MORE than 100 aspiring figure skaters have gathered at SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall for the annual Summer Skate ice skating competition from Friday to Saturday.
Filipino skaters numbering 104 and aged from three to 18 years of age are vying in the two-day event, which will have local coaches certified by the Ice Skating Institute (ISI) acting as judges and officials.
Olympian and SM homegrown talent Michael Christian Martinez has competed in the Summer Skate competitions and in 2006 won the gold medal in skating level Freestyle 1. He reached one of the highest ISI recreational levels before shifting his focus to Ice Skating Union (ISU) competitions.
Summer Skate is sanctioned by the ISI, an international governing body for recreational figure skating. ISI was founded in 1959 as an organization for owners, operators and developers of ice skating facilities. ISI recreational competitions have been developed to encourage skaters of all ages, levels and abilities.
Compared with competitions sanctioned by the ISU, the emphasis is placed on the excitement and fun of the ISI tournaments rather than solely on “winning."
SM Ice Skating Rink has been a member of ISI since 1994. The first ISI Summer Skate competition was held at the SM Ice Skating Rink in Megamall in 1994 with over 100 skaters.
The highest recorded number of participants was in 2006 at the newly built ice skating rink in Mall of Asia having a total of around 340 skaters. The Philippines is one of several Asian member countries which operates ice rinks. Others are Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Macau and China.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
