Rules to know for 2026 Winter Olympics sports, events

After four long years, the Winter Olympics are coming back.

From the mountains to the ice to the track, it's been a while since some of the Winter Olympic sports took center stage. Now, top athletes from around the world will travel to Italy for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games with the hopes of reaching the podium.

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While sports like figure skating, downhill skiing and ice hockey are Olympic staples, other disciplines fly more under the radar. There will also be an entirely new sport added for Milan Cortina, giving fans another event to familiarize themselves with.

Before the action gets underway, let's look at the rules for each sport across the Winter Olympic program.

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Alpine skiing rules

Alpine skiing is broken down into four different kinds of races: downhill, Super-G, slalom and giant slalom. There is also a combined event that incorporates downhill and slalom, as well as an alpine skiing team event.

Alpine skiers need to be mindful of the gates that are sprawled across the course. Missing a gate leads to an automatic disqualification. While the skier could technically go back uphill and pass through the gate, the time it takes to do that would effectively equal a disqualification.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for alpine skiing.

Biathlon rules

Biathlon combines cross-country skiing and shooting, each with their own set of rules.

Whether an event begins with an interval start, pursuit start or mass start, biathletes race for the best times. Competitors get time penalties based on their results in the shooting portion of the event.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for biathlon.

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Cross-country skiing rules

Cross-country skiers must follow a marked course from start to finish and pass all control points in their race.

Violations in cross-country skiing include obstructing other skiers, waxing skies before a race and violating technique. Officials are spread out throughout the course looking for technique violations.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for cross-country skiing.

Curling rules

While curling can seem simple on the surface, there is still a number of ways in which competitors could break the rules.

Curling violations include hogline violations, touching moving stones, touching stationary stones, playing out of order and incorrect sweeping.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for curling.

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Figure skating rules

Nine judges and a technical panel are in charge of scoring figure skaters at the Olympics. While the scoring is based off the elements in a given routine, figure skaters can also lose out on points for a number of violations, whether it involves elements, falling, time, music and even clothing.

Olympic figure skating also has an age requirement. All competitors must be 17 years old by July 1, 2025, up from the 15-year-old requirement for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for figure skating.

Freestyle skiing rules

In ski cross, any intentional contact with another competitor is illegal and results in an automatic disqualification. Blocking an opponent from passing is also illegal, but unavoidable causal contact is allowed.

For the halfpipe, if a competitor stops in the halfpipe for more than 10 seconds, the judges will score the run to that point and the run will be considered terminated.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for freestyle skiing.

Ice hockey rules

Ice hockey at the Olympics looks in may ways similar to play in the NHL, but the Olympic game is played on a bigger rink.

There is also a major difference in the amount of contact allowed between men's and women's ice hockey. "Body checking" is prohibited in the women's game, though there is still a level of "body contact" allowed.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for ice hockey.

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Nordic combined rules

Nordic combined takes ski jumping and cross-country skiing and turns them into a single event.

However, since those two sports are scored on completely different scales, Nordic combined uses the Gunderson time-point conversion table to score events.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for Nordic combined.

Short track speed skating rules

Short track speed skaters can be disqualified for the following reasons: impeding, two false starts, off-track, slowing down, team skating and kicking out a skate.

Short track also employs a card system. A yellow card means a skater is disqualified from a race and the rest of that event. A red card — or two yellow cards — results in disqualification from a race and event, exclusion from the rest of the Olympics and getting listed on the bottom of the event classification with no rank.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for short track speed skating.

Ski jumping rules

Ski jumping isn't just about going the furthest distance.

Judges base a jumper's score on their distance along with style points, gate points and wind compensation points.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for ski jumping.

Ski mountaineering rules

The newest Winter Olympic sport will debut in Milan Cortina with a new set of rules for fans to learn.

Ski mountaineering combines uphill climbing and downhill skiing. Sprint races consist of an ascent and descent, while the mixed relay has two ascents plus a section on foot with skis attached to the backpack for each ascent and two descents.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for ski mountaineering.

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Sliding sports rules

Bobsled, luge and skeleton are all similar sliding sports, but they have their differences.

Beyond the various sled types, the sports have different starting methods and racing positions.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for bobsled, luge and skeleton.

Snowboard rules

There are different sets of rules for halfpipe, parallel giant slalom and snowboard cross.

Like in freestyle skiing halfpipe, competitors cannot stop for more than 10 seconds in snowboard halfpipe. Similarly, snowboard cross rules mirror those of ski cross.

In parallel giant slalom, racers can be disqualified for false starts, disrupting their opponent, passing through a wrong gate and more.

Here is a breakdown of the rules for snowboard.