Qualification to the Olympic Winter Games

Qualification System for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: Individual Events

NOTE: This guide describes the entry qualification process for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Rules may be different for other Winter Olympic Games.

Information in this guide is summarized from this ISU document, dated Dec. 2019.

LAST UPDATED: Apr 2, 2021

ATHLETE QUOTA & TES MINIMUMS

The total number of skaters that can compete in the individual events at the 2022 Winter Olympics is as follows:

Men’s singles: 30 skaters
Women’s singles: 30 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 technical element scores in both the SP and 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.

QUALIFICATION PHASE 1: THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The following number of Olympic spots will be allotted based on the results of the 2021 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. For ISU Championships, each national federation is automatically given one spot per discipline as long as they have skaters who meet the TES minimums, but this does not apply for the Olympics, as there is a cap on the total number of spots.

The following chart shows how many points a skater earns for their placement at the World Championships (with 30 hypothetical skaters/teams in each discipline). The thick line indicates the cutoff for skaters who qualify for the free skate. The top 24 singles skaters, top 20 pairs, and top 20 dance teams after the short program qualify for the free skate.

Qualification for spots at Worlds is based on points skaters earn for their placement, as well as whether the skaters qualified for the free skate at Worlds.

NOCs, who through their ISU Members Nation, have earned the necessary points according to Rule 378, paragraph 2b) and c) will have the right for two (2) or three (3) entries, only if, in addition, they had two (2) or respectively three (3) Skaters/Pairs/Couples qualified for the Free Skating/Free Dance in the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 (ISU Rule 400, paragraph 3).

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 at the Olympics:

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 qualify for 1 spot from Worlds. The fed has a chance to earn a second spot at Nebelhorn Trophy (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.
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 2 spots from Worlds and has the chance to earn a third spot at Nebelhorn Trophy.
If the two skaters/teams earn enough points for 2 spots, but one skater/team does not qualify for the free skate, the fed has another chance to earn a second spot at Nebelhorn Trophy (see next section).

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

To earn 2 spots: Top 2 skaters’/teams’ points must add to 28 or less, and at least 2 skaters/teams must qualify for the free skate.
To earn 3 spots: Top 2 skaters’/teams’ points must add to 13 or less, and all 3 skaters/teams must qualify for the free skate.
If the top 2 skaters/teams earn enough points for 2 or 3 spots, but at least one skater/team does not qualify for the free skate, the fed has another chance to earn a second or third spot at Nebelhorn Trophy (see next section).

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 who qualified for the free skate. It is possible for a fed to earn enough points for Olympic spots at Worlds, but if the Worlds quota is already filled, they will not receive the spots. A fed will have another chance to earn a spot at Nebelhorn if they do not earn any spots from Worlds.

Examples (spots may not be guaranteed depending on whether the quota has already been filled):

A fed has 1 skater and they place 8th. They earn 1 spot for the Olympics, and a chance for the fed to earn a second spot at Nebelhorn Trophy.
A fed has 1 skater and they place 14th. 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 Nebelhorn Trophy.
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 Nebelhorn Trophy.
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 Nebelhorn Trophy.

QUALIFICATION PHASE 2: THE OLYMPIC QUALIFYING COMPETITION

The Olympic Qualifying Competition is a competition held early in the Olympic season, usually designated to be Nebelhorn Trophy. Federations may send skaters to earn spots at Nebelhorn if they fulfill 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 Nebelhorn. The skater sent to Nebelhorn cannot have qualified for the free skate at the World Championships.

Any skaters can compete at Nebelhorn, but if they represent federations that have already earned all of their Olympic spots at Worlds, their placements are disregarded when it comes to the remaining spots.

The number of Olympic spots available at Nebelhorn is as follows:

Men: 6 skaters
Women: 6 skaters
Pairs: 3 teams
Ice dance: 4 teams

Each federation can earn up to 1 spot per discipline at Nebelhorn. The highest-placing federations at Nebelhorn 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 Nebelhorn.

HOST SPOTS

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

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