Skate Asia 2007 starts with 25 contestants, Hosted by Philippines!

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RP skaters vow to soar in Skate Asia 2007


By Tarra Quismundo
Inquirer
Last updated 09:29pm (Mla time) 08/12/2007


MANILA, Philippines--Clean pirouettes, snappy leaps and graceful glides marked the opening on Sunday of the biggest international recreational ice skating competition yet in Manila.

Promising "to set the ice on fire," more than 600 skaters from Asia and the United States started a week of friendly competition in Skate Asia 2007 at SM Mall of Asia.

It is the first and largest international skating event the country ever hosted since the Philippines' first rink opened at SM Megamall 15 years ago, according to Ric Camaligan, SM corporate officer and president of the Philippine Skating Union (PSU).

The event, sanctioned by the Ice Skating Institute (ISI), the international governing body for recreational skating, is expected to showcase the surprising Filipino skill in gliding, jumping and even dancing on ice, a talent that just a decade and a half ago was undiscovered in a country that has no winter.

"Here, we are trying to show that we are serious in skating. Bringing the Philippine flag in a world class competition is an honor," Camaligan said in his remarks to the gathering.

"This marks the first time that Skate Asia is held in the Philippines, here in the first and only Olympic-size rink in the country," said Steven Tan, SM regional operations manager.

The competition will pit 16 teams from China, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Singapore, Taipei, the United States and Manila in some 3,000 events, including male, female and mixed solos, couples events and ensemble programs, said Lavidz Chua, event officer.

The Philippines fielded three teams from three SM rinks. Participants range from two-year-olds to young adults.

"There are really no winners and losers here. Everybody gets medals ... even those who do not win gold, silver and bronze still get medals," Chua told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

"After each event, they get their medals within minutes. It's very informal because there are so many events," Chua explained about the competition, now on its ninth year.

The event, she said, was under "an entirely different category" than Olympics-level figure-skating competitions, as highly skilled skaters compete in the latter and participants represented countries, not rinks. Olympics-standard skating competitions fall under the auspices of the International Skating Union, an organization separate from the ISI.

Instead of technical criteria for judging, Chua said skaters would be judged based on how they would show the skills they had so far learned. Top-level ISI skaters would eventually graduate to ISU-standard competitions in time, she added.

Setting the tone for the weeklong competitions, the Philippine delegation showed what it can do by rendering a series of production numbers, from a reprise of a musical number in the hit animated movie "Happy Feet" to a medley of Broadway and Thai dances.

Cheers and applause erupted among spectators gathered around the rink and pressed against the ledge of the upper floor as the skaters wearing colorful costumes danced.

Tourism Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque Jr. urged participants to take the time to see the sights around the Philippines after the competition.

"There are a lot of sights to see, experiences to have, food to taste and have a wonderful time because Filipinos love to have a wonderful time," Jarque said.