Fans tuning into the Winter Paralympics will have spotted figure skating missing from the programme at Milan-Cortina despite it being one of the most popular sports at the Olympics.

There are just six sports at the Games: Para-Alpine skiing, Para-biathlon, Para-cross-country skiing, Para-ice hockey, wheelchair curling and Para-snowboard.

For skating to be included in the Winter Paralympics, the International Skating Union (ISU) needs to become recognised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The IPC would also need to approve a range of conditions affecting how the sport is run – including venues, costs and deciding classification categories for competing athletes.

But there are growing calls from skaters for the sport to be included and the IPC says it is keen to expand the Paralympic programme.

No new sports have been added since Para-snowboard in 2014.

Speaking before Milan-Cortina, IPC chief Andrew Parsons said: “We have not reached the limit as per our agreement with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) in terms of the number of athletes in sports. But it is not only about the limit, it is about obviously the quality of the sport at an international level.”

“For example, we don’t have skating sports, we don’t have short course, we don’t have figure skating, because these sports are not on an international level,” he added.