CALGARY, ALBERTA – Canada’s top long track speed skaters begin their march towards Milano-Cortina 2026 tomorrow with the 2025 Canadian Long Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance, which will be hosted at the at the Olympic Oval in Calgary from October 23-26.
This season’s Canadian Long Track Championships will see over 80 skaters from across the country – including members of the National Team and NextGen Team, as well as representatives from the Olympic Oval program, Centre d’entraînement Gaétan-Boucher and various provincial teams – compete for national champion titles.
The results from the competition will be used to select the skaters who will represent Canada on the World Cup circuit in the fall, which could put them in contention to compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina. Skaters will also accumulate points towards the Canadian Rankings, which are used to help select the athletes nominated to the National and NextGen teams for following season.
What does the schedule look like?
This four-day competition will see male and female skaters compete for national titles across the six different individual distances. There will also be an additional 500m and 1000m race, however those won’t be used to crown champions. The detailed schedule with daily start and end times can be accessed on Sportity.
- Thursday, October 23: 500m-1 Women, 500m-1 Men, 3000m Women, 5000m Men
- Friday, October 24: 1000m-1 Men, 1000m-1 Women, 10,000 Men, 5000m Women
- Saturday, October 25: 500m-2 Women, 500m-2 Men, 1500m Women, 1500m Men
- Sunday, October 26: 1000m-1 Men, 1000m-2 Women, Mass Start Men, Mass Start Women
How can I watch the races?
The entire competition will be live streamed to national and international audiences on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports digital platforms, as well as on Speed Skating Canada’s YouTube channel. You can also access seeding lists and live results on Sportity.
How does it all work?
Skaters will be looking to earn their spot on the ISU World Cup Speed Skating team, which will be allocated as per the appropriate High Performance Bulletin. Those athletes will represent Canada at four World Cup stops in Salt Lake City (November 14-16), Calgary, (November 21-23), Heerenveen (December 5-7) and Hamar (December 12-14).
Their performances on the international stage will be used to secure Olympic quota spots for Canada, as well as to determine which skaters may be pre-selected for the Milano-Cortina 2026 team. In the majority of situations, a skater ranked in the top-8 of an individual distance following the World Cups will prequalify their spot for the Games. The remaining Olympic quota spots will be filled at the Long Track Canada Cup Skate-Off in Quebec City from January 3-6, 2026.
All team selections will be made in accordance with the criteria established in the 2026 Long Track Olympic Selection Policies and Procedures.
Resources
CONTACT
Alain Brouillette
Speed Skating Canada
communications@speedskating.ca
613-601-2630