With the road to the 2026 Winter Games already underway, things are about to heat up for Olympic hopefuls in freestyle skiing. Quota spots still are on the line for skiers around the world, and in the United States, selection events will be used to fill many of the Olympic team roster spots.

Find out more details about Olympic qualification below, and learn which events during the 2025-26 winter season will determine the fate of U.S. Olympic team hopefuls.

How many freestyle skiers qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics?

A total of 284 quota spots are available for freestyle skiers at the Milan Cortina Games, but each discipline has its own limit on the number of quota spots awarded:

• Freeski halfpipe: 25 men, 25 women
• Freeski slopestyle/big air: 30 men, 30 women
• Aerials: 25 men, 25 women
• Moguls/dual moguls: 30 men, 30 women
• Ski cross: 32 men, 32 women

For qualification purposes, slopestyle and big air are considered one event, and the same group of athletes will compete in both disciplines at Milan Cortina. The same is true of moguls and dual moguls.

Although the number of quota spots for freeski halfpipe is limited to 25 athletes per gender, the field could be larger (up to 30 athletes per gender) if any athletes who qualify for slopestyle/big air also meet the eligibility criteria for halfpipe.

How many freestyle skiers per country can compete at the Olympics?

Countries are limited to a maximum of four athletes per event. There’s also a limit to the total team size that each country can bring to Milan Cortina.

Each nation can have up to 16 men or 16 women on its Olympic freestyle skiing roster, but the total team size generally can’t exceed 30 athletes. There’s an exception, however: If a country qualifies at least three athletes in aerials and is eligible to form a team for the mixed team aerials event, then that country’s maximum roster size increases to 32 athletes.

If a country is strong across multiple events, it may be forced to make difficult decisions about which quota spots to use and which to relinquish.

What is the Olympic freestyle skiing qualification period?

The qualification period began in July 2024 and will conclude on Jan. 18, 2026.

How are Olympic freestyle skiing quota spots allocated to countries?

Freestyle skiers don’t qualify individually for the Winter Olympics. Instead, they earn quota spots for their countries based on their performance in FIS World Cup events and the 2025 World Championships.

The qualification period began in July 2024 and will conclude on Jan. 18, 2026. FIS, the sport’s governing body, maintains an “Olympic Quota Allocation List” which serves as the basis for determining quota spots. A few caveats to note:

• Slopestyle and big air are calculated as one event
• Moguls and dual moguls are calculated as one event
• Aerials has some special rules around allocation to enable more countries to compete in the mixed team event
• Each country can receive a maximum of four quota spots per event
• Italy, the host nation, is guaranteed at least one quota spot in each event, provided they have an athlete who meets the eligibility criteria

Once quota spots are distributed to countries (starting on Jan. 19, 2026), it will be up to those countries to name athletes to their Olympic teams to fill those spots.

Because of the limits on roster size — each country is restricted to a maximum of 16 men and/or 16 women across all disciplines — countries may be forced to return some of their quota spots, which then would be reallocated to countries further down the Olympic Quota Allocation List.

The entry list for Milan Cortina will be finalized by Jan. 26, 2026.

What are the eligibility requirements for Olympic freestyle skiing?

To be eligible to receive one of the quota spots, athletes must meet two pieces of criteria:

• Finish in the top 30 of a FIS World Cup event or the 2025 World Championships
• Score a minimum number of FIS points (varies by discipline)

How are tiebreakers handled in Olympic freestyle skiing qualification?

If two or more athletes are tied for the final quota spot in any particular discipline, then the athlete ranked higher on the FIS points list will be awarded the spot.

If there still is a tie, then athletes will be ranked according to their best finishes in World Cup and world championship events during the qualification period. In other words, whichever athlete has more first-place finishes would be awarded the spot; if a tie remains, then whichever athlete has more second-place finishes would get the spot, and so on.

Is there a minimum age requirement for Olympic freestyle skiing?

Yes. For most freestyle skiing disciplines, athletes must have been born before Jan. 1, 2011 to be eligible to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics. (In other words, they must have turned 15 before the start of the calendar year.) For ski cross, athletes must have turned 16 before the start of the year.

How does qualification work for mixed team aerials at the Olympics?

Any athlete that qualifies in aerials can be selected for the mixed team event, provided their country is eligible to compete in the mixed team event. Each team consists of three athletes from the same country, with at least one athlete of each gender. No country can field more than one team.

During the quota allocation process for aerials, there are special rules in place to allow more countries to compete in the mixed team event. After quota spots have been allocated to the first 22 men and 22 women, if there are fewer than eight countries able to form a team, then the next quota spots will be awarded to nations that already have two athletes qualified and can form a team with that additional spot.

What are the key dates and deadlines for Olympic freestyle skiing qualification?

The qualification period for Olympic freestyle skiing ends on Jan. 18, 2026, and quota places officially will be allocated the next day. Over the next several days, as countries confirm which quota spots to accept and which to reject, quota spots will be reallocated.

The entry list for Milan Cortina will be finalized by Jan. 26, 2026.

How is the U.S. Olympic freestyle ski team selected?

U.S. Ski & Snowboard effectively has broken the Olympic selection process into two distinct phases.

Phase 1: Early qualification via objective criteria

At the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, one athlete per event could clinch an Olympic spot by finishing in the top three of the 2026 FIS Base List.

Four athletes met that criteria:

• Alex Hall (men’s slopestyle/big air)
• Alex Ferreira (men’s halfpipe)
• Jaelin Kauf (women’s moguls/dual moguls)
• Quinn Dehlinger (men’s aerials)

NOTE: Although Winter Vinecki was ranked in the top three for women’s aerials, she was not eligible for early qualification because she retained that ranking due to injury.

Phase 2: Selection events and discretionary picks

Certain events taking place during the 2025-26 season have been deemed selection events and will be used to fill most of the remaining spots on the team.

This is the order of how U.S. Ski & Snowboard will fill those spots:

1. Best individual result at a selection event: Athletes must finish in the top three at a selection event to be eligible. For most disciplines, up to three athletes can make the roster this way. For any discipline where an athlete already has qualified via Phase 1 (listed above), only two athletes can make the roster this way.
2. Discretionary selections: Up to 25% of the team’s total quota spots can be filled by discretionary picks. Athletes must submit a petition to U.S. Ski & Snowboard to be considered.
3. Next best individual result at a selection event: Any remaining quota spots are filled by nominating the athlete(s) with the next highest result(s) from a selection event. If the U.S. has earned enough quota spots across all disciplines to exceed the maximum roster size (either 30 or 32 total athletes), then individual results across different disciplines are compared to determine which quota spots are retained and which are returned.

How will Team USA decide who participates in mixed team aerials?

Provided the U.S. qualifies enough athletes to participate in mixed team aerials, any athlete who qualifies for the individual aerials event is eligible to compete.

One man and one woman automatically will be selected for the U.S. team based on the average score of their top three jumps from the 2025-26 World Cup season. The third team member will be named to the team as a discretionary selection.

What are the selection events for the U.S. Olympic freestyle ski team?

Each discipline has its own set of selection events, which are listed below. All selection events will take place during the 2025-26 season.

Freeski Halfpipe

• Dec. 11-13, 2025: Secret Garden (CHN) World Cup
• Dec. 18-20, 2025: Copper (USA) World Cup
• Jan. 1-3, 2026: Calgary (CAN) World Cup
• Jan. 7-10, 2026: Aspen (USA) World Cup

Freeski Slopestyle/Big Air

• Nov. 21-22, 2025: Stubai (AUT) World Cup – Slopestyle
• Nov. 28-30, 2025: Secret Garden (CHN) World Cup – Big Air
• Dec. 11-13, 2025: Steamboat (USA) World Cup – Big Air
• Jan. 7-10, 2026: Aspen (USA) World Cup – Slopestyle
• Jan. 15-17, 2026: Laax (SUI) World Cup – Slopestyle

Aerials

• All individual FIS World Cup events in the 2025-26 season through Jan. 19, 2026

Moguls/Dual Moguls

• All individual FIS World Cup events in the 2025-26 season through Jan. 19, 2026

Ski Cross

• All individual FIS World Cup events in the 2025-26 season through Jan. 19, 2026

Who will compete for Team USA in freestyle skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

So far, four athletes have qualified for the 2026 U.S. Olympic freestyle ski team:

• Alex Hall (men’s slopestyle/big air)
• Alex Ferreira (men’s halfpipe)
• Jaelin Kauf (women’s moguls/dual moguls)
• Quinn Dehlinger (men’s aerials)

The rest of the roster will come together next winter.