WHILE the whole nation is currently fixated on the Paris Olympic Games, somewhere in Europe there currently is a group whose target is to make a name for the Philippines in another kind of Olympics - the Winter Games.
The group is based in Switzerland and its aim is to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy where the four-man team will carry the Philippine flag and participate in a sport few in our country has probably heard of - curling.
It is an event where players slide "stones" on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It's a fairly complicated sport and very little physical contact or communication between opposing players - only among team members where one throws the "stone" and the others sweep the surface to clear its path. The team that throws the stone and comes nearest the target after eight tries, wins.
Surprisingly, the crew has gotten approval from Philippine sports authorities and well on its way to competing in several pre-Olympic events hoping to make a mark and perform well enough to qualify for the 2026 Winter Games.
It would not have happened if a retired business executive, Alan Frei, concerned about his health and well-being, had not connected with a trio of fellow Fil-Swiss who had been looking for a fourth man to complete the curling team.
“My idea was very simple. What's the most ambitious goal I can have concerning my health? And the idea was, let me try to go to the Winter Olympics. Or let me try to go to the Olympics. That was my goal. That was my first goal.” said Frei during an online interview last month.
Ambitious bid
Owing to his age, Frei’s goals were too ambitious if his aim was to represent Switzerland. But with some legal help, the 42-year-old realized that there was a slim chance he could do what he intended with Team Philippines, as he was a holder of a Philippine passport.
“[My lawyers] came back [to me] very quickly and they said, 'You know what, Allan, you have no chance to go to the Olympics for Switzerland, neither in Summer nor Winter Olympics, you have zero chance,'” Frei narrated.
“But you have the Filipino passport and you have no chance in Summer Olympics for the Philippines because there are so many talented athletes in the Philippines, Summer Olympics or summer sports, but you have a small chance in Winter Olympics. So I was like, okay, let me try that.”
Curling wasn’t exactly on the table immediately for Frei.
“So I started with cross-country skiing. So that's on the slope, cross-country skiing, and I had very, very little talent in cross-country skiing. And everybody was like, Alan, you won't make it to the Olympics in cross-country skiing, but I just tried. And I was very unsuccessful with it.” he said.
But everything changed in March 2023, when Frei heard from fellow Filipino-Swiss Christian Haller.
Haller is a long-time curler and along with Fil-Swiss brothers Marc and Enrico Pfister, they were looking for a fourth member of what could be a Philippine curling team.
Though he never even tried the sport before, Frei was ecstatic at the prospect of making it to the Winter Games with this rag-tag team of Filipino dreamers. So when the opportunity came, he didn’t hesitate.
“They asked me if I curl, and I said, no, I have never tried that, but you know what? I'm very ambitious, and I have time, and I will set everything on it so that I can compete with you guys.” said Frei.
“And so in the beginning, they weren't sure if I was serious, or if I was going to push forward. And then I found my role very quickly in the team that I decided, you know what? I'm in charge of the field, of the ice rink, to push that project forward.”
Nitty-gritty
With the ultimate goal of making it to the Games in 2026, Frei and the rest of the team have been dealing with the nitty-gritty — forming their own National Sports Association, working with the Philippine Sports Commission, and getting themselves involved with the World Curling Federation.
And when everything was set, the team was able to make their debut in the 2023 Pan-Continentals B category. There, they were able to prove they can go toe-to-toe with other Division B teams.
With team captain Marc leading the way, Frei and Co. finished second in the competition at 6-1, even if they were only tapped as a last-minute replacement after a team dropped out.
They lost only to Team China in the gold medal game, 4-8, missing promotion to the A category.
But all things considered, Frei saw it as a promising start for their Winter Olympics bid — and thought that maybe it wasn’t just a mid-life crisis pipe dream he had for himself.
“China is in the Top 20 in the world, and probably the third or fourth best team in Asia. And we were like, okay, we really have chances here, so let's get serious about it.” he said.
Olympic dream
Frei admitted that he was particularly hard on himself as he was the newbie to the sport, with Haller and the the Pfister brothers already veterans. The Pfister brothers even have had multiple World Championship appearances with Switzerland but saw an option with the Philippines for a shot at Olympic glory.
“I had to increase my training a lot since then, since last year. I've been training every day, and I'm catching up more and more and more.” said Frei.
“And now as a team, our next step, our next big tournament will be again the Pan-Continentals 2024, and our goal is then to go from Category B to Category A.” he added.
With Olympic qualification still some time away, the team is eyeing more experience against top-level teams, whom they will chase in the first division of the Pan-Continentals.
But before that, Frei, Haller, the Pfister brothers, and their alternate and federation president Benjo Delarmente, will participate in the 2024 Baden Masters in the Curling Center Baden Regio in Baden-Daettwil, Switzerland.
There, they are one of 20 teams aiming to be the newest champion of the European Curling Champions Tour tournament.
But it won’t be easy as they will be up against some of the best teams in the world — including reigning champion Italy. But with their dreams of making it to the Winter Games, they’re ready to go up against anyone.
“It's the best team in the world. It's Team Italy, and we are competing against them in this tournament, which is not part of the steps to go to the Olympics, but it will show us where we stand.” explained Frei.
“So this will be very interesting in August. We will also have other games against No. 8 of the world and No. 15 of the world, so we will see where we stand, and then with that we can move to the Pancontinentals in October in Canada, Lancôme in Alberta, and then we can compete there.” he added.
Focused on the bigger picture, Frei and the rest of the team are hoping to make history for the Philippines and are banking on spreading the word of the sport and what Filipinos can do.
“The strong belief that we can make it to the Winter Olympics, and make history for the Philippines, is something that's a huge motivation for us, and to make the Philippines proud, and we believe that we can put the Philippines on the map in Winter Olympics.” declared Frei.
“And we just believe it's just this incredible story. There there was a movie back in the day called Cool Runnings, which was the Jamaican bobsleigh team, which participated in the Olympics, and we want to create a similar story, and go to the Olympics for the Philippines, and make the Filipinos proud. That's our idea.”
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