Go Figure Skating

Figure Skating Events

By Go Figure Skating · Last reviewed November 9, 2026

Figure skating competitions run at every level throughout the year, from local club events to the Olympics. Here is how the main ones fit together.

National level

Each country holds its own national championships to crown its champions in singles, pairs and ice dance, and usually uses them to help pick its international teams. In the U.S. the road there runs through the National Qualifying Series in the summer, the sectional finals in November and the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January.

The ISU Grand Prix

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating is a series of six senior international events held each fall, ending with the Grand Prix Final in December. Each event has 12 men, 12 women, 8 pairs and 10 ice dance teams. Skaters are invited based on the previous season's World Championships results and world rankings, and can skate at most two of the six events. They earn points for their placements, and the top six in each discipline qualify for the Final.

The 2026-27 series, in season order:

Event City Dates
Grand Prix de France Angers, France October 23-25, 2026
Skate Canada International Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada October 30-November 1, 2026
Cup of China Shenzhen, China November 6-8, 2026
Skate America Everett, Washington, USA November 13-15, 2026
Finlandia Trophy Helsinki, Finland November 20-22, 2026
NHK Trophy Tokyo, Japan November 27-29, 2026
Grand Prix Final Chongqing, China December 10-13, 2026

The order of the events changes from year to year. The Finlandia Trophy took over the slot of Russia's Rostelecom Cup, which has not been part of the series since 2022.

There is also a Junior Grand Prix for junior skaters: seven events from August to October, with its own final held alongside the senior Grand Prix Final.

ISU championships

  • European Championships: for skaters from European countries. 2027: Lausanne, Switzerland, January 27-31.
  • Four Continents Championships: the equivalent for skaters from the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. 2027: Astana, Kazakhstan, February 9-14.
  • World Championships: the most important event of the season outside an Olympic year, deciding the world champions. 2027: Tampere, Finland, March 17-21.
  • World Junior Championships: the season's top junior event.
  • World Team Trophy: a team event held in some seasons after Worlds. 2027: Tokyo, Japan, in April.

The Olympic Winter Games

Every four years figure skating is one of the main events of the Winter Olympics, with men's and women's singles, pairs, ice dance and a team event. The 2026 Games were held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, where the United States won the team event. The next Games are in the French Alps in February 2030.

Russian skaters

The ISU barred skaters from Russia and Belarus in March 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine. From the 2026-27 season they may compete again as individual neutral athletes, without their flag or anthem, after individual vetting.

Sources

ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix 2026-27, ISU Grand Prix explained, ISU event calendar 2026-27, European Championships 2027, Four Continents 2027, World Championships 2027 and Golden Skate on the return of neutral athletes.

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