Tickets for the Beijing stop of the 2026-27 ISU Speed Skating World Cup went on sale on November 9, according to China News Service (中国新闻网). The competition will run from November 13 to 15 at the National Speed Skating Oval, known as the "Ice Ribbon," in the Chinese capital.
The Beijing event opens this season's World Cup circuit. China News Service reports that nearly 250 athletes from more than 20 countries and regions are expected to take part.
China's home team, based on the latest entry list, consists of 16 male and 13 female skaters. Ning Zhongyan, a Milan Winter Olympics champion, and Gao Tingyu, the Beijing Winter Olympics champion, lead the lineup. Han Mei, Xue Zhiwen, Tian Ruining, Liu Hanbin and other established national team members are also entered, per China News Service.
Why it matters
The Beijing meet is the first of six World Cup stages this season, which the ISU has scheduled from November 2026 through February 2027 in Beijing, Japan's Obihiro, Heerenveen in the Netherlands, Stavanger in Norway, Salt Lake City in the United States and Calgary in Canada.
It also serves as a rehearsal for a bigger event: Beijing will host the ISU World Speed Skating Championships at the end of February 2027. China News Service describes the World Cup stop as important competitive preparation for those championships, giving the host venue and the Chinese team a chance to test themselves under major-event conditions before the worlds arrive.
For the Chinese squad, the home leg is an early measure of form in a season that culminates with the Milan Winter Olympics already behind Ning and a new Olympic cycle underway. The mix of established names and newer entrants on the entry list reflects an effort to compete at home while exposing younger skaters to top-level international racing.
A packed field and a familiar venue
The Ice Ribbon, which hosted speed skating events during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, will stage three days of racing. The venue's return to the World Cup calendar places Beijing at the front of the international season rather than later in the winter, when the circuit traditionally moves through Europe and North America.
The organizing responsibilities are split among several bodies. The ISU is the event's host organization, while the Winter Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Chinese Skating Association and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports are listed as organizers. The Beijing Sports Competition Management and International Exchange Center and Beijing Beiao Group are jointly operating the event, China News Service reports.
For spectators, the ticket sale that began November 9 marks the start of public access to a competition that brings together much of the sport's top talent in one of its newest and fastest venues. The entry list includes skaters from more than 20 countries and regions, according to China News Service, making the Beijing stop one of the more internationally representative fields on the six-stage calendar.
What to watch
The Chinese team's performance at home will be scrutinized as an indicator of where the program stands early in the new Olympic cycle, particularly with Ning and Gao anchoring the men's side and a deep group of domestic skaters filling out both rosters. The results in Beijing will also feed into preparations for the World Championships at the same venue in late February 2027.
Racing at the Ice Ribbon begins November 13.
