Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Qualification

The following is about the qualification rules and allocation of spots for the figure skating events at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[1]

Qualification system

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A total of 144 quota spots are available to athletes to compete at the games. A maximum of 18 athletes can be entered by a National Olympic Committee, with a maximum of 9 men or 9 women. There is also an "Additional Athletes Quota" which allows up to a maximum of 5 more total skaters, bringing the potential total to 149. The host (China) is the priority for these additional places so that if they have met minimum standards they may have an entry in each event, other than the team event. If unused, these five quotas can be used to qualify nations for the team event if they only need an entry in one more discipline.[1]

Skater qualification

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There is no individual athlete qualification to the Olympics; the choice of which athlete(s) to send to the Games is at the discretion of each country's National Olympic Committee. Each country is allowed a maximum of three entries per discipline, resulting in a maximum of 18 athletes (nine men and nine women) possible per country.

According to ISU rules, countries must select their entries from among skaters who have achieved a minimum technical elements score (TES) at an ISU-recognized international competition on or before 24 January 2022.[1]

On the issue of the disqualification of participating athletes at the Winter Olympics, the ISU has issued a statement regarding its policy regarding doping violations which may be alleged for the duration of the events of the Games stating that the, “...International Skating Union cannot disclose any information about a possible anti-doping rule violation. This is regulated by the ISU anti-doping rules and the IOC anti-doping rules for the Beijing 2022 Olympics.”[2]

Country qualification

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The number of entries for the figure skating events at the Olympic Games is limited by a quota set by the International Olympic Committee. A total of 144 quota spots are available to athletes to compete at the games. There will be 30 skaters in the disciplines of men's and women's singles, 19 pair skating teams, and 23 ice dance teams. Additionally, ten nations qualify for the team event.

Countries will be able to qualify entries to the 2022 Winter Olympics in two ways. Most spots are allocated based on the results of the 2021 World Championships. At the event, countries were able to qualify up to three entries in each discipline according to the usual system in place; countries which earned multiple spots to the Olympics also earned multiple spots to the 2022 World Championships, although the World Championships were not subject to the requirement that for 2/3 entries, countries must additionally qualify 2/3 skaters into the free segment. Every discipline qualifies independently.

At the World Championships, the system was as follows:

Number of skaters/teams
entered at Worlds
To earn 3 entries
to the Olympics
To earn 2 entries
to the Olympics
To earn 1 entry
to the Olympics
1 Place in the top 2 Place in the top 10 Next best ranked athlete from
the NFs not qualified with two
or three places, until the
quotas of qualification through
the ISU World Figure Skating
Championships 2021 are reached.
2 Total placements is equal to or less than 13 Total placements is equal to or less than 28
3 Top two placements is equal to or less than 13 Top two placements is equal to or less than 28
  • According to the ISU's Rule 378(2), any competitor who qualified for the free program received a maximum placement score of 16, and any competitor who failed to qualify for the free program received a maximum placement score of 18.[3]

Qualification spots available per tournament

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The results of the 2021 World Championships determined 83 total spots: 24 entries in each singles discipline, 16 in pairs, and 19 in ice dance. The available spots were awarded going down the results list, with multiple spots being awarded first.

The remainder of the spots will be filled at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany in late September 2021. Countries that had already earned an entry to the Olympics were not allowed to qualify additional entries at this final qualifying competition. However, if a country earned two or three spots at the World Championships, but did not have two or three skaters, respectively, qualify for the free skate, then they were allowed to send a skater who did not reach the free segment at World Championships to Nebelhorn to qualify the remaining spot(s). Unlike at the World Championships, where countries could qualify more than one spot depending on the placement of their skater(s), at the Nebelhorn Trophy, countries could earn only one spot per discipline, regardless of ranking.

Initially, a total of six spots per singles event, three spots in pairs, and four in ice dance were available at Nebelhorn Trophy. One additional quota spot became available in men's singles following the 2021 World Championships.[4] If a country declines to use one or more of its qualified spots, the vacated spot is awarded using the results of Nebelhorn Trophy in descending order of placement.

For the team trophy, scores from the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships and the 2021–22 Grand Prix season, will be tabulated to establish the ten top nations. Each nation compiles a score from their top performers in each of the four disciplines. The Grand Prix Final, to be held in early December 2021, was to be the final event to affect the Team Trophy score, before it was cancelled.[5]

Qualification timeline

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Event Date Venue
2021 World Figure Skating Championships 22–28 March 2021 Stockholm, Sweden
2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy 22–25 September 2021 Oberstdorf, Germany

Qualified countries

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[4][6]

Nations Men's singles Women's singles Pairs Ice dance Additional Team event Athlete(s)
  Armenia 1 2
  Australia 1 1 2
  Austria 1 1 3
  Azerbaijan 1 1 2
  Belarus 1 1 2
  Belgium 1 1
  Bulgaria 1 1
  Canada 2 1 2 3  Y 13
  China 1 1 2 1  Y 8
  Czech Republic 1 1 1 1  Y 6
  Estonia 1 1 2
  Finland 1 1 3
  France 2 1 4
  Georgia 1 1 1 1  Y 6
  Germany 1 1 1 1  Y 6
  Great Britain 1 1 3
  Hungary 1 2
  Israel 1 1 3
  Italy 2 2 1 1  Y 9
  Japan 3 3 1 1  Y 10
  Latvia 1 1
  Lithuania 1 2
  Mexico 1 1
  Netherlands 1 1
  Poland 1 1 3
  ROC 3 3 3 3  Y 18
  South Korea 2 2 4
  Spain 1 1 4
  Sweden 1 1 2
  Switzerland 1 1 2
  Ukraine 1 1 1 2  Y 6
  United States 3 3 2 3  Y 16
Total: 32 NOCs 30 30 19 23 4 (10) 148
  • "Additional" quotas refer to extra quotas given to countries with athletes qualified in three disciplines so they can participate in the team event. Athletes who qualify via the team event quota compete in the team event only and cannot enter the individual competitions. Germany can send one man, Italy one woman, and Ukraine one pairs team (two athletes).

Qualification summary

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Men's singles

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Event Location Athletes
per NOC
Qualified Total
2021 World Championships   Stockholm 3   Japan 23[a]
2   United States[b]
  ROC[b]
  Italy
1   Canada[b]
  France[b]
  South Korea[b]
  China
  Georgia
  Switzerland
  Estonia
  Belarus
  Latvia
  Czech Republic
  Mexico
  Ukraine
  Sweden
  Israel
2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy   Oberstdorf 1   United States
  France
  ROC
  South Korea
  Azerbaijan
  Australia
  Canada
7
Total 30
  1. ^ Only 23 out of the 24 possible quotas were earned. This is because ISU rule 400.A.3 states that Olympic quotas earned at the World Championships will be "attributed to the ISU Members with the best placed and qualified for the Free Skating/Free Dance Skaters".[3] While Chinese skaters Yan Han and Jin Boyang both qualified for the Free Skating, they only earned enough points for one Olympic entry, and all other skaters in the Free Skating had already earned an Olympic quota for their NOC. Therefore, an extra quota was made available at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.
  2. ^ a b c d e Country was also allowed to enter a skater at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy to compete for an additional quota spot, according to ISU rule 400.A.4.b.[3]

Women's singles

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Event Location Athletes
per NOC
Qualified Total
2021 World Championships   Stockholm 3   ROC
  Japan
24
2   United States[a]
  South Korea
1   Belgium[a]
  Austria[a]
  Azerbaijan
  Canada
  Estonia
  Sweden
  Netherlands
  Bulgaria
  Germany
  Georgia
  China
  Czech Republic
  Great Britain
  Finland
2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy   Oberstdorf 1   United States
  Poland
  Belarus
  Switzerland
  Ukraine
  Australia
6
Total 30
  1. ^ a b c Country was also allowed to enter a skater at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy to compete for an additional quota spot, according to ISU rule 400.A.4.b.[3]

Pairs

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Event Location Pairs
per NOC
Qualified Total
2021 World Championships   Stockholm 3   ROC 16
2   China[a]
  Canada
  United States
  Italy
1   Japan[a]
  Austria
  Germany
  Hungary
  Czech Republic
2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy   Oberstdorf 1   Spain
  Georgia
  Israel
3
Total 19
  1. ^ a b Country was also allowed to enter a pair at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy to compete for an additional quota spot, according to ISU rule 400.A.4.b.[3]

Ice dance

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Event Location Pairs
per NOC
Qualified Total
2021 World Championships   Stockholm 3   ROC
  United States
  Canada
19
1   Italy[a]
  Great Britain[a]
  Spain
  Poland
  China
  Lithuania
  France
  Germany
  Japan
  Ukraine
2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy   Oberstdorf 1   Finland
  Georgia
  Armenia
  Czech Republic
4
Total 23
  1. ^ a b Country was also allowed to enter a team at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy to compete for an additional quota spot, according to ISU rule 400.A.4.b.[3]

Team event

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[6]

     Qualified to Olympics      Reserve      Not eligible for Olympics
Rank Team 2020–21 2021–22 Total
1   ROC 4387 1560 5947
2   United States 3793 1416 5209
3   Canada 2729 1220 3949
4   Japan 2434 1396 3830
5   China 1904 905 2809
6   Italy 1701 1073 2774
7   France 926 952 1878
8   South Korea 930 851 1781
9   Germany 739 741 1480
10   Great Britain 756 718 1474
11   Georgia 714 758 1472
12   Austria 992 191 1183
13   Estonia 552 610 1162
14   Czech Republic 586 551 1137
15   Belgium 787 324 1111
16   Belarus 422 474 896
17   Ukraine 308 585 893
18   Poland 377 457 834
19   Spain 418 324 742
20   Switzerland 275 410 685
  • 2020–21 total is the sum of the top qualifying points total in each of the four disciplines derived from the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships.[1]
  • 2021–22 total is the sum of the top qualifying points total in each of the four disciplines derived from one of the 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix individual events or Grand Prix Final.
    If Skaters/Couples of a NOC/ISU Member have not obtained points in the aforementioned ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating individual events and Final, then the best result in one event of the 2021–22 ISU Junior Grand Prix individual events (only in individual events, but not the Junior Grand Prix Final) season 2021/22 can be considered.[1]
  • For a nation to be represented in the team event it must have qualified entrants in at least three of the four disciplines. Ten nations in total were eligible according to this criterion, qualifying all ten automatically regardless of their ranking. Host nation China could not use 'host' qualifiers to qualify for the team event,[1] but was able to earn quotas in all four disciplines through non-host qualifiers.
  • Only the top 20 nations that have scored qualification points are listed above. No nation ranked 21st and lower had enough Olympic quotas to be eligible for the team event.

Next eligible NOC per event

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If a country rejects a quota spot then additional quotas become available. A country can be eligible for one quota spot per event in the reallocation process. Countries in bold indicate the country later received a quota spot. The following list is compiled after the remaining spots were allocated at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy.[7] There were no alternates for the team event because no additional NOCs beyond the qualified ten met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the event.[6]

Men's singles Women's singles Pairs Ice dance Team event
  Turkey
  Armenia
  Great Britain
  Germany
  Italy
  Cyprus
  Chinese Taipei
  Slovenia
  China
  Belarus
  Australia
  Netherlands
  Hungary
  South Korea
  Italy
  Australia

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "QUALIFICATION SYSTEM FOR XXIV OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES, BEIJING 2022". International Skating Union. 4 December 2019.
  2. ^ "ISU made a statement about the situation with Kamila Valieva". By Lee Michaelis. GamingDeputy journal. Feb. 10, 2022. [1]
  3. ^ a b c d e f "International Skating Union: Special Regulations & Technical Rules – Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance 2021". International Skating Union. June 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Communication No. 2388: Entries/Participation 2022 Olympic Winter Games (OWG) – Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance". International Skating Union. 1 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Cancellation of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2021, Osaka/Japan". International Skating Union. 17 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Communication No. 2443: Olympic Winter Games 2022 – Entries/Participation Figure Skating Team Event". International Skating Union. 13 December 2021. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Communication No. 2428: Olympic Winter Games 2022 – Entries/Participation Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance". International Skating Union. 28 September 2021.