International Skating Union to hold combined World Championships in 2028

World Championships for figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating and synchronized skating will be combined for the first time in 2028.

Beijing will host the competitions that International Skating Union President Jae Youl Kim called “a bold vision for the future of skating.”

Other Olympic disciplines within the same international federation have held combined world championships.

It is done regularly for freestyle skiing and snowboarding. It was done for cycling for the first time in 2023 with plans to do so again in 2027.

In 2027, figure skating worlds will be in Tampere, Finland; speed skating worlds will be in Beijing and short track worlds will be in Seoul.

Also at the ISU Congress, ISU director general Colin Smith said that figure skating’s Grand Prix Series — the top international competition level each fall — will “introduce a new model” in 2027 from its traditional six-stop regular season, adding two semifinals before the Grand Prix Final.

Moving ice events north to Lyon, 186 miles closer to Paris than the palm tree-fringed Riviera city, “now appears to be the best solution,” the French Alps organizing committee said.