Ice hockey in the Phl? Yes!

Ice hockey is a highly popular and competitive Olympic sport, but did you know that we have now developed a competent, very disciplined Philippine ice hockey team that presently competes internationally?  And may I add, they have reaped honors and brought in gold medals and respectable wins for the country in their recent competitions in Southeast Asia.

But that is getting ahead of the story.  Thanks to the SM group, we now have ice rinks in the country, and thanks to the dedication of the parents of these young hockey players, we now have a Team Pilipinas proudly wearing the red, white and blue colors of the country.

The Philippine Hockey Team, playing under the banner of the Federation of Hockey Leagues, got together at the new Highlands Prime Steak House in Estancia at the Capitol Commons in Pasig, their first real get-together after a string of victories in the Southeast Asian circuit at the invitation of restaurateur-sportsman-businessman Chris Sy, also known as the godfather of the Philippine Ice Hockey Team. 

Chris got involved in the sport when his son got hooked on the discipline while playing it in Canada during his summer vacations there.  Ice hockey then was already starting to get some serious players in the Philippines, but these groups were fragmented under several independent leagues.  With the aim of uniting these leagues under one umbrella and creating a cohesive group dedicated to the sport, the Federation was born. 

Hans Sy was invited to join as chairman, with the different league representatives sitting in the board as directors.  It was off to a good start as the tycoon’s scion was fully supportive of the sport and the team.

To be sure, ice hockey is not a cheap sport. Ice time costs a lot, and with the amount of time needed to train, these young players had to settle for after-mall hours, from 9 p.m. to 12 midnight. Though not exactly an ideal set-up, these budding athletes persevered, and with their very supportive players, Team Pilipinas began to gel and get better with time.

These are the divisions where our ice hockey team competes:  the Squirts for 10 years old and under; the Peewee for the 14 and under; the Bantam for 16 and under; the Women’s Team, the Juniors for 18 and under, and the Men’s Team.  The youngest in the team is six years old and the oldest is 42, and at the moment we now have 170 players in the Federation.

Two weeks ago, the Philippine Team’s Squirts division won an impressive third place in the Malaysian Invitation Ice Hockey Competition, but the Peewees snagged the gold.  The Men’s Team also bagged the gold in the recent Hong Kong Invitational, a back-to-back gold finish for us. The potential is there, all we need is to push our athletes, provide them with good training, and of course get funding for them to successfully compete in international tournaments.

Steve Hontiveros, secretary general of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) was there at the get-together, and the good news is, the POC recognizes the new Philippine Ice Hockey Team, but they still have to be a member of POC to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee.  As Steve explained, the Philippine Sports Committee is the government arm that handles the funding, but it is the POC that gives the go-signal for any team to participate in international competitions as a Philippine team.

The Southeast Asian Federation has included ice hockey for the SEA Games in 2017 to be held in Malaysia, and we have two years to train our young athletes.  Should the POC take the Federation under its wings, it can lend much-needed support by sending our local coaches for training abroad, or getting an international coach to come here to train our local coaches and holding seminars for officiating in hockey games.  Steve says this is equally important for international competitions.

We see hockey games on TV where hefty players in the professional leagues compete, but the brand of play of our Philippine Team is not exactly like that.  The local program is under the auspices of the International Ice Hockey Federation where there is no dangerous physical contact.  Besides, the protective gear the young hockey players don include a full helmet with a full cage or full visor for all players under 18 in compliance with the International Ice Hockey Federation rules, shoulder and shin straps that go with a protective padding for the upper body, a neck guard to protect against slashing, hockey gloves, elbow pads, game socks, jocks and padded pants to protect the lower body, and of course the ice skates and the stick. The players are well protected against injuries, but this gear also comes with a hefty price.

The challenge is to raise funds for the team because not everybody can afford the gear or the ice time. Chris has been busy talking with possible gear sponsors from the United States, even some rink operators in North America to donate their old equipment. Some multinationals and local corporations have been lending their support as well like Manulife, Highlands Prime Steak House, SM, and Flying V, to name a few. He is also bringing in a sports nutritionist to guide the athletes, but there is still much to be done and he is hoping more Philippine companies and multinationals will heed his call to support this young sport which has so much potential.  We may not have the heft, but among fellow Southeast Asians, we are all in the same league as far as physique is concerned.  Chris says we should explore and build up our speed instead to stay competitive.

The parents who were there at Highlands, moms and dads, were just as excited as their kids, and their dedication is admirable.  The Asian circuit is building up as Singapore and China are forming their invitational tournaments, Malaysia and Hong Kong already have theirs, and the Philippines is set to hold its first ever hockey international competition by November. Things are shaping up for ice hockey in the Philippines.

For parents interested in having their children try hockey, e-mail the federation at [email protected].

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

For comments & inquiries: [email protected] / [email protected].