Ice hockey in the Philippines is a minor but emerging sport.

History

The history of ice hockey in the Philippines began with the ice rinks set up in shopping malls in the country which were initially only used for recreational activities. The film '' Mighty Ducks'' released in the 1990s helped promote the winter sport in the country, with most members of the 2017 national team citing the film as their inspiration in taking up the sport. The governing body of ice hockey in the country, the

Federation of Ice Hockey League The Federation of Ice Hockey League, Inc. (FIHL), also known as Hockey Philippines, is the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the Philippines. It handled the formation of the Philippine national team, together with the acqui ...

(FIHL), was formed years later in February 2015. The FIHL was admitted as an associate member of the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...

(IIHF) on 20 May 2016 and secured

Philippine Olympic Committee The Philippine Olympic Committee Inc. (POC) is the National Olympic Committee of the Philippines. The POC is a private, non-governmental organization composed of and serve as the mother organization of all National Sports Associations (NSAs) i ...

membership by July 2016. A IIHF sanctioned league, the Philippine Hockey League was organized in 2018 fulfilling a prerequisite for the Philippine men's national team participation in the

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

National and international competitions

Prior to 2008 and before the formation of the FIHL, club selection teams competed in regional competitions as unofficial national teams. After the formation of the FIHL, national ice hockey teams were officially organized. The men's national team made their official debut at the

2017 Asian Winter Games The 2017 Asian Winter Games ( ja, 2017アジア冬季競技大会, 2017 Ajia tōkikyōgitaikai) was the 8th edition of the Asian Winter Games. They were hosted in Sapporo and Obihiro in Hokkaido, Japan. These Games were originally scheduled for 2 ...

while the women's team made theirs at the 2017 IIHF Women's Challenge Cup of Asia. The main league in the country is the Philippine Hockey League which follows IIHF regulations. A recreational ice hockey league, the

Manila Ice Hockey League The Manila Ice Hockey League (MIHL) is a recreational ice hockey league in the Philippines. Teams play in the ice rink at SM Mall of Asia SM Mall of Asia, also abbreviated as SM MoA, or simply Mall of Asia or MoA, is a large shopping mall in ...

, is also held.

Participation rates

Philippine International Ice Hockey Tournament 2017 opening

Since the Philippines is a tropical country with no

winter season Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures d ...

, ice hockey and some other winter sports are played on artificial

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

s. In 2016, there were 211 registered players from five clubs in the country. Despite increasing popularity, the expenses involved in playing the sport hinder its adoption rate. The FIHL plans to introduce the ice hockey in schools through

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

, a similar sport.

Ice rinks

As of 2016, there are four ice rinks in the country, all part of shopping malls: * SM Mall of Asia Ice Skating Rink -

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

* SM Megamall Ice Skating Rink -

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...

* SM Southmall Ice Skating Rink -

Las Piñas Las Piñas, officially the City of Las Piñas ( fil, Lungsod ng Las Piñas), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 606,293 people. Las Piñas ...

* SM Seaside City Cebu Ice Skating Rink -

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...

Tournaments hosted

The following are IIHF-sanctioned ice hockey tournaments hosted in the Philippines. *

2018 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia The 2018 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia was the 11th edition of the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia, an annual international ice hockey tournament held by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The Top Division of the tournament took place from 3 t ...

* 2019 Southeast Asian Games – ice hockey tournament

References

{{Ice hockey in the Philippines Sports in the Philippines

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...