Philippine Curling Team nears historic Winter Olympic berth

The Philippine men’s curling team took a huge step toward making history after going undefeated in a pre-Olympic qualification event held at Curl Aberdeen in Scotland over the weekend, putting them on the brink of qualifying for the 2026 Milan–Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.

The team, composed of Marc Pfister, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister, Brayden Carpenter, and alternate Alan Frei, clinched an automatic berth to the Olympic Qualification 2025 tournament set from December 6 to 19 in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

The top two teams from that event will secure tickets to the Winter Olympics scheduled for February 4 to 22, 2026.
 

The Filipino curlers previously made history by capturing the country’s first-ever Winter Games gold medal at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, defeating South Korea, 5–3, in the men’s team final.

In Scotland, the squad remained perfect with impressive victories over Denmark (7–4), Chinese Taipei (10–0), New Zealand (6–5), Australia (9–4), and Poland (7–2).

“They performed really well in Scotland, and we are proud of them. We expect them to advance, and we are calling the entire nation for support and prayers,” Tolentino added. “We also hope that the PSC will continue supporting their campaign.”

A total of 10 countries, along with host nation Italy, will qualify for the curling competition in Milan-Cortina, featuring 120 athlete quotas, split evenly between the men’s and women’s divisions.

Also advancing to the Kelowna qualifiers are men’s teams from Czechia, Poland, and New Zealand, and women’s teams from Germany and Australia.

With their unbeaten run and growing momentum, the Philippine curling team now stands closer than ever to achieving what once seemed impossible—bringing the Philippine flag to the Winter Olympics in curling for the first time.