How to qualify in Bobsleigh, luge and skeleton
How athletes qualify for the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge World Championships
Checked 20 October 2026Valid for: the IBSF Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships under the IBSF International Rules for bobsleigh and for skeleton (2026, released September 2026), rule 4.2; and the FIL Luge World Championships under the FIL's International Luge Regulations, Artificial Track (2026), sections 3 and 6.
All three sliding sports hold World Championships every year except the Olympic year. There is no separate qualifying race; instead countries get a quota of sleds, and each athlete must have raced enough international events.
| Sport | Places per country | Who may slide |
|---|---|---|
| Bobsleigh (two-man, four-man, two-woman, women's monobob) | up to 3 teams per discipline | a pilot ranked in at least 5 IBSF races on 3 different tracks in the last 24 months, and in at least 3 of those this season on 2 tracks |
| Skeleton | 3 athletes for countries ranked 1 to 3 on the World Cup ranking, 2 for 4 to 11, 1 for 12 to 20 (men and women separately) | only athletes on the current World Cup ranking, plus the top three at the Junior World Championships |
| Luge | 4 women, 4 men, 3 women's doubles, 3 men's doubles | an athlete with at least two international FIL competitions, or three World Cup, Nations Cup or Junior World Cup races, on two different tracks in two countries, this season |
For India (which has had Olympic lugers), luge is the most open: there is no ranking cut, only the race count. In skeleton a country must be in the top 20 nations to have any place at all.
Bobsleigh
- A pilot's race count is per discipline: four-man races count only for four-man.
- If a pilot has met the 24-month condition by 1 October, it holds for the whole season.
- The rules say both that every nation may send three teams per discipline (4.2) and that the IBSF discipline ranking "serves to determine the quotas for the World Championships" (ranking section). The two need reconciling.
Skeleton
- Quotas follow the current IBSF World Cup ranking of nations.
- A country must have raced at least half its confirmed World Cup quota in the discipline before the World Championships (rounded down), or it loses one World Championships place. Quotas must be confirmed by 1 October; if not, the full quota is assumed.
- Junior World Championships medallists can enter even outside the ranking, but a country never has more than three.
Luge
- Athletes ranked below the top 30 men, 30 women or 24 doubles in the World Cup before the International Training Week must take part in that training week.
- The FIL can waive the race count for a proven injury.
- The Sprint World Championships have the same per-country numbers and are open to athletes registered for the main World Championships; the fastest 15 in a qualifying run go to the final.
- The U23 World Championships are a race within the main event, for athletes 23 or under in the year.