2026 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships

The 2026 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships will take place from 21 to 25 January at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. Medals will be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance.

2026 Four Continents Championships
Type:	ISU Championship
Date:	21 – 25 January
Season:	2025–26
Location:	Beijing, China
Host:	Chinese Skating Association
Venue:	National Indoor Stadium
Champions
Men's singles: Kao Miura
Women's singles: Yuna Aoki
Pairs: Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov
Ice dance: Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik
Navigation
Previous: 2025 Four Continents Championships
Next: 2027 Four Continents Championships

Background

From 1923 to 1971, skaters from Canada and the United States competed at the biennial North American Figure Skating Championships. This allowed Canadian and American skaters the opportunity to compete at a comparable event to the European Figure Skating Championships. At this time, medal contenders at the World Figure Skating Championships and the Winter Olympics came from either Europe or North America. However, by the mid-1970s, skaters from Asia were also successfully competing at major international events. The last North American Championships were held in 1971, so skaters from Europe had the advantage of an International Skating Union (ISU) championship event that was not accessible to skaters outside of Europe. In order to provide equal opportunities for all skaters, the ISU established the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in 1999. The name referred to the four continents outside of Europe where competitive figure skating took place: Africa, Asia, Australia (Oceania), and North America.

The 2026 Four Continents Championships will be held from 21 to 25 January at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China.

Changes to preliminary assignments

Only those competitors who are "members of a non-European ISU Member" are eligible to compete in the Four Continents Championships. Unlike the European Figure Skating Championships, where member nations are only entitled to enter one competitor or team per discipline, but with requirements that must be met in order to submit additional competitors, the Four Continents Championships allow member nations to enter up to three competitors or teams per discipline. The International Skating Union released a complete list of entrants on 29 December 2025.

Date	Discipline	Withdrew	Added	Ref.
12 January	Women	Kim Chae-yeon	Yun Ah-sun
13 January	Men	Jason Brown	Liam Kapeikis

Required performance elements

Single skating

Women competing in single skating first performed their short programs on Thursday, 22 January, while men performed theirs on Saturday, 24 January. Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds, the short program had to include the following elements:

For men: one double or triple Axel; one triple or quadruple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, two triple jumps, or a quadruple jump and a double jump or triple jump; one flying spin; one camel spin or sit spin with a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and a step sequence using the full ice surface.

For women: one double or triple Axel; one triple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, or two triple jumps; one flying spin; one layback spin, sideways leaning spin, camel spin, or sit spin without a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and one step sequence using the full ice surface.

Women performed their free skates on Friday, 23 January, while men performed theirs on Sunday, 25 January. The free skate performance for both men and women could last no more than 4 minutes, and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one had to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.

Pairs

Couples competing in pair skating first performed their short programs on Thursday, 22 January. Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds, the short program has to include the following elements: one pair lift, one double or triple twist lift, one double or triple throw jump, one double or triple solo jump, one solo spin combination with a change of foot, one death spiral, and a step sequence using the full ice surface.

Couples performed their free skates on Saturday, 24 January. The free skate performance can last no more than 4 minutes, and has to include the following: three pair lifts, of which one has to be a twist lift; two different throw jumps; one solo jump; one jump combination or sequence; one pair spin combination; one death spiral; and a choreographic sequence.

Ice dance

Couples competing in ice dance performed their rhythm dances on Thursday, 22 January. Lasting no more than 2 minutes 50 seconds, the theme of the rhythm dance this season was "music, dance styles, and feeling of the 1990s". Examples of applicable dance styles and music included, but were not limited to: pop, Latin, house, techno, hip-hop, and grunge. The rhythm dance had to include the following elements: one pattern dance step sequence, one choreographic rhythm sequence, one dance lift, one set of sequential twizzles, and one step sequence.

Couples then performed their free dances on Friday, 23 January. The free dance performance could last no longer than 4 minutes, and had to include the following: three dance lifts, one dance spin, one set of synchronized twizzles, one step sequence in hold, one step sequence while on one skate and not touching, and three choreographic elements.

Judging

For the 2025–26 season, all of the technical elements in any figure skating performance – such as jumps and spins – were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of seven or nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution. The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, the average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total elements score. At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on three program components – skating skills, presentation, and composition – and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score.

Program component factoring

Discipline	Short program or Rhythm dance	Free skate or Free dance
Men	1.67	3.33
Women	1.33	2.67
Pairs	1.33	2.67
Ice dance	1.33	2.00

Deductions were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls. The total elements score and total program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater or team.

Medal summary