Camille Naredo

Article (news)

ice sports

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

MANILA – Following the success of the Philippines in various ice sports at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, the Philippine Sports Commission seeks to have more training facilities in the country. The Philippines took home one gold in short track speed skating, three silvers (women’s figure skating, women’s ice hockey and men’s short track speed skating) and four bronzes (one in men&#x27;s figure skating, two in short track speed skating relay, and one in men&#x27;s ice hockey) last December in Thailand.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/12/19/seag-ph-s-groseclose-cops-silver-in-men-s-1500m-short-track-speed-skating-1455">READ: Peter Groseclose claims gold, silver in SEA Games debut</a></div>&quot;It&#x27;s a pleasant surprise to see the Philippines and the national team, winning medals in a sport or sports na hindi naman pang-tropical country. That is the beauty of sports diba?&quot; PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio told reporters on Sunday.Gregorio underscored the need to have more ice skating rinks in the Philippines, citing the success of other countries.&quot;In Thailand they are very good [in ice sports] because they have eleven [skating rinks] and we have three. That&#x27;s why I was talking with Chairman [Hans Sy], I said we need eight more... Pag nangyari yan, we can win more medals,&quot; the PSC Chairman said.&quot;Number one is facilities and the opportunity to practice this sport all over the country. They have one in Cebu, we have two here. Maybe three more here, then put up one in Mindanao. I checked -- it&#x27;s not so expensive anymore because of technology,&quot; he added.The PSC chairman believes adding skating rinks in other parts of the Philippines will help raise more awareness and interest in ice sports.&quot;Kung lagyan mo ng ice skating rink yung mga bayan natin all over the country, then people will play. It&#x27;s a beautiful sport,&quot; he said.Gregorio said he will meet with the SM Foundation soon to discuss the possibility of adding more skating rinks.Philippine Skating Union (PHSU) President Nikki Cheng welcomed this development, saying it would boost ice sports in the country.&quot;More venues for us would really mean so much for us. Because if we see the longtime growth of the sport, we cannot really grow if we are only three venues in Metro Manila and Cebu, throughout the entire nation,&quot; she said.Various ice sports athletes said the additional training facilities will not only help them but also the development of the sport in the long run. &quot;I think it would really help the game, not just hockey. We&#x27;re talking figure skating, speed skating. It would help so much if we could train on a more regular basis because like we have to train after mall hours. It would help us and the growth of the game,&quot; Philippine men&#x27;s ice hockey team captain Steven Fuglister said.&quot;Imagine three sports where we just share one rink. It would really be huge for the development of all of our sports to have even just one more or two more ice rinks,&quot; Philippine women&#x27;s ice hockey team captain Bianca Cuevas shared.For Hans Mathew Buemio, Philippine short track speed skating team member, adding more rinks can help get more Filipinos into ice sports.&quot;It would definitely be more help, especially not just for us but for all sports: hockey, short track and speed skating. Since yung venue, lahat kami magkakalayo ng tirahan. Pag dumami yung venue this skater would train here,&quot; he said.&quot;Definitely mas mag-eexplore tayo sa quality ng ice. That also matters. Laking flexibility yung pag dami ng venue for all the ice sports... Yung mga gusto mag-try ng skating mas magiging open yung sport sa mga tao,&quot; Buemio added.The country&#x27;s ice sports athletes are gearing up for international competitions, including the Ice Hockey World Championships and the ISU Four Continents Championships.

Following the success of the Philippines in various ice sports at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, the Philippine Sports Commission seeks to have more training facilities in the country.

Following the success of the Philippines in various ice sports at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, the Philippine Sports Commission seeks to have more training facilities in the country.

More skating rinks in PH eyed after success of ice sports athletes in SEA Games

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More skating rinks in PH eyed after success of ice sports athletes in SEA Games

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 11, 2026 11:38 PM PHT

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Updated January 12, 2026 01:16 PM PHT

Read More:

abssports

figure skating

ice hockey

short track speed skating

Southeast Asian Games

2025 SEA Games

Philippine Sports Commission

Philippine Skating Union

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