How And When To Watch Figure Skating At The 2022 Winter Olympics

The 2022 Winter Olympics are finally here, and while we’re still trying to figure out how it’s been four years (!!) since the last winter games took place, you’re going to want to pay extra special attention if you’re hoping to catch the figure skating events live. Since this year’s Winter Olympics will be taking place in Beijing, China, there will be a major time difference. But there will also be plenty of chances to catch the events on prime time if you’re more of a casual viewer who doesn’t mind spoilers along the way. Get ready to mark your calendar and root for Team USA.

Here is how and when you can watch figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

When is Team USA competing in figure skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics?

Whether you’re hoping to cheer on a specific skater or just spread some Team USA spirit, you’re going to want to know how these events work. While we all know about the individual events where every skater goes head to head to come out on top, there’s also the team event that happens right before.

What is the figure skating team event?

The figure skating team event is a special competition that happens only at the Olympics and at the World Team Trophy. They both run only every four years, which means there’s always a team competition every two years. In this event, countries can call up members of their figure skating teams to compete collectively for points. Depending on how each competitor places at the end of their program, a team can gain up to 10 points.

A country also has the option of switching out individuals/pairs in two different events. For example, a country can choose to have two men (one competing in the men’s short and another in the men’s long), one pairs team participating in both the short and long program, two ice dance teams (one for the rhythm dance and another for the free dance), and one woman participating in both the women’s short and long programs.

When is the figure skating team event?

Due to the time difference, you may have to stay up late to catch the team event. However, if you’re looking forward to seeing a specific skater, please know that Team USA hasn’t announced who will be participating in this event just yet. Either way, it will certainly be a must-watch.

Here is the current schedule for the team event:

Note: For NBCOlympics.com, you need to have a cable login and you need a Peacock subscription to watch on that service.

• Thursday, February 3 at 8:55 p.m. ET—Men’s Short Program: NBC, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Thursday, February 3 at 10:35 p.m. ET—Rhythm Dance: NBC, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Friday, February 4 at 12:15 a.m. ET—Pairs’ Short Program: NBC, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Saturday, February 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET—Women’s Short Program: NBC, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Saturday, February 5 at 10:50 p.m. ET—Men’s Free Skate: NBC, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Sunday, February 6 at 8:15 p.m. ET—Pairs’ Free Skate: NBCOlympics.com or Peacock
• Sunday, February 6 at 9:30 p.m. ET—Free Dance: NBCOlympics.com or Peacock
• Sunday, February 6 at 10:30 p.m. ET—Women’s Free Skate: NBCOlympics.com or Peacock

If you’re not a total night owl and hoping to catch the competition later, then you can watch them when they are replayed:

Note: Replays are available 24/7 on Peacock.

• Friday, February 4 at 2 a.m. ET—Men’s Short Program, Rhythm Dance, and Pairs Short Program: NBC
• Friday, February 4 at 4 p.m. ET—Men’s Short Program: USA
• Friday, February 4 at 5:15 p.m. ET—Rhythm Dance: USA
• Friday, February 4 at 6:30 p.m. ET—Pairs Short Program: USA
• Sunday, February 6 at 1:30 a.m. ET—Women’s Short Program and Men’s Free Skate: NBC

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When are the individual events?

Taking place after the team event, this is where we’ll find out who the individual champions will be.

• Monday, February 7 at 8:15 p.m. ET—Men’s Short Program: NBC, USA, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Wednesday, February 9 at 8:30 p.m. ET—Men’s Free Skate: NBC, USA NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Saturday, February 12 at 6 a.m. ET—Rhythm Dance: USA, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Sunday, February 13 at 8:15 p.m. ET—Free Dance: NBC, USA, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Tuesday, February 15 at 5 a.m. ET—Women’s Short Program: USA, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Thursday, February 17 at 5 a.m. ET—Women’s Free Skate: USA, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Friday, February 18 at 5:30 a.m. ET—Pairs Short Program: USA, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock
• Saturday, February 19 at 6 a.m. ET—Pairs Free Skate: USA, NBCOlympics.com, or Peacock

If you don’t want to stay up later or wake up super early to catch the competition, then you can watch them when they are replayed later on:

Note: Replays are available 24/7 on Peacock.

• Tuesday, February 8 at 2 a.m. ET—Men’s Short Program: NBC
• Thursday, February 10 at 1:05 a.m. ET—Men’s Free Skate: NBC
• Saturday, February 12 at 8 p.m. ET—Rhythm Dance: NBC
• Sunday, February 13 at 2 a.m. ET—Rhythm Dance: NBC
• Monday, February 14 at 2 a.m. ET—Free Dance: NBC
• Monday, February 14 at 3:15 a.m. ET—Free Dance: NBC
• Tuesday, February 15 at 8 a.m. ET—Women’s Short Program: NBC
• Wednesday, February 16 at 2 a.m. ET—Women’s Short Program: NBC
• Thursday, February 17 at 8 p.m. ET—Women’s Free Skate: NBC
• Friday, February 18 at 2:30 a.m. ET—Women’s Free Skate: NBC
• Friday, February 18 at 8 p.m. ET—Pairs Short Program: NBC
• Saturday, February 19 at 1:30 a.m. ET—Pairs Short Program: NBC
• Saturday, February 19 at 6 a.m. ET—Pairs Free Skate: NBC
• Sunday, February 20 at 1:30 a.m. ET—Pairs Free Skate: NBC

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Will there be a gala this year?

If you’re new to figure skating, the gala is a special event that takes place after a competition. Medalists and fan favorites are invited to perform a special program in front of a crowd. Most skaters decide to do something different than what they compete with, performing programs that are usually more upbeat and untraditional. Since it’s Olympics season, this is also one of the last times some skaters will perform at a competition before officially retiring.

Thankfully, even with current COVID-19 protocols, there will still be a gala this year! It’s still a mystery who will perform this year (it usually depends on competition placement), but no matter what, you’re not going to want to miss it.

When will the gala air?

If you’re hoping to catch it live, here’s the schedule:

• Saturday, February 19 at 11 p.m. ET: NBCOlympics.com or Peacock
• Saturday, February 19 at 11:30 p.m. ET: NBC

There’s no word yet if the NBC broadcast will cut the beginning of the gala or just show parts of it, so if you don’t want to miss a second, then you should tune in to the first broadcasts.

Hoping to catch a rerun? Don’t worry, there will be plenty of chances to catch it the next day:

Note: Replays are available 24/7 on Peacock.

• Sunday, February 20 at 1:30 a.m. ET: NBC
• Sunday, February 20 at 3:30 a.m ET: USA
• Sunday, February 20 at 2 p.m. ET: NBC

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Who will be competing for Team USA?

Each country can send a maximum of three skaters/teams in each individual figure skating event, and the number of spots is determined by placement in previous competitions, particularly the Grand Prix and Worlds. Team USA has three spots in every event except for pairs, where they only have two.

Here are all the athletes representing the United States in figure skating:

Men: Nathan Chen (he/him), Vincent Zhou (he/him), Jason Brown (he/him)

Women: Mariah Bell (she/her), Karen Chen (she/her), Alysa Liu (she/them)

Pairs: Alexa Knierim (she/her) and Brandon Frazier (he/him), Ashley Cain-Gribble (she/her) and Timothy LeDuc (they/them)

Ice Dance: Madison Chock (she/her) and Evan Bates (he/him), Madison Hubbell (she/her) and Zachary Donohue (he/him), Kaitlin Hawayek (she/her) and Jean-Luc Baker (he/him)

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