“The sport of curling is like playing chess on ice. It’s a combination of strategy and physical skill. We have a huge advantage in the strategy part because we have the experience of the three guys who have played on the world stage. The curling team aspires to pave the way for future curling athletes from the country in their bid for the Olympics. We are trying to foster [Filipino talent] more and more just by being a role model and having this super ambitious goal. We don't have a plan B. We have only one plan and that is to go to the Olympics.” ~Alan Frei, a Filipino-Swiss Entrepreneur, Economist, Curler, and Team Spokesman
Can a team from a tropical country excel at an ice sport like curling?
That is what the Philippine National Curling Team, made up of four Fil-Swiss players, hopes to prove as they prepare for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy.
Alan Frei, a Filipino-Swiss entrepreneur, economist, curler, and team spokesman, announced that the Philippine men's squad won a silver medal in the B-Division of the Pan Continental Curling Championships in Kelowna, Canada, in 2023. The team hopes to repeat the feat in Alberta this October to advance to the A-Division in the 2025 championships. The top two teams there will be guaranteed spots in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
Frei, a newcomer to curling, joined the Filipino team in March 2023, a year after selling his Swiss e-commerce business and deciding “to become an Olympian”. His dream is shared by teammates Christian Haller, a two-time world junior championship medalist, and brothers Marc and Enrico Pfister, who previously competed for Switzerland in world curling championships.
All Swiss-born like Frei, Haller, and the Pfister brothers are eligible to play for the country because of their Filipino mothers.
To put their skills to the test, the National Men's Curling Team will compete in an off-season tournament this August, the Baden Master's in Switzerland, where they will face world number one Italy in their first game. Frei, who is currently ranked 51st in the World Curling Member Association's men's rankings, stated that the team is eager to play Italy in order to determine their exact standing.
The Swiss-Filipino team hopes that more Filipinos become aware of their goals and what they've been doing, inspiring them even more.
Frei stated that the curling team is currently responsible for all of their expenses, citing the need to achieve "success" before seeking financial assistance from the POC and other potential sponsors.
Swiss-Filipino athletes hope to gain national recognition by finishing on the podium against top Asian countries such as China and Korea at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin.
With the help of the POC and national sports associations, the team plans to hold exhibition tournaments in the country and provide training for aspiring Filipino curlers. The Curling Winter Sports Association of the Philippines, which the team is a part of, also aims to increase its membership from about 50 to 100 people this year according to Frei.
Frei said Filipino communities come out to support them anywhere they play, worldwide.
Single-minded in their dream to bring honor to the country, Frei revealed they want to achieve what the Jamaican Bobsled Team did in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. Received as underdogs in a cold weather sport, the Jamaicans competed against all odds and came out the favorites.
No comments:
Post a Comment