Romwel Anzures

American Olympic figure skaters and US Figure Skating Hall of Famers, siblings Alex and Maia Shibutani during a clinic at the MOA Ice Rink in Pasay, February 25, 2025. Photo from Rom Anzures, ABS-CBN News.

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ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1740469886577IMG_8451.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="American Olympic figure skaters and US Figure Skating Hall of Famers, siblins Alex and Maia Shibutani during a clinic at the MOA Ice Rink in Pasay, February 25, 2025. Photo from Rom Anzures, ABS-CBN News."/>American Olympic figure skaters and US Figure Skating Hall of Famers, siblings Alex and Maia Shibutani during a clinic at the MOA Ice Rink in Pasay, February 25, 2025. Photo from Rom Anzures, ABS-CBN News.MANILA — US Figure Skating Hall of Famers Maia and Alex Shibutani are in the country to share their skills.</div>The siblings, both Olympic bronze medalists for the US, visited the country for a clinic on Tuesday at the MOA Ice Rink in Pasay to teach a number of Filipino hopefuls their expertise in the sport.“Skating really is a sport for everyone,” the 33-year-old Alex said, who, aside from his sister, also graced the event with Filipino skating star and coach Michael Martinez.“I know that it can be intimidating for people to try for the first time, especially in a place like Manila where there aren&#x27;t so many rinks, but this is a beautiful rink here at MOA, and we&#x27;ve really enjoyed the ice here,” he added.Alex and Maia bared that their goal is to help Filipinos, regardless of experience, immerse themselves into the sport to build a long-term foundation.“Going forward into the next 10 years, that&#x27;s our hope. We want to see more people from the Philippines competing internationally in figure skating competitions. And so we&#x27;re focusing on the connection to the ice, and really making sure that we enjoy our skating,” Alex said.“We came up with a plan where we could help everyone regardless of how long they&#x27;ve been skating or what their individual goals are. Because at the end of the day, we want everyone to enjoy their skating.”“So I think it&#x27;s an activity that we want people to try and experience because it&#x27;s a lot of fun,” he added.Maia, for her part, was impressed with how the young hopefuls have been performing despite only being here for two days.“I definitely think that it could strive here, for what it takes is enthusiasm and passion, and I saw so much of that,” she said.For Alex, the best way for Filipinos to open opportunities in the sport is to simply try and start doing it.“There&#x27;s no better advertisement, I think, than having a rink here at the mall where so many people are here to enjoy time with family,” he said. “Obviously, ice dance is something that we do with your family, and it&#x27;s always a really special experience for us.”“There are so many things that can bring people to figure skating and ice dance. If you love music, if you love dance, if you love choreography, if you love storytelling. And I know those are all things, from all my conversations while I&#x27;ve been here in Manila, that Filipinos really love.””So I think that ice dance really does have a great, great future here in this country, and we&#x27;re excited to help it grow,” he added.Also, a factor that can help figure skating develop in the Philippines, Alex added, is the great support that the country has when it comes to the coaching side of things.“The coaching teams here are very passionate, and everyone loves coming here,” he said. “So, I think if you really give it a shot, people will really fall in love with the sport.”“And I think that even though it may be surprising to some for us to say that we think that there&#x27;s a bright future for figure skating here in the Philippines, we really do, especially if we keep coming back and helping,” added Alex.<div>RELATED VIDEO: <script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAEyze-tm4MR6kEa&amp;cid=ABUvN9AlwPyq8ns6"></script></div>

US Figure Skating Hall of Famers Maia and Alex Shibutani are in the country to share their skills and help develop the sport further.

US Figure Skating Hall of Famers Maia and Alex Shibutani are in the country to share their skills and help develop the sport further.

US figure skating Hall of Famers Maia, Alex Shibutani confident Pinoys can excel in ice skating

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US figure skating Hall of Famers Maia, Alex Shibutani confident Pinoys can excel in ice skating

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 25, 2025 05:20 PM PHT

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Updated Feb 26, 2025 12:02 AM PHT

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Ice skating

ABSSports

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Figure Skating

Alex Shibutani

Maia Shibutani

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