MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines made history as it won its first-ever medal in Asian Winter Games history thanks to its men’s curling team striking gold in Harbin, China, on Friday, February 14.

Curling is a sport unfamiliar to Filipinos, with the Philippines being a tropical country and having no winter season.

But the golden romp of Marc Pfister, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister, Alan Frei, and Benjo Delarmente that saw them beat the likes of China, South Korea, and Japan shines a new light on the sport.

What is curling?

Curling involves players in a team or a pair who slide heavy polished granite stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area called the “house.”

The team or pair with most points after the game, which usually consists of eight or 10 ends, wins.

Each team or pair plays eight stones in an end with the goal of placing a stone near the center of the house called the “tee.”

The team or pair with a stone closest to the tee gets a point and then additional point/s for every stone inside the house closer to the tee than the opponents’ stone.

An end concludes with either a draw or only one team scoring, with the points accumulated after a game.

Tracing its roots to 16th century Scotland, curling was one of the five sports that made up the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924 in Chamonix, France.

After being included as a demonstration sport in the 1932, 1988, 1992 editions, curling was officially added to the Olympic program in 1998 and has been played in every Winter Games since.

Chess on ice

The sport earned the moniker “chess on ice” due to the strategy it involves as stone placement makes or breaks an end.

When the designated player releases a stone, the other member/s use a brush to sweep the sheet to adjust the speed and the path of the stone toward their desired position.

Frei, who plays as lead for the national team, said curling is a “combination of strategy and physical skill.”

Curling is also a defensive game as much as it is an offensive one.

While the objective is to get the stones near the tee, teams or pairs also use their stones to block the house and deny their opponents scoring opportunities.

Defense proved to be the key for the Philippines in the final of the Asian Winter Games as it hacked out a 5-3 win over South Korea to capture the gold.

The Koreans failed to force an extra end after its last stone missed the mark due to the Philippines’ stones obstructing the path.

Next goal

Frei called the Winter Olympics the “holy grail of curling.”

And that is next goal for the Philippine men’s curling team as it looks to make history anew by qualifying for the Winter Games to be hosted by Italy next year.

The Philippines has not been represented in curling as it participated only in luge, alpine skiing, and figure skating in five Winter Olympic appearances.

“We, as a team, we do not have a plan B. Our only plan is to go to the Olympics. There is no plan B. We are not having any other goals,” said Frei. – Rappler.com