Philippine curling team eyes historic Winter Olympics appearance

MANILA, Philippines – Will we finally see a Philippine curling team compete in the Winter Olympics? 

The Philippine National Curling Team is aiming to make a breakthrough presence in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, as their preparation ramps up two years before the big Games.

In an interview with members of the media, Alan Frei, a member of the team and its spokesman, bared their plan to make it to the big stage. 

“We are really trying to do history here for the Philippines. And we are trying to be the first Winter Team that ever competes in a Winter Olympic Tournament,” Frei, who is among the team’s four Filipino-Swiss players, told reporters. 

“Our goal is to participate in 2026 at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina in Italy. We wanna be one of 10 teams that can participate in the winter Olympics in curling,” he added. 

The team is composed of Frei, Christian Haller and brothers Marc and Enrico Pfister. 

Haller is a two-time world junior championship medalist, and the Pfister brothers previously competed for Switzerland in the World Curling Championships. 

“So these guys compete in 2017 and 2018 for Switzerland in the world championship. But the thing is, they never made it to the Olympics, and for every curler, the big dream is the Olympics,” Frei, who is a relatively newcomer, said. 

“They want to compete in the Olympics, because that's like the holy grail of curling.” 

The team, last year, bagged a silver medal in the Pan Continental Curling Championships in Kelowna, Canada.

They will try to repeat this finish this October in Alberta in a bid to move up to Division A in the 2025 championships. 

And, the top two teams will get guaranteed spots in the Winter Olympics. 

Aside from this competition, the Philippine team will compete in an off-season tournament next month — the Baden Master’s in Switzerland — where they will face World No. 1 Italy in their first match. 

“We as a team, we do not have a plan B. Our only plan is to go to the Olympics. There is no plan B. We are not having any other goals,” Frei said. 

“Our goal is to compete for the Philippines in the Winter Olympics 2026 in Milan, Cortina. That’s our main goal. Or let me put it differently, it is our only goal.”