Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

Having a Filipino in the winter Olympics may sound like an oxymoron given that the Philippines is known more for it’s tropical climate than frigid weather.  However, from skating on slushy, chopped ice in the Philippines to a pristine, spotless surface in the US, the 13-year-old Issai will look to become an Olympic hopeful for the Philippines come the next Winter Olympics slated for Vancouver, Canada in 2010 or Sochi, Russia in 2014.

And she’s well on her way.

Last year, Issai became the first Philippine-born ice skater to qualify to compete in the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) sanctioned competitive events. She qualified last year after undergoing a series of rigorous tests conducted by the USFSA.

Most ice skaters in the Philippines compete on a recreational level. The US and world has a stricter standard. An ice skater looking to compete in an Olympic/ or USFSA event must pass a stringent test to compete in qualifying competitions. Issai performed well enough to pass.

This year was her first year of competitive events and she surprised many when she arrived to the US in June and nearly swept the competition during her very first USFSA event.

Issai bagged three gold, a silver and bronze medal at the Broadmoor Open in Colorado Springs, Colorado last June 24-28. She topped the seven other competitors in freestyle, artistic, and spin events, according to her US Ice Skating Coach Ted Domingo.

“We were all surprised,” said Fe Villafuerte, the mother. “We didn’t expect it.”

Domingo did.

“I’m not surprised,” he said. “We had two good weeks of training [leading] up to the event. We’ve been preparing and practicing for five to six hours a day.”

Issai said that she too was surprised since prior to the Broadmoor Open, she didn’t perform very well in a different recreational competition.

“It [the Broadmoor Open] supposed to be the hardest and most important one,” she said. “I was competing against seven people. It was really tough. They were all so good and they landed everything. I was so nervous but I’m glad I did well.”