[{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"athlete-update","content":"Prices were reset after World Tour 1, and transfers close when World Tour 2 in Montréal starts on 30 October 2026 at 13:00 UTC. Three skaters dropped from ◆18M to ◆14M, Minjeong Choi rose to ◆25M, and at least four skaters in the pool will not race, or may not. One of them, Kim Boutin, is retired but still costs ◆10M.\n\n## What Changed After Vancouver\n\nScoring for World Tour 1 finished on 27 October 2026, and that pass repriced the market. 41 skaters changed price compared with our 6 October snapshot, and no other competition was scored in between. These are the notable moves.\n\n| Skater | Before | Now |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Minjeong CHOI (KOR) | ◆22M | ◆25M |\n| Furkan AKAR (TUR) | ◆7M | ◆10M |\n| Maxime LAOUN (CAN) | ◆7M | ◆10M |\n| Teun BOER (NED) | ◆7M | ◆10M |\n| Li GONG (CHN) | ◆7M | ◆10M |\n| Gloria IORIATTI (ITA) | ◆5M | ◆7M |\n| Michal NIEWINSKI (POL) | ◆5M | ◆7M |\n| Seo Chan BAE (KOR) | ◆3M | ◆5M |\n| Corinne STODDARD (USA) | ◆25M | ◆22M |\n| Pietro SIGHEL (ITA) | ◆18M | ◆14M |\n| Long SUN (CHN) | ◆18M | ◆14M |\n| Shaoang LIU (CHN) | ◆18M | ◆14M |\n| Stijn DESMET (BEL) | ◆14M | ◆10M |\n| Mirei NAKASHIMA (JPN) | ◆7M | ◆5M |\n\nChoi won the women's 1000m, Akar took Türkiye's first World Tour medal with a men's 500m bronze, and Ioriatti took 1000m bronze. Jens van 't Wout, Xandra Velzeboer, Gilli Kim, William Dandjinou and Courtney Sarault remain at ◆25M.\n\n## Who Will Not Race Montréal, or May Not\n\n- **Michelle Velzeboer (NED, ◆14M).** A small fibula fracture from a fall in the 1000m quarterfinal on 24 October. The Dutch are not calling anyone up and will race with five women.\n- **William Dandjinou (CAN, ◆25M).** Not on Canada's 12-skater team for Vancouver and Montréal, which Speed Skating Canada named on 13 October. He was reported on 7 October to be back for Seoul on 20 to 22 November.\n- **Corinne Stoddard (USA, ◆22M).** Taking a break from short track, as we reported on 29 September. She is still priced at ◆22M.\n- **Kim Boutin (CAN, ◆10M).** The ISU listed her among the skaters retiring after 2025/26 on 24 April 2026, and she is not on Canada's team. She is still in the pool and can be bought.\n- **Arianna Fontana and Pietro Sighel (ITA, ◆14M each).** Neither was among the ten Italians named for Vancouver on 20 October. No reason was given, and the Montréal list is not out yet.\n\n## Before the Lock\n\nCheck any skater you hold against the list above before 13:00 UTC on 30 October 2026. After that your roster is fixed through the weekend.\n","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-28T11:40:22.615Z"},"id":"montreal-transfer-window-2026-27-price-moves-absences","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-28T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"montreal-transfer-window-2026-27-price-moves-absences","status":"published","summary":"Prices were reset after Vancouver and transfers lock when Montréal starts on 30 October at 13:00 UTC. Minjeong Choi rose to ◆25M, Pietro Sighel, Long Sun and Shaoang Liu fell to ◆14M, and several expensive skaters are out, on a break or retired but still in the pool.","tags":["world-tour","2026-27","pricing","transfers","world-tour-2-montreal-2026-27","minjeong-choi","furkan-akar","gloria-ioriatti","pietro-sighel","long-sun","shaoang-liu","corinne-stoddard","michelle-velzeboer","william-dandjinou","kim-boutin","arianna-fontana"],"title":"Before the Montréal Lock: Three Skaters Fell From ◆18M to ◆14M, and a Retired Skater Is Still Priced at ◆10M","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-28T11:40:22.615Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"athlete-update","content":"British Ice Skating has named seven skaters for the first five World Tour stops, and only one of them costs more than ◆3M: Niall Treacy, at ◆14M. The team has two women and five men, and it was announced on September 18, 2026. All seven are in our pool, Treacy is trending up after his World Championship bronze, and the other six cost ◆1M to ◆3M.\n\n## What Great Britain Announced\n\nBritish Ice Skating (BIS) says the team was chosen after its Performance Selection Event at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham on September 11 and a selection meeting on Monday, September 14. It covers World Tour stops 1 to 5. The post names the team but does not say who races which distance. BIS says a further announcement with the distances will follow closer to the opening events.\n\n| Stop | Dates | Venue |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| World Tour #1 | Oct 23–25 | Vancouver |\n| World Tour #2 | Oct 30–Nov 1 | Montréal |\n| World Tour #3 | Nov 20–22 | Seoul |\n| World Tour #4 | Nov 27–29 | Shanghai |\n| World Tour #5 | Dec 4–6 | Beijing |\n\nBIS Performance Director Jon Eley called it \"a young team, with a number of athletes set to make their World Tour debuts\". The post does not say which ones, so we cannot tell you who the debutants are.\n\n## The Team and What They Cost\n\nPrices are from the pool snapshot of October 6, except for the two new skaters, who start at ◆1M. Prices move after every competition.\n\n| Skater | Category | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Niall TREACY | Men | ◆14M | Up |\n| Willem MURRAY | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Adam HILL JNR | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Albie BARLOW | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Joseph ARMSTRONG | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Annabelle GREEN | Women | ◆3M | Up |\n| Chloe CAMERON | Women | ◆1M | Up |\n\nTreacy is the headline. BIS says he took 1000m bronze at the World Championships in Montréal in March, Great Britain's first short track medal at a World Championships since 2017. He is the only British skater who has been priced like a front-runner, and he leads the list.\n\nAnnabelle Green at ◆3M is the only other skater above ◆1M. The other five each cost ◆1M, which makes them the cheapest way to hold a skater who has been picked for the first block.\n\n## Two New Names and a Familiar One\n\nAlbie Barlow and Joseph Armstrong are new to the pool, so they start at ◆1M with no trend. ISU's skater records show both as British Ice Skating athletes, Barlow born on July 17, 2008 and Armstrong on December 31, 2006. The only results ISU lists for either are junior ones: Barlow at the Junior World Cup and the World Junior Championships in the 2025/26 season, Armstrong at the World Junior Championships in 2025 and 2026. Neither has a senior World Tour result on record. Barlow is also on Great Britain's Junior World Cup team for Bormio on November 6–8 and 12–14, according to BIS's announcement of September 24.\n\nAdam Hill is the one ISU spells \"HILL JNR\". ISU has only one Adam Hill, born on December 5, 2004, listed for British Ice Skating, and he is the one in our pool. Unlike the two newcomers, he has World Tour starts on record, at the Tilburg and Milan stops in February 2025.\n\n## Who Was Left Off\n\nSix British skaters already in the pool are not on this list. The announcement gives no reason, so this says nothing about injury or form.\n\n| Skater | Category | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Theo COLLINS | Men | ◆2M | Flat |\n| Holly HOYLAND | Women | ◆1M | Up |\n| Jonathan MOODY | Men | ◆1M | Up |\n| Kyle ROSS-WADDELL | Men | ◆1M | Up |\n| Peter RICHES | Men | ◆1M | Up |\n| Westley YATES | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n\nCollins is the most expensive of them. A skater who is not on the team scores nothing at a World Tour stop, so if you hold any of these six, they are not racing the first five stops on this list. BIS says this team is for the first half of the season, and it has not yet said who covers the later stops.\n\n## The Relay Angle\n\n| Relay | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Great Britain Men's 5000m Relay | ◆7M | Up |\n| Great Britain Mixed Relay | ◆4M | Flat |\n\nThere is no Great Britain women's 3000m relay in the pool. The announcement does not mention relays at all, so we do not know who would race them. With five men and two women named, the men's relay is the most natural, but that is our reading, not BIS's. Relay results count triple toward the new Team Crystal Globe this season, which makes it worth watching when BIS publishes the distances.\n\n## What Happens Next\n\nVancouver is on October 23–25. Watch for BIS's follow-up on the distances before you commit to anyone, because a named skater is not necessarily entered in every distance. Prices in this article are a starting point: Great Britain's skaters are repriced after each competition like everyone else's.\n\n---\n\n**Sources**\n\n- [British Ice Skating — British Ice Skating names Short Track ISU World Tour team for the first half of the 2026/27 season](https://www.iceskating.org.uk/post/british-ice-skating-names-isu-short-track-world-tour-team-for-the-first-half-of-the-2026-27-season) (September 18, 2026)\n- [British Ice Skating — Everything You Need to Know: BIS Short Track Open & Performance Selection Event](https://www.iceskating.org.uk/post/short-track-open-selection-event-26) (September 10, 2026)\n- [British Ice Skating — Three debutants named as Team GBR head to the ISU Short Track Junior World Cup](https://www.iceskating.org.uk/post/three-debutants-named-as-team-gbr-head-to-the-isu-short-track-junior-world-cup) (September 24, 2026)\n","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-14T14:53:32.411Z"},"id":"great-britain-2026-27-world-tour-team-vancouver","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-14T14:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"great-britain-2026-27-world-tour-team-vancouver","status":"published","summary":"British Ice Skating has picked two women and five men for World Tour stops 1 to 5, starting in Vancouver on October 23. Treacy (◆14M, trending up) leads it, all seven are in the pool and five cost ◆1M. Six British skaters in the pool are off the list, and there is no GB women's 3000m relay to buy.","tags":["great-britain","national-team","team-selection","world-tour","2026-27","pricing","niall-treacy","annabelle-green","chloe-cameron","willem-murray","adam-hill-jnr","world-tour-1-vancouver-2026-27"],"title":"Great Britain Names Seven for the World Tour, and Only Niall Treacy Costs More Than ◆3M","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-14T14:53:32.411Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"athlete-update","content":"Kazakhstan has named 12 skaters for the first two World Tour stops, and half of them are new to our pool. The squad is six men and six women, led by ◆2M Gleb Ivchenko and ◆3M Malika Yermek. Denis Nikisha (◆5M), Yana Khan and Olga Tikhonova (◆3M each) are not on the list.\n\n## What Kazakhstan Announced\n\nThe national team's Instagram account (@shorttrackkz, posted jointly with @qaz.iceteam) published the squad for World Tour #1 and #2 on October 6. The post gives names and stops only. It does not say how the squad was chosen, who skates which distance, or why anyone is missing.\n\n| Stop | Dates | Venue |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| World Tour #1 | Oct 23-25 | Vancouver |\n| World Tour #2 | Oct 30-Nov 1 | Montréal |\n\nSportarena.kz reported the national championships took place in Astana in mid-September, with Bogdan Vekhov, Aibek Temirkhan and Gleb Ivchenko sharing the men's distance wins and Malika Yermek and Alina Azhgaliyeva winning the women's. The federation has not said that those results decided the squad, so treat that link as unconfirmed.\n\n## Six Skaters Already in the Pool\n\nPrices are from the game's market on October 6, not a promise about the next competition. They will move after each result.\n\n| Skater | Category | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Malika YERMEK | Women | ◆3M | Up |\n| Gleb IVCHENKO | Men | ◆2M | Down |\n| Alina AZHGALIYEVA | Women | ◆2M | Up |\n| Aibek NASSEN | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Aibek TEMIRKHAN | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Zeinep KUMARKAN | Women | ◆1M | Down |\n\nYermek is the most expensive woman on the list and Ivchenko the most expensive man. Nobody in the squad costs more than ◆3M, so a Kazakh pick does not eat a budget the way a ◆25M name does.\n\n## Six Skaters Joining the Pool\n\nThe other six are being added to the game. ISU's skater database confirms all six as Kazakh skaters, and new skaters enter at the base price of ◆1M.\n\n| Skater | Category | ISU profile |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Bogdan VEKHOV | Men | Age 18 |\n| Tamirlan ZHOLDAS | Men | Age 19 |\n| Maksat UALIULLA | Men | Age 20 |\n| Anastassiya GALECHINA | Women | Age 19 |\n| Guldana ZHALMUKHAN | Women | Age 20 |\n| Polina OMELCHUK | Women | Age 19 |\n\nAges come from the ISU profiles. Galechina is listed as \"Anastasia\" in the federation's post, while ISU's own record spells her given name \"Anastassiya\" and the game follows ISU's spelling, so search for her under that. A ◆1M skater with a confirmed place in the squad is the cheapest kind of slot, but a start is not a podium, and the federation's post says nothing about which events any of them skate.\n\n## Who Is Not on the List\n\n| Skater | Category | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Denis NIKISHA | Men | ◆5M | Up |\n| Abzal AZHGALIYEV | Men | ◆5M | Up |\n| Yana KHAN | Women | ◆3M | Down |\n| Olga TIKHONOVA | Women | ◆3M | Flat |\n| Adil GALIAKHMETOV | Men | ◆2M | Down |\n\nAbzal Azhgaliyev announced his retirement on September 3, after four Olympic Games, so he will not be on the ice. For Nikisha, Khan and Tikhonova the post gives no reason, and we found no retirement or injury report for any of them. Galiakhmetov was named in an earlier squad report on September 22 but is not on the October 6 list, and again no reason is given. A skater who is not on the team scores nothing, so do not read the absence as a decision either way until Kazakhstan says more.\n\n## The Relay Angle\n\n| Relay | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kazakhstan Women's 3000m Relay | ◆7M | Up |\n| Kazakhstan Men's 5000m Relay | ◆7M | Up |\n| Kazakhstan Mixed Relay | ◆7M | Up |\n\nAll three relays cost ◆7M, a price set by past results, while the squad that will skate them is young, and half of it is new to our game. The announcement names no relay line-ups. Relay points count triple toward this season's Team Crystal Globe, so the first Kazakh relay finals in Vancouver will show whether ◆7M was a bargain.\n\nA reminder: prices move. Every athlete and relay team is repriced after each competition, so treat these figures as a starting point, not a fixed cost.\n\n---\n\n**Sources**\n\n- [Kazakhstan national short track team, Instagram (@shorttrackkz): 2026/27 ISU World Tour I-II squad](https://www.instagram.com/shorttrackkz/) (October 6, 2026)\n- [Sportarena.kz: Представлен состав сборной Казахстана по шорт-треку на первые этапы World Tour (in Russian)](https://sportarena.kz/skating-species/1063645-predstavlen-sostav-sbornoy-kazakhstana-po-shorttreku-na-pervye-etapy-World-Tour.html) (October 6, 2026)\n- [Sportarena.kz: Определён состав сборной Казахстана по шорт-треку на этапы ISU World Tour и ЧМ (in Russian)](https://sportarena.kz/skating-species/1062609-opredeln-sostav-sbornoy-kazakhstana-po-shorttreku-na-etapy-isu-world-tour-i-chm.html) (September 22, 2026)\n- [Sportarena.kz: Определились новые чемпионы Казахстана по шорт-треку в Астане (in Russian)](https://sportarena.kz/skating-species/1062298-opredelilis-novye-chempiony-kazakhstana-po-shorttreku-v-astane.html) (September 18, 2026)\n- [Bes.media: Абзал Ажгалиев завершил карьеру после 24 лет в шорт-треке (in Russian)](https://bes.media/amp/abzal-azhgaliev-zavershil-kareru-posle-24-let-v-short-treke/) (September 3, 2026)\n- ISU skater profiles: [Bogdan Vekhov](https://isu-skating.com/short-track/skaters/bogdan-vekhov/), [Tamirlan Zholdas](https://isu-skating.com/short-track/skaters/tamirlan-zholdas/), [Maksat Ualiulla](https://isu-skating.com/short-track/skaters/maksat-ualiulla/), [Anastassiya Galechina](https://isu-skating.com/short-track/skaters/anastassiya-astrakhantseva/), [Guldana Zhalmukhan](https://isu-skating.com/short-track/skaters/guldana-zhalmukhan/), [Polina Omelchuk](https://isu-skating.com/short-track/skaters/polina-omelchuk/)","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T09:06:07.392Z"},"id":"kazakhstan-2026-27-world-tour-team-vancouver","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-06T19:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"kazakhstan-2026-27-world-tour-team-vancouver","status":"published","summary":"Kazakhstan has picked six men and six women for Vancouver and Montréal. Half are new to the game, nobody costs more than ◆3M, and Denis Nikisha, Yana Khan and Olga Tikhonova are not on the list.","tags":["kazakhstan","national-team","team-selection","world-tour","2026-27","pricing","world-tour-1-vancouver-2026-27"],"title":"Kazakhstan Names Its World Tour Squad, and Six of the 12 Are New to the Pool","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T13:29:48.290Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"athlete-update","content":"The Dutch federation has named the 12 skaters it is sending to World Tour 1 in Vancouver, and the list holds two first-time selections, two of the most expensive skaters in the game and a squad where five of twelve cost ◆1M or ◆3M. All 12 are in our pool. Three injured skaters are not on the list.\n\n## What KNSB Announced\n\nKNSB named six women and six men for the opening stop. The selection committee used combined rankings from three events: the Heerenveen time trials (September 24-25), the national selection races (September 26-27) and the Dutch Open Shorttrack (October 2-4). The federation did not publish those rankings, and the order of names in its announcement is not a ranking.\n\n| Stop | Dates | Venue |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| World Tour #1 | Oct 23-25 | Vancouver |\n| World Tour #2 | Oct 30-Nov 1 | Montréal |\n\nHead coach Niels Kerstholt decides individual distances and relay line-ups on site, so the list does not tell you who skates what. KNSB says the same roster is expected for Montréal, with changes possible for injury, conduct or performance.\n\n## The Squad and Its Prices\n\nPrices are from the game's pool snapshot generated on October 6, not live Firestore, and they will move after each competition.\n\n| Skater | Category | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Xandra VELZEBOER | Women | ◆25M | Up |\n| Jens VAN T WOUT | Men | ◆25M | Up |\n| Michelle VELZEBOER | Women | ◆14M | Up |\n| Selma POUTSMA | Women | ◆14M | Up |\n| Melle VAN 'T WOUT | Men | ◆10M | Up |\n| Teun BOER | Men | ◆7M | Up |\n| Diede VAN OORSCHOT | Women | ◆3M | Up |\n| Kay HUISMAN | Men | ◆3M | Up |\n| Zoe Florence DELTRAP | Women | ◆1M | Up |\n| Kiek STRAATHOF | Women | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Niels KINGMA | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Jesper SCHMITZ | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n\nIf you want Dutch skaters who are certain to be on the plane for the first block, this is the whole list. The two ◆25M names, Xandra Velzeboer and Jens van 't Wout, are the priciest in the squad by a wide margin. Four skaters in the squad cost ◆1M.\n\n## Two First-Time Selections\n\nKNSB lists Kiek Straathof and Jesper Schmitz as first-time selections. Both are ◆1M with a flat trend.\n\n- **Kiek Straathof** is 21. Schaatsen.nl says she impressed across two qualifying weekends, particularly on the 1500m.\n- **Jesper Schmitz** is 17 and skates for the WADRO KNSB Talent Team Noord. Schaatsen.nl reports he posted the best Dutch 1500m result at the Dutch Open and, the weekend before, went below the national junior 1000m record (unofficial). It also notes he keeps the option of the junior World Cups in Bormio instead, so check the next announcement before building around him.\n\n## A Cheap Man Worth a Look\n\nNiels Kingma is also ◆1M. Schaatsen.nl reported on October 3 that he ran 1:23.90 over 1000m at the Dutch Open, 1.6 seconds faster than his previous personal best, and that he was the only Dutch skater who could stay with Olympic champion Jens van 't Wout. A pick is only worth what he scores, and a start is not a podium, but a ◆1M skater with a confirmed place on the team is the kind of slot the budget exists for.\n\n## Who Was Left Off\n\nSchaatsen.nl reports that Friso Emons, Daan Kos and Bibi Arts were not selected while recovering from injury. All three are in the pool:\n\n| Skater | Category | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Friso EMONS | Men | ◆5M | Up |\n| Daan KOS | Men | ◆5M | Up |\n| Bibi ARTS | Women | ◆1M | Flat |\n\nA skater who is not on the team scores nothing. The injury note is the press summary of the federation's reasoning, so wait for a KNSB update before assuming a return date.\n\n## The Relay Angle\n\n| Relay | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Netherlands Women's 3000m Relay | ◆15M | Up |\n| Netherlands Men's 5000m Relay | ◆15M | Up |\n| Netherlands Mixed Relay | ◆13M | Up |\n\nThe announcement does not name relay line-ups. Relay points count triple toward this season's Team Crystal Globe, so the Dutch line-ups are worth watching once Kerstholt sets them in Vancouver.\n\nA reminder: prices move. Every athlete and relay team is repriced after each competition, so treat these figures as a starting point, not a fixed cost.\n\n---\n\n**Sources**\n\n- [KNSB — TeamNL Shorttrack voor ISU World Tour 1 bekend (in Dutch)](https://knsb.nl/nieuws/teamnl-shorttrack-voor-isu-world-tour-1-bekend1/) (October 5, 2026)\n- [Schaatsen.nl — Jesper Schmitz en Kiek Straathof geselecteerd voor World Tour (in Dutch)](https://www.schaatsen.nl/nieuws/jesper-schmitz-en-kiek-straathof-geselecteerd-voor-world-tour/) (October 5, 2026)\n- [Schaatsen.nl — Niels Kingma op koers, 17-jarige Jesper Schmitz verrast (in Dutch)](https://www.schaatsen.nl/nieuws/niels-kingma-op-koers-17-jarige-jesper-schmitz-verrast/) (October 3, 2026)\n- [KNSB — Announcement Time-Trials en Selectiewedstrijden (PDF, in Dutch)](https://www.shorttrackonline.info/announcements/Time_Trials_NED_for_World_Tour_seniors_Heerenveen_Sep-2026.pdf)\n","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-06T14:57:20.392Z"},"id":"netherlands-2026-27-world-tour-team-vancouver","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-06T13:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"netherlands-2026-27-world-tour-team-vancouver","status":"published","summary":"KNSB has picked six women and six men for Vancouver, all 12 already in the pool. Two are first-time selections, four cost ◆1M, and Friso Emons, Daan Kos and Bibi Arts are out while recovering from injury.","tags":["netherlands","national-team","team-selection","world-tour","2026-27","pricing","world-tour-1-vancouver-2026-27"],"title":"The Netherlands Names Its World Tour 1 Team: Two Debutants, and Four Skaters at ◆1M","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T13:29:48.290Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"athlete-update","content":"Japan's federation has named the skaters it is sending to the first five World Tour stops, and the list answers the question that matters most to anyone holding Japanese skaters: who actually starts in Vancouver. Five men and five women are marked for the opener, nine of those ten are in our pool, and five of the ten cost ◆1M. The less obvious part comes later in the list: Japan's second most expensive skater is selected for only one of the five stops.\n\n## What Japan Announced\n\nThe Japan Skating Federation (JSF) published its dispatch list for World Tour stops 1 to 5 on October 4. It names 12 men and 7 women. Each skater is marked per stop as either dispatched (○) or reserve (S, 補欠). The list does not give relay lineups or event assignments.\n\n| Stop | Dates | Venue |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| World Tour #1 | Oct 23–25 | Vancouver |\n| World Tour #2 | Oct 30–Nov 1 | Montréal |\n| World Tour #3 | Nov 20–22 | Seoul |\n| World Tour #4 | Nov 27–29 | Shanghai |\n| World Tour #5 | Dec 4–6 | Beijing |\n\n## How the Team Was Picked\n\nThe JSF's [2026/27 selection criteria](https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/2026-27_ST_Senkokijun_20260722.pdf), published on July 22, tie the first five stops to one event: the 37th All Japan Short Track Distance Championships on October 3–4 in Minamimaki, Nagano.\n\n- Each skater first has to beat a time-trial standard set by the federation's short track department.\n- The winner of each distance (500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m) goes straight onto the team.\n- The remaining places, up to five per gender, go to the best 500 m and 1000 m finishers.\n- Up to five reserves per gender are picked the same way.\n- The criteria allow at most five dispatched skaters per gender, and Japan has three individual entries per distance plus one relay team each.\n\nWe could not find the championship results, so we cannot say who won which distance. The list is therefore a direct result of those two days, and the federation's own wording is that the committee can step in where the rules do not decide.\n\n## Who Starts in Vancouver\n\nTen skaters are dispatched for the opener. Prices are from prod on October 5.\n\n| Skater | Category | Price | Trend | Stops dispatched |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Shogo MIYATA | Men | ◆10M | Down | #1–5 |\n| Kazuki YOSHINAGA | Men | ◆5M | Up | #1–5 |\n| Takumi WADA | Men | ◆1M | Flat | #1–5 |\n| Shuta MATSUZU | Men | ◆1M | Up | #1–5 |\n| Dan IWASA | Men | ◆1M | Down | #1–3 (reserve at #4–5) |\n| Haruna NAGAMORI | Women | ◆3M | Down | #1–5 |\n| Rika KANAI | Women | ◆3M | Up | #1–5 |\n| Rina YAMANA | Women | ◆1M | Flat | #1–5 |\n| Sarasa KINAMI | Women | ◆1M | Flat | #1–2 (reserve at #3–5) |\n| Wakaba KENJO | Women | ◆1M | Flat | #1–2, #4–5 (reserve at #3) |\n\nFour men (Miyata, Yoshinaga, Wada, Matsuzu) and three women (Nagamori, Kanai, Yamana) are listed for all five stops. If you want a Japanese skater who is guaranteed a start on every stop of the first block, this is the group. Wada, Matsuzu and Yamana do it at ◆1M each.\n\n## How the List Changes Along the Way\n\n- **Seoul (#3):** Mirei NAKASHIMA and Ayano SEKIGUCHI come in. Kenjo and Kinami drop to reserve.\n- **Shanghai and Beijing (#4–5):** Sekiguchi stays and Kenjo returns. Kinami stays on the reserve list. On the men's side, Taiga SASAKI is dispatched and Iwasa moves to reserve.\n\nNakashima is the one to watch. At ◆7M she is Japan's second most expensive skater in the pool (trend: down), and the list dispatches her for Seoul only. She is not listed for Vancouver, Montréal, Shanghai or Beijing. A skater who is not dispatched scores nothing, so holding her through the first block would mean four stops with no start.\n\nSasaki and Sekiguchi are both listed under Koumi High School. Neither was in the pool before this list, and neither were Kenjo and the reserve Raito KIDA. All four are now in the pool at ◆1M (snapshot of October 6), trend flat.\n\n## Who Was Left Off\n\nEight Japanese skaters already in the pool are not on the list for any of the five stops. The list gives no reason, so this says nothing about injury or form. These prices are from the pool snapshot of October 6:\n\n| Skater | Category | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Ami HIRAI | Women | ◆3M | Down |\n| Keita WATANABE | Men | ◆3M | Up |\n| Kosei HAYASHI | Men | ◆3M | Flat |\n| Aoi WATANABE | Women | ◆2M | Down |\n| Kii KUROKAWA | Women | ◆2M | Down |\n| Hana TAKAHASHI | Women | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Yui MATSUBAYASHI | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Hiroki YOKOYAMA | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n\nOne caution on this table. The list shows a reserve named 林 大剛 (Hayashi), and we read that as Daigo HAYASHI, who is in the pool. If it is instead Kosei, the two Hayashis swap places in this section.\n\nAmi Hirai and Keita Watanabe stand out because they are the most expensive names on the omitted list. Check the next JSF announcement before relying on either of them for the first block.\n\n## The Reserves\n\nSeven men are listed as reserves at some point. Five of them are reserves for Vancouver: Kida, Katsunori KOIKE, Daigo HAYASHI and two university skaters, Kakinami and Miyoshi. The JSF publishes their names in kanji only, so we have not matched those last two to profiles yet. Yuta FUCHIGAMI is a reserve from Seoul onward. Koike, Fuchigami and Hayashi are each ◆1M in the pool. Among the women, Kinami and Kenjo take turns as the reserve.\n\nA reserve scores only if the federation moves them into a start. Treat them as cheap options, not as starters.\n\n## The Universiade Nominees\n\nA second JSF document, also dated October 4, names the first skaters for the Winter Universiade in Changchun, China (January 15–25, 2027, short track on January 22–24). No men are nominated yet. Three women are: Rika KANAI (◆3M, trend up), Wakaba KENJO and Sarasa KINAMI (both ◆1M). All three are on the World Tour #1–2 list. The criteria allow up to three nominees per gender, taken from skaters picked for World Tour #1–2. The other six men and three women will be named after the Universiade selection meet on October 31 to November 1.\n\n## What Happens After Stop 5\n\nThis is the first block, not the season. According to the criteria, stops 6 and 7 (Gdańsk on February 5–7, 2027, and Tilburg on February 12–14) and the World Championships in Seoul (March 12–14, 2027) are picked from the All Japan Championships on January 10, 2027. The Worlds team is three or five per gender, depending on an ISU notice still to come, and relay entries depend on the final World Tour ranking. Do not read this list as the Worlds squad.\n\n## The Relay Angle\n\n| Relay | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Japan Women's 3000m Relay | ◆10M | Up |\n| Japan Men's 5000m Relay | ◆10M | Up |\n| Japan Mixed Relay | ◆7M | Up |\n\nThe list names five dispatched skaters per gender at every stop, and does not say who races the relays. Relay points count triple toward the new Team Crystal Globe this season, which makes the relay lineups worth watching. We can't say more until they appear.\n\n*Updated October 13, 2026: Ami Hirai's price corrected to ◆3M, the four new profiles are now in the pool, and the selection process and Universiade nominees were added.*\n\nA reminder: prices move. Every athlete and relay team is repriced after each competition, so treat these figures as a starting point, not a fixed cost.\n\n---\n\n**Sources**\n\n- [JSF — 2026/27 Short Track international competition selection criteria (PDF, in Japanese)](https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/2026-27_ST_Senkokijun_20260722.pdf) (July 22, 2026)\n- [JSF — Universiade 2027 nominated skaters (PDF, in Japanese)](https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/%E3%83%A6%E3%83%8B%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%82%A2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E5%86%85%E5%AE%9A%E9%81%B8%E6%89%8B.pdf) (October 4, 2026)\n- [JSF — 2026/27 Short Track World Tour #1–5 dispatch team (PDF, in Japanese)](https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/common/img/info/%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%84%E3%82%A2%E3%83%BC%E7%AC%AC1-5%E6%88%A6%E6%B4%BE%E9%81%A3%E9%81%B8%E6%89%8B%E5%9B%A3.pdf) (October 4, 2026)\n- [JSF — 2026/27 Short Track international competition dispatch team](https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/short/news/detail.php?id=308) (in Japanese)\n- [JSF — Short track designated athletes (spellings of Kida, Sasaki, Sekiguchi, Nakashima)](https://www.skatingjapan.or.jp/short/player/) (in Japanese)\n- [JOC — Team Japan roster, Winter Universiade 2025 (spelling of Kenjo)](https://www.joc.or.jp/games/univ/2025_winter/pdf/shorttrack.pdf) (in Japanese)\n","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-05T14:17:08.689Z"},"id":"japan-2026-27-world-tour-team-vancouver","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-05T14:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"japan-2026-27-world-tour-team-vancouver","status":"published","summary":"The JSF has published its dispatch list for World Tour stops 1 to 5: five men and five women for Vancouver, nine of the ten already in the pool and five of them at ◆1M. Mirei Nakashima (◆7M) is dispatched for Seoul only, and eight Japanese skaters in the pool are off the list entirely. The article also explains how the team was picked and who is already nominated for the Universiade.","tags":["japan","national-team","team-selection","world-tour","2026-27","pricing","world-tour-1-vancouver-2026-27"],"title":"Japan Names Its World Tour Team, and Its ◆7M Skater Is Only In for Seoul","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-13T09:40:54.793Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"competition-result","content":"Brandon Kim and Kristen Santos-Griswold are the United States' short track champions again. Kim defended his men's overall title and Santos-Griswold took the women's at the U.S. Short Track Championships & World Tour Qualifier, held at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah from September 25 to 27. The meet doubled as the qualifier for the U.S. World Tour team, which US Speedskating says \"will be announced later\". The World Tour opens in Vancouver on October 23–25.\n\n## How the Championships Worked\n\nEvery skater raced the 500m, 1000m and 1500m twice, six races in all. Each race pays 10,000 points for a win, with every place after worth 85% of the one before, and the six scores add up to the overall classification. More than 50 skaters started (57 appear in the official protocol: 39 men and 18 women).\n\n## Men: Kim Wins, Sullivan Wins Races but Sits Fifth\n\n**Brandon Kim** won the overall title on 51,437 points. He won both 500m races and the second 1000m, and was second in both 1500m races, so he was on the podium in five of six.\n\n**Clayton DeClemente** was second overall on 42,651, winning the first 1500m and placing second in both 1000m races. **Andrew Heo** was third on 35,723 with third places in both 1000m races. **Justin Liu** finished fourth on 35,392, second in both 500m races.\n\n**Benjamin Sullivan**, a U19 skater, won the first 1000m and the second 1500m but was only fifth overall (29,934) because of a 20th place in the second 1000m and 9th and 10th places in the 500m. **Marcus Howard** was sixth, third in both 500m races. **Noah Troppe** was seventh and **Ryan Shane** eighth. Caleb Park, the other men's national team member in the field, was 11th.\n\n## Women: Santos-Griswold Wins Five of Six\n\n**Kristen Santos-Griswold** won the overall title on 54,437 points. She won five of the six races, the exception being a sixth place in the second 500m. **Isabella Chen**, a U17 skater, was second on 43,350 points and **Kamryn Lute** third on 39,963, runner-up in both 1000m races and both 1500m races.\n\n**Louisiana Stahl** was fourth and **Olimpia Kazanecka** fifth. **Elizabeth Rhodehamel** was sixth and was runner-up in the second 500m. Vanessa Chan, one of two under-15 skaters in the field, won that second 500m and finished seventh overall.\n\n## Corinne Stoddard Is Taking a Break\n\nThe most important line for managers is about someone who did not race. Corinne Stoddard, the defending women's overall champion and an Olympic bronze medallist in Milano Cortina, is not in the results. US Speedskating reports that she will take a break from short track to return to her roots as an inline skater, and is set to return to short track later this season. The report gives no date. Eunice Lee, the other women's national team member named in July, is also not in the protocol.\n\n## Who Makes the World Tour Team?\n\n**Not decided yet.** The roster will be announced later, and the report does not spell out how the results will be applied. Treat the standings above as a strong indicator, not a confirmed squad.\n\n## What It Means in Short Track Manager\n\nVancouver and Montreal are World Tour #1 and #2 in the game, the first two scoring competitions of 2026/27. Here is where the top finishers who are in the athlete pool sit at season-start pricing:\n\n| Skater | Category | Championships | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Corinne Stoddard | Women | Not racing | ◆25M | Up |\n| Kristen Santos-Griswold | Women | Champion | ◆14M | Down |\n| Andrew Heo | Men | 3rd overall | ◆10M | Up |\n| Brandon Kim | Men | Champion | ◆7M | Down |\n| Clayton DeClemente | Men | 2nd overall | ◆7M | Up |\n| Kamryn Lute | Women | 3rd overall | ◆3M | Up |\n| Louisiana Stahl | Women | 4th overall | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Justin Liu | Men | 4th overall | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Marcus Howard | Men | 6th overall | ◆1M | Down |\n| Noah Troppe | Men | 7th overall | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Ryan Shane | Men | 8th overall | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Una Willhoite | Women | 8th overall | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Isabella Chen | Women | 2nd overall | ◆3M | — |\n| Olimpia Kazanecka | Women | 5th overall | ◆3M | — |\n| Elizabeth Rhodehamel | Women | 6th overall | ◆3M | — |\n| Vanessa Chan | Women | 7th overall | ◆2M | — |\n| Benjamin Sullivan | Men | 5th overall | ◆2M | — |\n\nFive of the top seven finishers were not in the athlete pool before the Championships: Benjamin Sullivan (5th), Isabella Chen (2nd), Olimpia Kazanecka (5th), Elizabeth Rhodehamel (6th) and Vanessa Chan (7th). They have now been added, priced from their Championships finish through the game's national-trial boost: Chen, Kazanecka and Rhodehamel at ◆3M, and Sullivan and Vanessa Chan at ◆2M.\n\n**Isabella Chen is the one to watch.** The U17 skater finished second overall on 43,350 points, ahead of senior Kamryn Lute (39,963), and at ◆3M she costs the same as Lute. The boost is based on how strong the U.S. women's field is, and it was calculated without Stoddard, who did not race, so it is modest. It is a starting price only: it will move with her World Tour results, and she still needs a World Tour berth to score.\n\n**Stoddard at ◆25M is the risk.** She is the only American in the top price tier, and she did not race the qualifier. Prices use a rolling window that includes the last four World Tour competitions held, so every stop she misses adds a zero to that window. With no return date given, she is a hold-or-sell decision rather than a buy until the team list shows where she stands.\n\n**Kim and Santos-Griswold look cheap for champions.** Kim is a national champion at ◆7M with a downward trend, and Santos-Griswold won five of six races at ◆14M, also trending down. Both still need a World Tour berth, and neither is priced near Stoddard's tier.\n\n**DeClemente and Lute are the value story.** DeClemente is second overall at ◆7M and Lute third at ◆3M, both trending up. Heo at ◆10M was third and is the priciest of the men's trio.\n\n**The ◆1M finishers are a selection lottery.** Liu, Howard, Troppe, Shane, Stahl and Willhoite all sit at the price floor after top-eight finishes. Whether they pay off depends entirely on the roster, so wait for the list before spending on any of them.\n\n## The Relay Angle\n\n| Relay | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| United States Women's 3000m Relay | ◆10M | Up |\n| United States Mixed Relay | ◆10M | Up |\n| United States Men's 5000m Relay | ◆7M | Flat |\n\nThe championships did not include relay races, and the report gives no relay results, so nothing here changes the picture. The men's 5000m relay has the deepest pool of the three, but the lineup depends on the roster, which is not out yet.\n\nA reminder on all of the above: prices move. Every athlete and relay team is repriced after each competition based on the rolling scoring window, so these figures are a starting point for the season, not a fixed cost.\n\n---\n\n**Sources**\n\n- [US Speedskating — Brandon Kim, Kristen Santos-Griswold Open Season With U.S. Overall Titles](https://www.usspeedskating.org/news/2026/september/28/brandon-kim-kristen-santos-griswold-open-season-with-u-s-overall-titles) (September 28, 2026)\n- [US Speedskating — Results](https://www.usspeedskating.org/results) (official protocol PDF for the 2026 U.S. Short Track Championships & World Tour Qualifier)\n- [US Speedskating — Introducing the 2026-27 Short Track National Team](https://www.usspeedskating.org/news/2026/july/07/introducing-the-2026-27-short-track-national-team) (July 7, 2026)\n","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-09-29T19:11:15.884Z"},"id":"us-short-track-championships-2026-kim-santos-griswold","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-09-29T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"us-short-track-championships-2026-kim-santos-griswold","status":"published","summary":"Brandon Kim and Kristen Santos-Griswold are the 2026 U.S. short track champions at the World Tour Qualifier in Kearns. Defending champion Corinne Stoddard, priced ◆25M, did not race and is taking a break from short track. Here is what the results mean for prices, and which cheaper Americans to watch once the team is named.","tags":["usa","us-championships","world-tour-qualifier","brandon-kim","kristen-santos-griswold","corinne-stoddard","world-tour","2026-27","pricing","world-tour-1-vancouver-2026-27"],"title":"Kim and Santos-Griswold Win U.S. Titles as Corinne Stoddard Sits Out the World Tour Qualifier","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T13:29:48.290Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"competition-result","content":"Félix Roussel and Florence Brunelle are Canada's short track champions for 2026. The three-day Canadian Short Track Championships at Montreal's Maurice Richard Arena (September 24–26) also decide who represents Canada on the ISU Short Track World Tour. Behind the two champions, the weekend's other story was William Dandjinou: he finished second overall days after announcing he will sit out the first two World Tour stops of the season.\n\n## Dandjinou Skips Vancouver and Montreal\n\nOn Monday, September 21, Dandjinou posted on Instagram that he will not race the Vancouver (October 23–25) or Montreal (October 30–November 1) World Tour stops, and will not try to defend the Crystal Globe he has won in each of the last two seasons.\n\nIt is a deliberate step back rather than an injury, by his own account — his comments since the announcement have been entirely about training focus and long-term development, not a physical setback. The five-time world champion went into the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics as a favourite across the individual distances, but came away with no individual medal. He finished fourth once and fifth twice, and left with silver in the mixed relay. He wrote that he had needed space after the Games and that this season would be different: he will not be everywhere, and he is taking it one step at a time.\n\nSpeaking to reporters at the Championships, he told Radio-Canada that the decision was about racing less this season and working on the details that make him a better skater ahead of the 2030 Games in France. He also said he does not expect to win the Crystal Globe this year. Head coach Marc Gagnon backed the approach, saying that even a skater who has dominated for two years still has weaknesses to work on.\n\nThe skip applies to the two North American stops only. The Championships decide Canada's team for the five World Tour stops that follow, which is why Dandjinou still raced.\n\n## How the Championships Played Out\n\n**Men.** Roussel won his first national title with 20,000 points across his best four of six distances. He won the first 1500m, both 500m races and the first 1000m, and finished second to Dandjinou in the second 1000m. Dandjinou was second overall on 16,400 points, winning the second 1500m and the second 1000m and reaching the podium in the first 1500m and the second 500m.\n\nBehind them, Mathieu Pelletier was on the podium in the first 1500m and both 1000m races. Steven Dubois and Maxime Laoun posted identical times for a shared silver in the first 500m, and Laoun added a bronze in the first 1000m. Jordan Pierre-Gilles was on the podium in the second 500m.\n\n**Women.** Brunelle took back the national title for the first time since 2024 with 19,000 points: three gold, two silver and one bronze. She won the first 1000m, the second 1500m and the second 1000m. Danaé Blais was second on 16,200 points, winning the first 500m and finishing second in the first 1500m and the first 1000m.\n\nCourtney Sarault, last season's champion, won the first 1500m and the second 500m. She crossed the line second in the first 1000m but was penalised for kicking out at the finish. Ann-Sophie Bachand took two silvers, and Claudia Gagnon and Kiera Pagé each reached the podium once, Pagé for the first time at a Canadian Championships.\n\nThe final day ran almost four hours late after a power outage stopped racing at the arena for just over two hours.\n\n## Who Makes the World Tour Team?\n\n**Not decided yet.** Speed Skating Canada's high performance staff will apply the selection criteria in the 2026-27 Short Track Master Bulletin to this weekend's results. The squads will be announced \"in the coming weeks.\" Until that list is out, nobody here has an official World Tour spot, Dandjinou included. Treat the rankings above as a strong indicator, not a confirmed roster.\n\n## What It Means in Short Track Manager\n\nVancouver and Montreal are World Tour #1 and #2 in the game, so they are the first two scoring competitions of 2026/27. Here is where the podium skaters sit at season-start pricing:\n\n| Skater | Category | Championships | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| William Dandjinou | Men | 2nd overall | ◆25M | Up |\n| Courtney Sarault | Women | 2 wins | ◆25M | Up |\n| Steven Dubois | Men | 500m silver | ◆22M | Up |\n| Félix Roussel | Men | Champion | ◆14M | Up |\n| Florence Brunelle | Women | Champion | ◆14M | Up |\n| Maxime Laoun | Men | 2 podiums | ◆7M | Up |\n| Danaé Blais | Women | 2nd overall | ◆5M | Up |\n| Jordan Pierre-Gilles | Men | 500m podium | ◆3M | Up |\n| Mathieu Pelletier | Men | 3 podiums | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Ann-Sophie Bachand | Women | 2 silvers | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Claudia Gagnon | Women | 1500m bronze | ◆1M | Flat |\n\nAlexandre Migner, Kiera Pagé and Victoria Jean-Baptiste all reached a podium and have since been added to the athlete pool, each at ◆1M.\n\n**Dandjinou at ◆25M is a hold-or-sell call, not a buy.** He will score nothing at the first two stops. Prices use a rolling window that includes the last four World Tour competitions held, so every stop he misses adds a zero to that window. His price is likely to drift down through October. If you plan to own him from Seoul (World Tour #3, November 20–22) onwards, the cheaper entry point is probably after Montreal, not now. Two good skates at the Championships show the form is there; the calendar is the problem.\n\n**Roussel at ◆14M is the obvious replacement.** He was dominant all weekend, won a race at every distance, is priced at barely more than half of Dandjinou, and has announced no plans to miss either home stop. On the women's side, Brunelle at ◆14M is the same kind of pick: a national champion priced well below Sarault's ◆25M.\n\n**The floor-priced podium finishers are the value picks.** Pelletier reached three podiums and Bachand two, both at ◆1M, and Blais finished second overall at ◆5M. Whether they pay off depends entirely on the selection list. Hold off until Speed Skating Canada names the squad; a ◆1M skater who doesn't travel to Vancouver scores nothing.\n\n## The Relay Angle\n\n| Relay | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Canada Mixed Relay | ◆15M | Up |\n| Canada Men's 5000m Relay | ◆13M | Up |\n| Canada Women's 3000m Relay | ◆13M | Up |\n\nCanada's men's 5000m relay will be without Dandjinou for the two home stops. On this weekend's evidence the rest of the men's field is deep, with Roussel, Dubois, Laoun and Pelletier all on the podium, but the lineup depends on the selection list, which isn't out yet.\n\nA reminder on all of the above: prices move. Every athlete and relay team is repriced after each competition based on the rolling scoring window, so these figures are a starting point for the season, not a fixed cost.\n\n---\n\n**Sources**\n\n- [Speed Skating Canada — Félix Roussel and Florence Brunelle crowned Canadian short track champions in Montreal](https://speedskating.ca/felix-roussel-and-florence-brunelle-crowned-canadian-short-track-champions-in-montreal/) (September 26, 2026)\n- [Speed Skating Canada — Florence Brunelle's double gold highlights second day of Canadian Short Track Championships](https://speedskating.ca/florence-brunelles-double-gold-highlights-second-day-of-canadian-short-track-championships-in-montreal/) (September 25, 2026)\n- [Speed Skating Canada — Félix Roussel wins twice to open Canadian Short Track Championships](https://speedskating.ca/felix-roussel-wins-twice-to-open-canadian-short-track-championships-in-montreal/) (September 24, 2026)\n- [Radio-Canada — William Dandjinou ne participera pas aux étapes canadiennes du Circuit mondial](https://ici.radio-canada.ca/sports/2285957/william-dandjinou-circuit-mondial-patinage) (September 21, 2026, in French)\n- [Radio-Canada — William Dandjinou ralentit avant la prochaine poussée](https://ici.radio-canada.ca/sports/2287122/william-dandjinou-patinage-vitesse) (September 24, 2026, in French)\n- [CBC Sports — Florence Brunelle wins double gold at Canadian short track championships](https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/short-track-speed-skating/brunelle-canadian-short-track-championships-montreal-9.7359610) (September 26, 2026)\n","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-09-28T13:48:01.810Z"},"id":"canadian-championships-2026-roussel-brunelle-dandjinou","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-09-28T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"canadian-championships-2026-roussel-brunelle-dandjinou","status":"published","summary":"Félix Roussel and Florence Brunelle are Canada's 2026 short track champions. Two-time Crystal Globe winner William Dandjinou finished second overall days after confirming he'll skip the first two World Tour stops. Here's what that means for his ◆25M price, and which cheaper Canadians to watch once the team is named.","tags":["canada","canadian-championships","william-dandjinou","felix-roussel","florence-brunelle","world-tour","crystal-globe","2026-27","pricing","world-tour-1-vancouver-2026-27"],"title":"Roussel and Brunelle Win Canadian Titles as Dandjinou Confirms He Will Skip Vancouver and Montreal","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T13:29:48.290Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"community","content":"Double Olympic gold medalist Wu Dajing has been named the proposed new head coach of China's national short track speed skating team, according to an official notice published August 12, 2026 by the General Administration of Sport's Winter Sports Management Center (冬运中心) — the government body that oversees the national program.\n\n## From the Ice to the Bench, in Seven Months\n\nWu, 32, retired from competition on January 6, 2026, closing an 18-year career that included three Olympic appearances. He won the men's 500m at PyeongChang 2018 and anchored China's gold-medal mixed team relay at Beijing 2022. According to Chinese state media, he has spent time since retiring as a lecturer at Jilin University's institute of physical education and worked as a broadcast commentator during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.\n\n## A Special-Exemption Hire\n\nThe head-coach position was opened to public recruitment on July 29, 2026, with applications closing August 4 and a competitive evaluation session held August 11 at the Winter Sports Management Center. Normal eligibility rules require five years of coaching experience — but the recruitment carried an exemption clause waiving that requirement for any candidate who won two or more Winter Olympic gold medals as an athlete. Wu qualifies outright under that clause.\n\n## Proposed, Not Yet Final\n\nThe Winter Sports Management Center's own notice is explicit that this is a **proposed appointment** (拟聘用), not a completed one: it opens a five-working-day public comment period beginning August 13, 2026, during which anyone can raise an objection by phone or email to the center's discipline inspection office. Barring a successful objection, that window runs to roughly August 19–20.\n\nSome Chinese state-media coverage of the announcement (including Guangming Daily and Sina) already describes Wu as having \"formally assumed\" the role — but that gets ahead of the government's own paperwork. The comment period is a standard step in Chinese public-sector hiring, and it had not yet closed as of this writing.\n\n## What It Means for Managers\n\nWu Dajing is not a name in the Short Track Manager pool — he's a coach, not a roster pick. But he inherits a Chinese short-track program whose relay teams remain rosterable and, as of the most recent price snapshot, trending upward: the men's 5000m relay, women's 3000m relay, and mixed relay squads are all priced in the pool. A new head coach doesn't move any of those numbers on its own, but training-camp and squad-selection decisions under his direction over the coming months are worth watching heading into the 2026/27 World Tour opener.\n\n*Source: China Winter Sports Management Center (冬运中心) official notice, August 12, 2026*","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-13T06:55:16.360Z"},"id":"china-proposes-wu-dajing-short-track-head-coach-2026","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-13T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"china-proposes-wu-dajing-short-track-head-coach-2026","status":"published","summary":"Double Olympic champion Wu Dajing has been named the proposed head coach of China's national short track team, seven months after retiring — a special-exemption hire still subject to a public comment period through mid-August.","tags":["china","wu-dajing","coaching","national-team","2026-27"],"title":"China Proposes Wu Dajing as New National Short Track Head Coach","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T09:06:07.392Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"athlete-update","content":"Six months after a blade opened up her face in an Olympic quarter-final, Kamila Sellier is skating again. The Polish short track racer is back on the ice and has set the opening stop of the 2026/27 ISU Short Track World Tour in Vancouver as her target — with the caveat that the injury which put her there is not fully behind her.\n\n## What Happened\n\nSellier arrived at Milano Cortina 2026 in the best form of her career, having helped Poland to Mixed Relay silver at the European Championships earlier that season. Her Games ended in a crash in the 1500m, when a skate caught her above the eye.\n\nThe damage needed two operations: a first in Milano to address three broken bones, and a second in Poland to reconstruct the orbital bone with a titanium mesh that is expected to stay in permanently. Months of rehabilitation followed. She is now training in Türkiye and had been back on the ice only a matter of days when she spoke to the ISU.\n\n## The Part That Isn't Fixed Yet\n\nHer sight has come a long way. \"My vision is improving. I can really see clearly with my left eye now, but the double vision stayed,\" she said.\n\nThat remaining symptom is the one that matters competitively, because of where it shows up. \"It's exactly the same. The double vision when I look up is really hard to fix and, as we know, in Short Track we need to look up all the time.\"\n\nShort track is a sport of scoreboard glances, lap counts and reading the pack ahead through a corner. Double vision on the upward look is close to the worst place for it to sit.\n\n## The Plan Is Vancouver — But It Is a Plan\n\nWorld Tour #1 runs in Vancouver from October 23–25, 2026. Sellier is clear that it is a target rather than a commitment: \"That's my plan. It can always change, but I really want to be there.\"\n\n## What It Means in Short Track Manager\n\nSellier is in the pool, she is active, and she is cheap.\n\n| Asset | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kamila Sellier | ◆3M | Up |\n| Poland Mixed Relay | ◆10M | Up |\n| Poland Women's 3000m Relay | ◆7M | Up |\n| Poland Men's 5000m Relay | ◆7M | Flat |\n\nAt ◆3M against a ◆100M budget spread across 13 roster slots, she costs well under half an average slot. Her price is built from a rolling scoring window that has been running without her since February, which is exactly why it is this low — the number reflects a missing season, not a verdict on the skater who won European Mixed Relay silver before the crash.\n\nThat is the shape of the bet. If she makes Vancouver and races anywhere near her pre-injury level, ◆3M is one of the cheapest routes into a genuine World Tour points scorer in the game. If the double vision does not resolve, or the return slips, a manager has committed a small amount of budget to a slot that produces nothing.\n\nTwo things worth putting in the diary. Poland's Mixed Relay at ◆10M is the indirect way to back the same recovery without staking a roster spot on one skater's eyesight. And **World Tour #6 is in Gdansk on February 5–7, 2027** — a home stop on Polish ice, and the sort of fixture a returning Polish racer builds a season around.\n\nA reminder on all of the above: prices move. Every athlete and relay team is repriced after each competition based on the rolling scoring window, so these figures are a starting point, not a fixed cost.\n\n---\n\n**Sources**\n\n- [ISU — Kamila Sellier Back on the Ice After Eye Injury | Summer Diary](https://isu-skating.com/short-track/news/kamila-sellier-eye-injury-comeback/) (August 6, 2026)\n- [ISU Short Track](https://isu-skating.com/short-track/)\n","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-06T13:56:29.394Z"},"id":"kamila-sellier-back-on-the-ice-2026-27","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-06T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"kamila-sellier-back-on-the-ice-2026-27","status":"published","summary":"Six months after taking a blade above the eye at Milano Cortina, Poland's Kamila Sellier is skating again and targeting the World Tour opener in Vancouver. She is ◆3M in the pool with an unresolved vision problem — the cheapest genuine comeback bet of the season.","tags":["kamila-sellier","poland","injury","comeback","2026-27","world-tour","world-tour-1-vancouver-2026-27"],"title":"Kamila Sellier Is Back on the Ice — and Aiming for Vancouver","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T13:29:48.290Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"athlete-update","content":"US Speedskating has named the 14 skaters who will make up its Short Track National Team for the 2026/27 season, with athletes earning their places on the strength of last season's results.\n\n## The Squad\n\n**Women (5):** Eunice Lee, Kamryn Lute, Kristen Santos-Griswold, Louisiana Stahl, Corinne Stoddard\n\n**Men (9):** Clayton DeClemente, Andrew Heo, Marcus Howard, Brandon Kim, Justin Liu, Caleb Park, Ryan Shane, Benjamin Sullivan, Noah Troppe\n\nThe team trains at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah, with access to Olympic-quality ice through the summer. Stephen Gough and Adam Callister lead the coaching staff, working under High Performance Director Andréa Do-Duc.\n\nUS Speedskating framed National Team membership as giving athletes \"the opportunity to train at the highest level with the full support of high-performance staff and resources.\"\n\n## What They Cost in Short Track Manager\n\nThirteen of the fourteen are already in the Short Track Manager athlete pool. Here is where they sit at season-start pricing:\n\n| Skater | Category | Price | Trend |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Corinne Stoddard | Women | ◆25M | Up |\n| Kristen Santos-Griswold | Women | ◆14M | Down |\n| Andrew Heo | Men | ◆10M | Up |\n| Brandon Kim | Men | ◆7M | Down |\n| Clayton DeClemente | Men | ◆7M | Up |\n| Kamryn Lute | Women | ◆3M | Up |\n| Eunice Lee | Women | ◆1M | Down |\n| Louisiana Stahl | Women | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Marcus Howard | Men | ◆1M | Down |\n| Justin Liu | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Caleb Park | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Ryan Shane | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n| Noah Troppe | Men | ◆1M | Flat |\n\nBenjamin Sullivan did not have an athlete profile when this was published. He has since been added to the pool at ◆2M, after finishing fifth at the U.S. Championships.\n\nTwo things stand out for roster planning. **Corinne Stoddard is the only American in the top price tier** at ◆25M, level with the most expensive skaters in the game — a genuine points anchor rather than a flag pick. At the other end, seven national team members sit at the ◆1M floor — squad-level skaters priced as if they rarely compete. If any of them convert a national team season into World Tour starts, that is where the cheapest upside on the American roster lives.\n\n**Kristen Santos-Griswold at ◆14M with a downward trend** is the interesting call. The price reflects the rolling scoring window rather than reputation, so the question is whether a full World Tour campaign pulls that number back toward the tier it has occupied in past seasons.\n\n## The Relay Angle\n\nThe United States also carries three relay teams in the pool:\n\n| Relay | Price |\n| --- | --- |\n| Women's 3000m Relay | ◆10M |\n| Mixed Relay | ◆10M |\n| Men's 5000m Relay | ◆7M |\n\nWith nine men named to the team, the men's 5000m relay has the deepest selection pool of the three — and at ◆7M it is the cheapest of the American relay options.\n\nA reminder on all of the above: prices move. Every athlete and relay team is repriced after each competition based on the rolling scoring window, so these figures are a starting point for the season, not a fixed cost.\n\n---\n\n**Sources**\n\n- [US Speedskating — Introducing the 2026-27 Short Track National Team](https://www.usspeedskating.org/news/2026/july/07/introducing-the-2026-27-short-track-national-team) (July 7, 2026)\n- [US Speedskating — News](https://www.usspeedskating.org/news)\n","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-06T11:31:54.178Z"},"featured":true,"id":"usa-2026-27-short-track-national-team","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-07-07T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"usa-2026-27-short-track-national-team","status":"published","summary":"US Speedskating has announced its 2026/27 Short Track National Team — five women and nine men training out of the Utah Olympic Oval. Thirteen of the fourteen are already in the Short Track Manager pool, and we break down what each of them costs.","tags":["usa","national-team","team-selection","2026-27","pricing"],"title":"USA Names 14-Skater Short Track National Team for 2026/27","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T09:06:07.392Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"regulation","content":"The ISU has published Communication No. 2806, the rulebook for the 2026/27 Short Track World Tour, and it brings the biggest structural change the circuit has seen: a season-long **team** title to sit alongside the individual one.\n\n## A Second Crystal Globe\n\nAlongside the individual Crystal Globe, the ISU will crown Season Team Champions and award the **ISU Short Track World Tour Team Crystal Globe Trophy**. The communication states it plainly: \"For the season 2026/27, there will be an Overall World Team Classification.\"\n\nThe scoring net is cast wide. A nation's total is built by adding the World Tour points from every individual result of every team member, across both the women's and men's categories, plus points from all relay races at all seven World Tour stops.\n\nThere are no drop scores. In the ISU's words, \"all the points from all events will count\" — every World Tour point a nation's skaters collect over the season feeds the team total. That is a meaningful difference from the individual classifications, which discard a skater's weakest results.\n\n## Relay Points Count Triple\n\nHere is the mechanic that will shape the season: in the team classification, relay results are worth **three times** their individual value.\n\n| Rank | Individual | Relay | Rank | Individual | Relay |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 1 | 100 | 300 | 13 | 18 | 54 |\n| 2 | 80 | 240 | 14 | 16 | 48 |\n| 3 | 70 | 210 | 15 | 14 | 42 |\n| 4 | 60 | 180 | 16 | 12 | 36 |\n| 5 | 50 | 150 | 17 | 10 | 30 |\n| 6 | 44 | 132 | 18 | 8 | 24 |\n| 7 | 40 | 120 | 19 | 6 | 18 |\n| 8 | 36 | 108 | 20 | 5 | 15 |\n| 9 | 32 | 96 | 21 | 4 | 12 |\n| 10 | 28 | 84 | 22 | 3 | 9 |\n| 11 | 24 | 72 | 23 | 2 | 6 |\n| 12 | 20 | 60 | 24 | 1 | 3 |\n\nA single relay win is worth 300 points to a nation — the same as three individual victories. With three relay events on the programme at every stop (women's 3000m, men's 5000m, and the mixed 2000m), a nation that sweeps all three collects 900 points in a weekend before a single individual result is counted.\n\nExpect relay line-ups to be taken seriously at every stop rather than saved for championships.\n\n## What Stays the Same for Individuals\n\nThe individual side of the rulebook is structurally unchanged:\n\n- For each individual distance, a skater's **best five of seven** World Tour scores count toward that distance classification.\n- For each relay distance, the **best five** results count.\n- The Overall World Tour Classification — the one that decides the individual Crystal Globe — includes a maximum of **15 results** per skater, irrespective of which distance they came from.\n\nTies are broken by most first places, then second places, then thirds. If two skaters finish with identical counting results, no further tie-break is applied: both are declared Season Champions and both receive a Crystal Globe.\n\n## The Race Programme\n\nDay 1 at each stop is the Qualifying Session. Days 2 and 3 pair a Repechage Session with the World Tour Session, and the distance split is fixed across all seven stops:\n\n| Day 2 | Day 3 |\n| --- | --- |\n| Men's 500m | Mixed Team Relay 2000m |\n| Women's 1000m | Women's 500m |\n| Men's 1500m | Men's 1000m |\n| Women's 3000m Relay | Women's 1500m |\n| Men's 5000m Relay (semi-finals) | Men's 5000m Relay (final) |\n\nMixed Team Relay semi-finals may be raced outside the World Tour session. There are no warm-up sessions.\n\nOn entries, each ISU Member may enter a maximum of six competitors per category, with up to three per individual distance — rising to four if that Member has three skaters inside the world ranking top 40 for the distance when confirmed entries are made.\n\n## Standings Published All Season\n\nAfter every World Tour stop, updated Overall and Team classifications will be published and promoted, so both title races stay visible through the winter rather than resolving quietly in March. The award ceremony for the Crystal Globe winners takes place at the final stop in Tilburg, Netherlands, on **February 14, 2027**.\n\nPrize money is awarded on the final World Tour classifications once all seven stops are complete, with amounts to be confirmed in a separate ISU communication.\n\n## What It Means for Your Team\n\nOne clarification worth making: the tripled relay points apply to **ISU's** team standings, not to Short Track Manager scoring. Your three relay slots still score on the standard ranking-points formula applied to the relay finishing rank — nothing in your roster maths changes. See the [game guide](/guide) for the full scoring rules.\n\nWhat does change is the incentive facing the nations you draft from. If a federation is chasing the Team Crystal Globe, it has a reason to send its best relay quartets to all seven stops and to enter full squads rather than partial ones. Relay teams that were inconsistent across a season because their strongest skaters sat out a stop may prove steadier this year — which makes the relay slots a more predictable place to spend budget than they have been.\n\n---\n\n**Sources**\n\n- [ISU Communication No. 2806 — ISU Short Track World Tour 2026/27](https://isu-d8g8b4b7ece7aphs.a03.azurefd.net/isudamcontainer/CMS/Corporate-Site/Governance/Transparency/ISU-Communications/2806-ISU-Short-Track-World-Tour-2026-27-1782891715-3107.pdf) (published July 1, 2026)\n- [ISU Short Track — official site](https://isu-skating.com/short-track/)\n","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-06T11:31:54.178Z"},"featured":false,"id":"isu-adds-team-crystal-globe-2026-27","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-07-01T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"isu-adds-team-crystal-globe-2026-27","status":"published","summary":"ISU Communication No. 2806 introduces an Overall World Team Classification and a Team Crystal Globe Trophy for 2026/27, with relay results worth triple points toward a nation's total. Here is what changed, what stayed the same, and what it means for your roster.","tags":["isu","regulation","world-tour","crystal-globe","relay","2026-27"],"title":"ISU Adds a Team Crystal Globe for 2026/27 — and Relay Points Count Triple","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T09:06:07.392Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"athlete-update","content":"South Korean speed skating legend Choi Min-jeong has confirmed that the upcoming 2026/27 season will be her final campaign competing on the international stage, bringing the curtain down on one of the most decorated careers in modern short track history.\n\n## A Career Defined by Excellence\n\nChoi Min-jeong entered the international scene as a teenager and quickly established herself as one of the sport's most dominant forces. Her career resume includes Olympic gold, multiple World Championship titles, and numerous Crystal Globe awards — a record of sustained excellence rarely matched in the sport.\n\nHer skating style combined explosive acceleration with the composure and tactical intelligence needed to navigate short track's chaotic race environment, making her a consistent threat across the 500m, 1000m, and 1500m distances.\n\n## Topping the Final Trials\n\nThere could hardly be a more fitting note to go out on. At the April 2026 national trials, Choi Min-jeong won the women's competition outright, securing her place on the 2026/27 squad on merit. She arrives in her final season not as a sentimental selection, but as still one of Korea's very best.\n\n## A Legacy and Succession Moment for Korean Short Track\n\nChoi's retirement announcement sets the narrative arc for Korean women's short track in 2026/27. The question of who steps into the role of team leader — whether that's Shim Suk-hee, Kim Gil-li, or an emerging young talent — will be one of the defining storylines of the season.\n\nFor fans, media, and broadcasters, particularly in Korea, Choi Min-jeong's farewell tour is a major event in itself. Every race she skates this season will carry additional weight, and every result will be framed against the backdrop of her remarkable career.\n\n## Watch Her This Season\n\nChoi is expected to compete in individual events at World Tour stops and is slated for relay duties as part of the Korean women's squad. Her final race at a senior World Championship will be one of the most-watched moments of the 2026/27 season.\n\n*Source: Korean coverage of April 2026 national trials; Reuters (April 10, 2026)*","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-06T11:31:54.178Z"},"featured":false,"id":"choi-min-jeong-final-international-season-2026-27","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-06-24T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"choi-min-jeong-final-international-season-2026-27","status":"published","summary":"South Korean superstar Choi Min-jeong has confirmed that 2026/27 will be her final season competing internationally, closing a decorated career that spans Olympic gold and multiple World Championship titles.","tags":["choi-min-jeong","korea","retirement","2026-27"],"title":"Choi Min-jeong to Compete in Her Final International Season","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T09:06:07.392Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"athlete-update","content":"Speed Skating Korea has announced its 16-member national team for the 2026/27 international season, following the conclusion of the national selection trials held in Seoul in April.\n\n## Trial Format\n\nThe selection process took place at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul across two phases:\n\n- **1st trial:** April 7–9\n- **2nd trial:** April 11–12\n\nAthletes competed in the 500m, 1000m, and 1500m disciplines across both phases, with combined ranking points determining team selection.\n\n## Selected Squad\n\n### Women (8 athletes)\n\n**Individual & Relay**\n\n| Athlete | Role |\n|---|---|\n| Kim Gil-li | Auto-selected (2026 Worlds criteria) |\n| Choi Min-jeong | Individual + Relay |\n| Shim Suk-hee | Individual + Relay |\n\n**Relay Only**\n\n| Athlete |\n|---|\n| Kim Min-ji |\n| Choi Ji-hyun |\n\n**National Team Reserves**\n\n| Athlete |\n|---|  \n| Kim Geon-hee |\n| Noh A-reum |\n| Park Ji-won |\n\n### Men (8 athletes)\n\n**Individual & Relay**\n\n| Athlete | Role |\n|---|---|\n| Rim Jong-un | Auto-selected (2026 Worlds criteria) |\n| Lee Jeong-min | Individual + Relay |\n| Kim Tae-sung | Individual + Relay |\n\n**Relay Only**\n\n| Athlete |\n|---|\n| Bae Seo-chan |\n| Shin Dong-min |\n\n**National Team Reserves**\n\n| Athlete |\n|---|\n| Lee Kyu-ho |\n| Lee Dong-hyeon |\n| Nam Yoon-chang |\n\n## Key Notes\n\n**Choi Min-jeong** topped the women's trials and has publicly stated that 2026/27 will be her final international season, adding extra significance to her presence in the squad.\n\n**Lee Jeong-min** won the men's overall trials and is positioned to be Korea's primary senior men's individual event starter on the World Tour.\n\n**Hwang Dae-heon**, one of Korea's most decorated recent stars, was absent from the trials process due to injury and recovery, and is not part of the selected team from this process.\n\n*Source: Speed Skating Korea official selection announcement, April 2026*","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-06T11:31:54.178Z"},"featured":false,"id":"south-korea-2026-27-short-track-national-team","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-06-15T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"south-korea-2026-27-short-track-national-team","status":"published","summary":"Following the April national trials in Seoul, Speed Skating Korea has named its 16-member squad for 2026/27, headlined by Choi Min-jeong and Rim Jong-un, with Lee Jeong-min emerging as a key men's contender.","tags":["korea","national-team","team-selection","2026-27","trials"],"title":"South Korea Announces 2026/27 Short Track National Team","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T09:06:07.392Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"community","content":"Speed Skating Canada has confirmed that Vancouver will return to the international short track calendar as a host city for the 2026/27 ISU World Tour season — marking the first time the city has hosted elite international short track competition since the 2010 Winter Olympics.\n\n## A High-Symbolism Return\n\nFor those who remember the atmosphere at Pacific Coliseum during Vancouver 2010, the news carries significant weight. That Olympic program helped cement a generation of Canadian short track fans and produced some of the most memorable race moments of the era.\n\nBringing international short track back to Vancouver signals confidence from both Speed Skating Canada and the ISU in the city's ability to deliver an elite event experience and strong crowd turnout.\n\n## Part of a Broader Canadian Hosting Commitment\n\nThe Vancouver announcement is part of a larger Canadian commitment to hosting ISU events in 2026/27. Montreal, which successfully staged the 2026 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, is also included in the World Tour circuit for the coming season.\n\nCanada's dual-city hosting presence reinforces the country's growing status as one of the sport's key infrastructure markets — not just a competitive powerhouse, but an event destination.\n\n## What to Watch\n\nDetails on exact dates and venue logistics for the Vancouver stop are expected in the coming months. Given the city's history with the sport and the current strength of the Canadian national team, demand for tickets is expected to be high.\n\n*Source: Speed Skating Canada official news (April 27, 2026)*","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-06T11:31:54.178Z"},"featured":false,"id":"vancouver-to-host-international-short-track-2026-27","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-06-03T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"vancouver-to-host-international-short-track-2026-27","status":"published","summary":"Speed Skating Canada has confirmed Vancouver returns to the international short track calendar for 2026/27 — the first time the city hosts since the 2010 Winter Olympics.","tags":["vancouver","canada","hosting","world-tour","2026-27","world-tour-1-vancouver-2026-27"],"title":"Vancouver to Host International Short Track for First Time Since 2010 Olympics","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T13:29:48.290Z"}},{"authorName":"Vladislav Bykanov","category":"community","content":"The International Skating Union has officially published its 2026/27 season calendar, bringing welcome news to short track fans worldwide: the Short Track World Tour returns for its third season with an expanded global footprint and a full schedule confirmed through March.\n\n## 2026-27 Season Confirmed\n\nThe ISU's 2026/27 calendar confirms that the Short Track World Tour circuit will continue as the premier multi-event competition format outside of major championships. Season 3 builds on the momentum of the Milano Cortina Olympic cycle and the thrilling Montreal World Championships.\n\n## Full Season Calendar\n\n### ISU Short Track World Tour\n\n| # | Location | Dates |\n|---|---|---|\n| WT #1 | Vancouver, Canada | October 23–25, 2026 |\n| WT #2 | Montreal, Canada | October 30 – November 1, 2026 |\n| WT #3 | Seoul, South Korea | November 20–22, 2026 |\n| WT #4 | Shanghai, China | November 27–29, 2026 |\n| WT #5 | Beijing, China | December 4–6, 2026 |\n| WT #6 | Gdansk, Poland | February 5–7, 2027 |\n| WT #7 | Tilburg, Netherlands | February 12–14, 2027 |\n\n### Junior Events\n\n| Event | Location | Dates |\n|---|---|---|\n| Junior World Cup #1 | Bormio, Italy | November 6–8, 2026 |\n| Junior World Cup #2 | Bormio, Italy | November 12–14, 2026 |\n| Junior World Cup #3 | Astana, Kazakhstan | January 22–24, 2027 |\n| Junior World Championships | Astana, Kazakhstan | January 28–31, 2027 |\n\n### Championships\n\n| Event | Location | Dates |\n|---|---|---|\n| European Championships | Dresden, Germany | January 15–17, 2027 |\n| World Championships | Seoul, South Korea | March 12–14, 2027 |\n\n## Season Highlights\n\n**Vancouver opens the World Tour** (October 23–25) for the first time since the 2010 Winter Olympics, immediately followed by Montreal's back-to-back the following weekend — a strong North American opener to the circuit.\n\n**China dominates the pre-Christmas block** with consecutive stops in Shanghai and Beijing through late November and early December, marking a significant Chinese presence on the circuit.\n\n**Gdansk confirmed as WT #6** — the previously unannounced European stop is now confirmed as Gdansk, Poland, running February 5–7 ahead of Tilburg's season finale.\n\n**Dresden hosts Europeans** in January, giving European nations a championship target before the World Tour resumes in Poland and the Netherlands.\n\n**Worlds back in Seoul** (March 12–14) closes the season in South Korea, reinforcing Korea's central role in the short track calendar.\n\n## What It Means for Fans\n\nFor Short Track Manager users, the calendar drop is the starting gun on the 2026/27 planning season. With seven World Tour stops confirmed and exact dates in place, you can now map out the full scoring window. The season runs from late October through mid-March, with a natural mid-season break over the holiday period before resuming with the Junior World Championships and European Championships in January.\n\n*Source: ISU official 2026/27 season calendar — isu-skating.com/short-track/events/*","createdAt":{"__ts":"2026-08-06T11:31:54.178Z"},"featured":false,"id":"isu-unveils-2026-27-short-track-world-tour-calendar","publishedAt":{"__ts":"2026-04-28T12:00:00.000Z"},"slug":"isu-unveils-2026-27-short-track-world-tour-calendar","status":"published","summary":"The ISU has published its full 2026/27 season calendar, confirming seven World Tour stops across Vancouver, Montreal, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Gdansk, and Tilburg, plus European Championships in Dresden and World Championships back in Seoul.","tags":["isu","world-tour","season-calendar","2026-27"],"title":"ISU Unveils 2026/27 Short Track World Tour Calendar","updatedAt":{"__ts":"2026-10-07T09:06:07.392Z"}}]