Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Qualification
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The number of entries for the figure skating events at the Winter Olympics is determined by quotas set by the International Olympic Committee. A total of 148 quota spots were available to athletes to compete in the figure skating events at the 2010 Winter Olympics. There were 30 spots allotted each in men's and women's singles, 20 in pair skating, and 24 in ice dance. There is no individual athlete qualification to the Olympics; the choice of whom to send is at the discretion of each country's National Olympic Committee. Each National Olympic Committee could enter up to 18 skaters total, with a maximum of nine men or nine women.[1] Japan and the United States ultimately earned three quota spots each in the men's event; Japan earned three quota spots in the women's event; China and Russia earned three quota spots each in the pairs' event; and Russia and the United States earned three quota spots each in the ice dance event.
Qualification of nations
Countries were able to qualify entries to the 2010 Winter Olympics in two ways. Most spots were allocated based on the results of the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships. There, countries were able to qualify up to three entries in each discipline according to a predetermined system.[2] The results of the 2009 World Championships determined 83 total spots: 24 entries each in men's and women's singles, 16 in pairs, and 19 in ice dance.[3]
The remainder of the spots were filled at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy in late September 2009.[4] 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 had 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 the World Championships to the Nebelhorn Trophy 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.[5]
Qualified nations
| Nations | Men's singles | Women's singles | Pairs | Ice dance | Total skaters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Austria |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Belgium |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Canada |
2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
 China |
0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
 Czech Republic |
2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
 Estonia |
0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
 Finland |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
 France |
2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
 Georgia |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 Germany |
1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
 Great Britain |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
 Hungary |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 Israel |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Italy |
2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
 Japan |
3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
 Kazakhstan |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 North Korea |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Poland |
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
 Romania |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Russia |
2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
 Slovenia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Slovakia |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 South Korea |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Spain |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Sweden |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Switzerland |
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
 Turkey |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Ukraine |
1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
 United States |
3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 15 |
 Uzbekistan |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total: 32 NOCs | 30 | 30 | 20 teams | 23 teams | 146 |
Men's singles
Twenty-four quota spots in the men's event were awarded based on the results at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships.[3] Six additional quota spots were made available at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy.[4]
| Event | Skaters per NOC |
Qualifying NOCs | Total skaters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 World Championships | 3 | Japan United States |
24 |
| 2 | Canada Czech Republic France Italy Kazakhstan Russia | ||
| 1 | Belgium Poland Slovenia Spain Sweden Ukraine | ||
| 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | Austria Finland Germany North Korea Romania Switzerland |
6 |
| Total | 30 | ||
Women's singles
Twenty-four quota spots in the women's event were awarded based on the results at the 2009 World Championships.[3] Georgia originally qualified two quota spots in the women's event, but relinquished one of them. That extra quota spot was made available at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy along with the other six spots originally allocated.[4]
Israel qualified one quota spot after Tamar Katz finished in twelfth place at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy. However, the Olympic Committee of Israel declined to send Katz to the Winter Olympics, as she did not meet their prescribed standards. Their quota spot was relinquished to Australia; the Australian Olympic Committee chose to send Cheltzie Lee.[6] Switzerland originally qualified two quota spots in the women's event,[3] but the Swiss Olympic Association only sent one woman: Sarah Meier.[7] Instead, the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan elected to send Anastasia Gimazetdinova.[8]
| Event | Skaters per NOC |
Qualifying NOCs | Total skaters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 World Championships | 3 | Japan |
22 |
| 2 | Canada Finland Georgia South Korea Russia Switzerland United States | ||
| 1 | Estonia Georgia Germany Great Britain Italy Poland Slovakia Switzerland Turkey | ||
| 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | Australia Austria Belgium China Hungary Israel Slovenia Spain Uzbekistan |
8 |
| Total | 30 | ||
Pairs
Sixteen quota spots in the pairs' event were awarded based on the results at the 2009 World Championships.[3] Four additional quota spots were made available at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy.[4]
| Event | Teams per NOC |
Qualifying NOCs | Total teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 World Championships | 3 | China Russia |
16 |
| 2 | Canada Germany Ukraine United States | ||
| 1 | France Great Britain | ||
| 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | Estonia Italy Poland Switzerland |
4 |
| Total | 20 | ||
Ice dance
Nineteen quota spots in the ice dance event were awarded based on the results at the 2009 World Championships.[3] Lithuania had originally qualified one quota spot in ice dance at the 2009 World Championships; however they relinquished that spot when Katherine Copely was unable to secure Lithuanian citizenship.[9] The extra quota spot was made available at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy along with the other four spots originally allocated.[4]
| Event | Teams per NOC |
Qualifying NOCs | Total teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 World Championships | 3 | Russia United States |
18 |
| 2 | Canada France Great Britain Italy | ||
| 1 | Germany Israel Japan Lithuania Ukraine | ||
| 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy | 1 | China Czech Republic Estonia Georgia Hungary |
5 |
| Total | 23 | ||
Top three NOCs on waitlist per discipline
If a country rejected a quota spot, then the additional quota became available. A country could be eligible for one quota spot per event in the reallocation process. The following list was compiled after the remaining spots were allocated at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy.[5] No quota spots were vacated after the Nebelhorn Trophy.
| Men's singles | Women's singles | Pairs | Ice dance |
|---|---|---|---|
 Belarus Estonia Great Britain |
Czech Republic Uzbekistan Australia |
North Korea Chinese Taipei Greece |
Greece |