 8. However, the third skater did not qualify for the free skate. The fed earns 2 Olympic spots, and has a chance to earn a third at the ISU Qualifying Competition.

  • A fed has 3 women’s skaters who place 4th, 25th, and 27th. The sum of the top 2 skaters’ points is 4 + 18 = 22. The second and third skaters did not qualify for the free skate. The fed earns 1 Olympic spot, and has a chance to earn a second at the ISU Qualifying Competition.


QUALIFICATION PHASE 2: THE OLYMPIC QUALIFYING COMPETITION

The ISU Olympic Qualifying Competition is a competition held early in the Olympic season. In previous years, the Qualifying Competition was held at Nebelhorn Trophy, but it will be a separate competition starting in the 2025-26 season.

Federations may send skaters to earn spots at the Qualifying Competition if they fulfill one of the following criteria:

  • The federation did not earn any Olympic spots at the World Championships in a discipline.

  • The federation’s skaters earned enough points at Worlds to qualify 2 or 3 spots in a discipline, but 2 or 3 skaters/teams, respectively, did not qualify for the free skate. The federation may send one skater in that discipline to earn the second/third spot at the Qualifying Competition. The skater sent to the Qualifying Competition cannot have qualified for the free skate at the World Championships.

The number of Olympic spots available at the Qualifying Competition is as follows:

  • Men: 5 skaters

  • Women: 5 skaters

  • Pairs: 3 teams

  • Ice dance: 4 teams

Each federation can earn up to one spot per discipline at the Qualifying Competition. The highest-placing federations at the Qualifying Competition are allotted spots until the quota is filled.

If any federations that earned spots at Worlds elect not to use them, those spots become available at the Qualifying Competition.

HOST SPOTS

As the host of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Italy can enter one skater/team per discipline if they did not qualify any skaters in those disciplines through the normal process, as long as the skater/team has the minimum TES for the Olympics. If Italy has already qualified skaters to the Olympics through the normal process, the host spots will not apply.