Edrian Paul Celestino, the reigning national men’s champion, and United States-based Sofia Frank have earned the right become the the country’s representatives to the Nebelhorn Trophy next month.
The two made the cut following a virtual evaluation which the Philippine Skating Union did the past month.
“Our evaluation has concluded. We evaluated three of our senior male skaters and two ladies for figure skating,” said PHSU president Nikki Cheng in an interview with the Manila Standard.
The 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy will be held on September 22 to 25 in Oberstdorf, Germany, and it is part of the 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series.
The Nebelhorn Trophy is the final Olympic qualifying event for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
Celestino is currently training Montreal, Canada while Frank is in Colorado Springs.
Last year, Celestino managed to join the 2020 Four Continents, and saw action in the senior division, and placed 20th.
Frank finished decently this year in the 2021 U.S. Championship Series, and joined in the junior division, and came up with a 14th place finish.
PHSU will not be fielding Michael Christian Martinez in the qualifiers.
Martinez, the first Southeast Asian figure skater to compete in the Winter Olympics, will sit this one out due to injury.
The 24-year-old Martinez last saw action for the Philippines in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.
Cheng said they pushed through with their selection process before the start of the Enhanced Community Quarantine lockdowns.