Getting Pinoys ready for world ice tournaments

Last week, I talked about the growth of extreme sports in the country, and how everyone now has endless choices for the sport they can get into.

I continue that now by talking about infrastructure, and how this directly relates to the rate of growth of a particular sport.

Look at the rapid rise of ice-related sports like ice skating, speed skating, and ice hockey!

Cool sport: Team Philippines vs. Canstars Rangers in the Peewee Division

 

In a tropical country like ours, it was unheard of to have sports like this flourishing, but with the infrastructure built by the SM Group of Companies through its various ice skating rinks, enthusiasts of these sports now have the avenue to train, compete, and excel.

In fact, just a few months back, we hosted the biggest international ice hockey tournament with 16 teams, equivalent to 300 players, from both the youth and the adult sectors. We witnessed our very own, Team Pilipinas, go head-to-head with Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand in a three-day event.
The venue was the newly-opened outdoor SM skating rink located across Mall of Asia Arena and SMX. Team Pilipinas had recently stricken gold, taking home top awards in Malaysia for the Peewees category and in Hong Kong for the men’s international category. The international tournament was open to Adult Men’s, Bantams (ages 16 under), Peewees (ages 12 under), and Squirts (ages 10 under).

“The 2015 Philippine Ice Hockey Tournament (PIHT) was a good ground to further build and hone the skills of our hockey players. At the same time, it is a great avenue to expose the talent of our homegrown athletes,” said team coach Carl Montano.
A sport that has been here since the early 1990s, ice hockey has aggressively and swiftly ascended to the forefront of ice sports in the previous year, with the strong support of SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., who has facilitated the establishment of the sport’s federation. With Hans Sy as chairman and SMLEI president Edgar Tejerero as co-chairman of the Federation of Ice Hockey League, Inc. (FIHL), ice hockey now has the means to live up to its true capability and develop world-class talents.

“Our goal is to have trained and equipped athletes who can compete in the SEA Games 2017. Being the sole owners of the country’s Olympic-sized ice rinks, we make certain that our facilities are of international standards. Through our sports development program, we initiate competitions, such as the first international ice hockey tournament, to encourage and prepare our Philippine team, and to create awareness of the Philippines’ competence as a ready competitor for worldwide tournaments,” said Tejerero.

This is one sport that is on the rise!

* * *

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @anthonysuntay, and like my Facebook page: Anthony Suntay.