The 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary has enabled the city to become a hotspot for elite athletic training and competing over the past 31 years. This reputation has helped Calgary become a consistent location on the winter world cup and championships circuit. In the 2018-19 season Calgary hosted six such events including the FIS Freestyle Ski Moguls World Cup and the ISU World Allround Speed Skating Championship.

Tourism Calgary has worked particularly close with the teams at the Olympic Oval, one of only four covered 400m rinks in North America, and WinSport to attract these events to the city and ensure that they achieve success. Over 300 world records have been set at the Oval alone in both long and short track speed skating since it opened in 1987.