How the team figure skating event works at the Winter Olympics

Viewers will be the first chance to see some of figure skating's biggest stars in Beijing in one of nine mixed-gender team events at the Games.

By Naila-Jean Meyers Star Tribune

February 3, 2022 — 11:56am

A team figure skating event was added to the Olympic program for the 2014 Winter Games and is now among nine mixed-gender team events in Beijing. For viewers, this will be the first chance to see figure skating's biggest stars and a chance for skaters who may not contend in their own events to earn medals.

Here's how it works.

Format: One man, one ice dance team, one pair and one woman from 10 countries perform their short programs. First place in each discipline is worth 10 points, second is 9, third 8 and on down. The five teams with the most points advance to the free skate. One entry in each disciple per team performs a long program using the same rankings-based point system. Those scores are added to the short program scores to determine the medalists.

Schedule: The short program for the men, ice dance and pairs is Thursday night Minnesota time, beginning at 7:55 p.m. (Ch. 11). The women's short program is Saturday (7:30 p.m., Ch. 11), followed by the men's free skate (9:50 p.m., Ch. 11). The ice dance, pairs and women have their free skates on Sunday (7:15 p.m., Ch. 11).

Teams: The United States, Canada, Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, Ukraine and the Russian Olympic Committee have qualified for the event.

Defending champions: Canada won in 2018 with the Russian Olympic Committee taking silver and the U.S. bronze. The Russians and Canadians switched places in 2014, with the Americans third.

Favorites: The Russian Olympic Committee has the reigning women's world champion Anna Shcherbakova and quad queens Kamila Valieva and Alexandra Trusova. It has the reigning pairs world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov and the reigning ice dance world champions Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov. So, yeah, they're the overwhelming favorites because they are so deep.

Rules: Between the short program and the free skate, countries can change up to two skaters/teams – if they have more than one participant in each discipline. A country's best skaters can choose whether to compete in one or both programs, or skip the whole event. Because of the unusual scoring system that values position rather than technical points, top skaters might only compete in the short program to ensure qualification for free skate and give themselves a longer break until their next competition. American superstar Nathan Chen is competing the short program, but might not do the free skate because the men's individual competition begins the day after the team event ends.

Stars to watch: Chen; Sinitsina and Katsalopov; Mishina and Galliamov; 2018 silver medalist Shoma Uno of Japan; 2018 silver medal-winning pair Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China; and top Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who wear neon orange jumpsuits while skating to an Elton John medley, are among the notable names competing in Thursday's short program. The women's lineup will be announced Friday. Any team lineup changes for the free skate will be announced Sunday.