MANILA – If there is one thing the Philippine Skating Union (PHSU) needs from government, according to its President Nikki Cheng, it would be more support for grassroots development.
Cheng acknowledged the current assistance they are getting from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
But she believes more needs to be done like giving dedicated time for figure skaters amid limited venues for training.
"For me, grassroots development. It's giving the time to the skaters to train, and to be on that high-level caliber. Because, as you can see, our venue in the Philippines is very limited," she said after the opening ceremony of the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy 2025 on Saturday.
"We only have three rinks. And our skaters are so used to trying to, paano ba? We have to mingle with the mall crowd on a day-to-day basis, if you have seen our daily operations, we have skating aids... And sobrang dami talaga," Cheng explained.
The PHSU President said other nations that have produced champions have dedicated skating rinks for their athletes.
"Personally, we see the difference of those countries that are able to train in a better environment, because our skaters are so used ganyang environment. We see medyo mas mabagal sila, hindi sila masyadong humahataw if they are going to attack a jump or when they go around the ice," Cheng said.
"So, this is really what we want to push for, to give quality time to our skaters. And we hope that the government can support us more to give that time. Kasi for example, they gave us ice time for short-track speed skating," she explained.
Cheng hopes they get the government's support again in this regard of allocating time for athletes, but this time for figure skating.
20 Filipino skaters are competing at the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy from August 1 to 5 at the Mall of Asia Arena skating rink in Pasay City.
PHSU hopes the athletes gain valuable experience from the international competition, while relishing performing in front of a home crowd.
After the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, the biggest local competition will be the National Figure Skating Championships to be held in November.
The PHSU will look at who can be chosen to play for the flag in the lineup of events next year during Nationals.
The country aims to send skaters to the 2026 Winter Olympic qualifiers next month and triumph at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in December.