Did You Know?

I do not imagine the Winter Olympics to be real big in the Philippines, with the Philippines having no winter season. However, I have noted at least two people with Filipino ancestry (near and far) in the Vancouver games. One is JR Celski who was skating short track ice skating his mother is from the Philippines.

In addition, in pairs figure skating Amanda Evora's parents are from the Philippines and she was born in New York.

However, that is nothing. A buddy of mine on Facebook informed me of the following: The Philippine Ski Federation where they proudly proclaim:

Philippine Ski Federation is the governing body for snow ski racing and snowboarding for the Philippines. Yes, there is no snow in the Philippines but it gets its athletes from the over 6 million Filipinos living abroad especially from the United States, Canada, and Europe. Founded in 1999 by Manuel Espiritu, it has over a dozen members of athletes, coaches, officials and supporters. Relentlessly pursuing excellence in spite of the many obstacles, PSF seeks to put Filipino athletes on the top step of the podium through the commitment of financial and technical resources. PSF is dedicated in promoting the participation of any global Filipino seeking to represent their homeland.

Philippine Ski Federation has been a member of FIS (Federacion Internacionale de Ski - the world governing body) since 1999. Currently, PSF participates in two to the 9 disciplines under the FIS, namely alpine skiing and snowboarding. Also currently, our athletes and coaches come from United States and Canada. We are the only country, without snow, that consistently sends snowboarders and skiers to the World Cup and World Championships for the last 5 years. Truly we are unique as a people and a country!

I know the son of one of my friends has taken to snowboarding, but I do not know if he is still participating in the sport.

MA