Olympic qualification on the line as ski cross season gets under way

The new FIS Ski Cross season has arrived and it starts with a bang as the final places at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games are up for grabs in the first month.

Fanny Smith and Reece Howden will be looking to defend their Crystal Globes when the new season gets under way in Val Thorens next week, but before we get to the end of the season there’s the small matter of the upcoming Winter Games and which athletes will be competing in Italy.

Although we don’t yet know which skiers will be there, as it’s down to each team to decide who they want to send, here we've broken down how many places each team can get and how the qualification for the Games works...

How many quota places are available?

There are 32 places for the men, and 32 places for the women.

How many quotas can each country have?

Each nation (in this case called an NOC) can have a maximum of four male and four female athletes at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games 2026. They can have fewer than four, but no more.

As the host nation, Italy are guaranteed one automatic place. However, if one of their skiers wins a quota place, that automatic place does not carry over - they will still only have one quota in that instance.

This table shows how many have been allocated as things stand. Ahead of the new season, France, Switzerland and Canada are the only three NOCs to have all eight possible quotas, but of course that could change over the next few weeks.

What is the qualification period?

All points from World Cup and world championship races from the beginning of last season have been counted towards each individual's total tally. Additionally, all World Cup races in this upcoming season will count up to the 18th of January, at which point the final standings will apply.

That means there are five World Cup events each for the men and women between now and the Olympic Games: two in Val Thorens, one in Arosa, and two in Innichen. Once the races in Innichen are complete, that will lock in the quota places. The NOCs then have one week to name the athletes they wish to send, with 26 January being the deadline to announce their final teams.

If an athlete wins a quota spot for their NOC, does that mean they are guaranteed a place at the Olympics?

No, it does not. The individual wins a quota place for their NOC, but it is down to each team to select which skiers they want to send to the upcoming Winter Games based on the total quotas they have.

So the NOC can choose anyone for their quotas?

They do have the final say, but they cannot pick just anyone. A skier can only qualify for the Games if they have at least 80 FIS points at the 18 January cut-off, and have placed in the top 30 of a World Cup event during the qualification period, or done the same at last year's world championships.

What if an NOC has more than four skiers in the top 32 of the current standings?

If you look at the women's standings, Hannah Schmidt is currently 12th overall. Despite being so high in the standings, there are four Canadian skiers above her, which means Canada have reached their maximum quota, and Schmidt's place in the standings is null and void from an Olympic qualification point of view. In this instance, all the skiers below her effectively move one place up the standings in their bid to win a quota place.

Crucially, as explained above, it is important to note that despite not being in the top four from Canada, Schmidt could still go to the Olympics if she is selected as one of their skiers.

In the case of the men's standings which you can see here, Canada's Gavin Rowell in 26th place is the first athlete to have his place in the standings not count towards Olympic qualification as there are four Canadian skiers ahead of him in the standings.

The same applies to the three skiers below him, which means that all the athletes below Sandro Lohner effectively move four places up in the standings, and so that pattern of moving up continues until all 32 places have been allocated.

That is how, for example, Diana Cholenska has (currently, as things stand) claimed a place at the Games for Czech Republic. Although she is outside the top 32, enough athletes above her are from NOCs to have reached their maximum quota, which has moved her up the standings to the point of getting a spot.

When does the new ski cross season start?

The new season starts on Thursday the 11th of December, when the athletes line up in the start gate at Val Thorens for the first of two days of World Cup action.

Up next there's a night race in Arosa on the 16th of December, and thereafter there's two races in Innichen on the 20th and 21st of December.