Philippine curling team gains A Division promotion

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine curling team is one step closer to making it to the 2026 Winter Olympics after securing a promotion to the A Division by ruling the Pre-Continental Curling Championships’ B Division in Canada.

The team, made up of vice Christian Haller, second Enrico Pfister, skip Marc Pfister and lead Alan Frei, ruled the B division after defeating Kazakhstan, 9-3, in the tourney’s final. 

The squad’s gold medal win capped an undefeated 12-game run in the preliminary round, which included wins over strong opponents Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Puerto Rico.

“This promotion to the A Division is an incredible achievement and the result of tireless work. We have grown as a team and proven that we can deliver under pressure,” Pfister said in a statement. 

“Now we are looking forward to the next challenge, playing against the best teams in the world and tackling the qualification for the Olympics,” he added. 

Frei, for his part, lauded the team’s “incredible and overwhelming” achievement. 

“This last year has been an intense learning process for all of us — from the first time on the ice to this decisive moment here at the Pan Continentals. All the training, passion and determination paid off. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming Olympic qualifiers!” he said. 

The tourney ended on November 2 in Lancombe, Canada. 

With the promotion to the A Division, the Philippines will be facing some of the best curling teams in the world.

This gives an opportunity to possibly qualify to the Olympics in Milano Cortina in two pre-qualifying tournaments. 

“This success is proof of what can be achieved when you work as a team and aim for the impossible. The Philippines are united behind us — and we've also received an incredible amount of support from Switzerland — and that's a huge motivation for us as we face the next challenges!” Haller said. 

The Philippines will be competing in the next tournaments next year, starting with the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China in February. 

The pre-qualifiers will be in October and December next year, while the Pan Continental Curling Championship, which is a World Cup qualifier, will be held in November.