HAVING witnessed firsthand the phenomenal success of the national men’s curling team in the last 9th Harbin Asian Winter Games, Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann yesterday assured the PSC’s support for winter sports in the years ahead.
“The PSC remains committed to expanding the necessary support for winter sports and providing appropriate programs that will be delivered at the grassroots level to sustain the achievement we attained in Harbin,” Bachmann said in a statement.
“The PSC is incredibly proud of the recent achievement by the Philippine men’s curling team that won the gold medal at the 9th Asian Winter Games. This marks the country’s first-ever medal in the winter multi-sport events and the best finish by any Southeast Asian nation in the tournament,” he noted.
With this feat, he added, “We are dedicated to fully coordinating with the officials of Curling Winter Sports Association of the Philippines Inc., the accredited and recognized national sports association by the Philippine Olympic Committee for curling, to exert assistance.”
He said these will include “streamlining the process to qualify for membership in the National Training Pool which ensures a monthly allowance, other subsidies, and other specialized training and development programs geared towards representing the country in any international competitions.
“This historic win has sparked widespread interest among Filipinos to become more knowledgeable about the sport and to increase engagement in winter sports.”
Philippine Olympic Committee president and Tagaytay Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino disclosed that the Swiss-based Filipino athletes – siblings Marc and Enrico Pfister, Christian Haller and Alan Frei – had used their personal resources in their build-up to the Asian Winter Games in the absence of the country’s track record in the event in the previous editions of the sportsfest.
Under Republic Act 10699, or the revised incentives law, they are entitled to P2 million or P500,000 each for their epic achievement in the quadrennial continental sports showcase.
On top of being the best country in Southeast Asia, the Philippines wound up a stunning fifth overall among the 34 nations that took part behind topnotcher China (32-27-26), runner-up South Korea (16-15-14), third-placer Japan (10-12-15) and fourth-placer Kazakhstan (4-9-7), respectively.
