SUPPORT to members of the Philippine men’s curling team that won the country’s first-ever gold medal at the Asian Winter Games is coming.
Officials of the Philippine Sports Commission, headed by chairman Richard Bachmann, made this assurance as the team gets ready to embark on its next quest, which is to join a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament set from October 17 to 24 this year at a location that has yet to be announced.
“The Philippine Sports Commission remains committed to expand the necessary support for winter sports, and provide appropriate programs that will be delivered within the grassroots level, “ said Bachmann in a statement.
On Monday, the curlers composed of Marc Pfister, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister, Alen Frei, alternate and Curling Pilipinas president Benjo Delarmente and Pfister’s wife Jessica, were honored by the Philippine Olympic Committee via a $30,000 incentive.
“I believe that we have a much stronger team than the others,” said Delarmente, referring to the squads which made Olympic qualification, such as Chinese Taipei, South Korea and Austria.
The group left Tuesday for the US and Switzerland to rest and prepare for their next competitions.
Last December, the Philippine curling team also made history at the Pan-Continental Curling Championships in Canada.
Emerging undefeated, the group secured first place in the B division by beating Kazakhstan in the final.
This paved the way for the team to move up to the A-Division, bringing them a big step closer to realizing their dream of competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano, Cortina.
