It’s no longer new. This is now the fourth Olympics where the figure skating Team Event is taking place—and the skaters have gotten used to it, the fans of gotten used to it, and more countries have taken this more seriously. For some skaters, this could be their best chance at winning an Olympic medal; for many skaters, this is another opportunity for them to compete on Olympic ice, something everyone dreams of doing. And this time around, unlike the COVID Olympics of Beijing, there will be real crowds watching!
But first, a quick primer on what the event is and how you shoudl be thinking about it. It’s a different kind of team event than the World Team Trophy because of the format and the scoring.
A quick primer on the Team Event rules and scoring
Each team sends one entry per discipline for the short program
Team scores are calculated using the placements of their entries (10 points for 1st place, 9 points for 2nd place, all the way to 1 point for 10th place)
The top five teams move on to the free skate, where they send one entry per discipline for the free skate
In the free skate, teams are allowed to substitute in up to two disciplines if they have qualified multiple entries into those disciplines
Free skate placements earn the same number of points (10 for 1st, 9 for 2nd, 8 for 3rd, 7 for 4th, 6 for 5th) and are added to the short program scores to determine the final standings
There are tiebreaker rules in place, which we will get into if we get there
How strategy plays a huge role in team selection
A couple of factors come into play. The first is the scoring via placement rather than via actual scores - this provides equal weight for all discipline and ignores the margin of victory. The second is how teams who don’t have a chance at a medal position (or not position) their skaters - it’s the unpredictability here that could make a huge difference in the closer races.
A third factor that changes the dynamic is the relatively high volatility of the short vs the free because to the range of scores possible - because the lowest you can score is 6 points for a 5th place in the free (as opposed to 1 point for 10th in the short). So even if an entry has something of a meltdown in the free, their floor is much higher than if they were to have a meltdown in the short. Watch for countries to sub in skaters based on how they feel about their medal chances.
#MilanoCortina2026 Team Event entry deadlines
— Jackie Wong (@rockerskating) February 4, 2026
+ 5 Feb 10:00am Milan: Women SP, RD, Pairs SP
+ 6 Feb 9:00am Milan: Men SP
+ 7 Feb 9:15pm Milan: FD
+ 7 Feb 11:00pm Women FS, Men FS, Pairs FS
My video preview here: https://t.co/jXCVe3DLGS
When do we know who will compete?
Entries for the Team Event segments will not be confirmed until very close to the actual Team Event days themselves, which allow for teams with multiple entries at the Olympics to be able to pick and choose accordingly. All entry deadlines are in the tweet that I have embedded here.