The 2nd 2026 "Elite Cup" China-Russia Youth Ice Hockey & Figure Skating City Exchange Tournament Kicks Off

Hosted by the Harbin Sports Bureau, co-organized by the Harbin Foreign Sports Exchange and Cooperation Association, Harbin Figure Skating Association, Beijing San'ai Tianzhu Sports Development Co., Ltd. Harbin Branch and Harbin Mingjiang Sports Development Co., Ltd., supported by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of Nangang District, Harbin, and operated by Huati (Heilongjiang) Ice and Snow Industry Development Co., Ltd., the tournament is a youth ice and snow sports event gathering ice and snow sports forces from China and Russia, integrating competitiveness and exchange. It is held simultaneously at two venues, Harbin Ice Hockey Arena and Haxi 3A Ice Space, from April 4 to 6.

The ice hockey event, which kicked off first, has gathered 30 teams and nearly 500 young players from the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic of Russia and seven Chinese cities including Harbin, Shenyang, Jilin, Yantai, Qiqihar and Jiamusi. More than 60 fierce matches will be held during the tournament, divided into four age groups: U6, U8, U10 and U12. Both the scale of the tournament and the level of participating athletes have reached a new high, with the young players showing the passion and vitality of youth ice hockey to the full.

 The figure skating event will kick off on April 6, where 12 Russian athletes and 7 Chinese athletes will perform together. Accompanied by beautiful music, the skaters will glide and dance on the ice, showing the artistic charm of figure skating with difficult skills and elegant postures, and bringing an ultimate ice and snow visual feast to the audience.

A relevant person in charge of the tournament stated that as an important carrier for the construction of the SCO Ice and Snow Sports Demonstration Zone, the 2026 International Sports and Culture Exchange Year aims to rely on Harbin's unique ice and snow resources to build an international, professional and diversified sports and cultural exchange platform. It will deepen sports cooperation and cultural mutual learning among SCO member states and friendly countries, promote the dissemination of ice and snow sports culture and the coordinated development of the ice and snow industry, and comprehensively enhance Harbin's international popularity and influence.

As a benchmark opening event of the Exchange Year, this China-Russia Youth Ice and Snow Exchange Tournament undertakes the crucial mission of making a good start, serving as an important starting point for the annual series of sports and cultural exchange activities, and a vivid practice for the in-depth development of China-Russia sports exchanges.