Thursday August 9, 2012

Malaysian rink plays host to Skate Asia 2012

By KHRISTY CHOO
metro@thestar.com.my
Pictures by ROHAIZAT DARUS

SUNWAY Pyramid Ice is the proud host of Skate Asia 2012. The event was launched on Aug 1 by Selangor tourism, consumer affairs and environment committee chairman Elizabeth Wong, and is one of the biggest Skate Asia events in history.

This is reflected through the statistics of the competition, with this event boasting the participation of 650 skaters from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

There are 21 rinks represented with more than 3,000 events organised for skaters to compete in.

Easy does it : Julian Yee, 15, captivating the crowd with his performance.

In his opening speech, Sunway Pyramid CEO HC Chan welcomed guests to Malaysia and wished all skaters the best during the competition.

He added, “We are proud to play host to events like Skate Asia because international competitions like this further challenge our perspective of what can be achieved in this icy arena where participants of all ages and from different cultural backgrounds bring in their scope of style.”

His sentiments were echoed by Ice Skating Association of Malaysia president Datin Laila Abdullah, who in her speech, urged skaters to “Skate smiling, and skate your best.”

The audience was treated to a sneak preview of what to expect during the eight-day competition, with captivating performances by some of Malaysia’s best skaters, brothers Julian and Ryan Yee and Chan Zhen Feng.

Whiz skater: Ryan Yee, 17, setting the bar high for the other skaters with his performance.

Guest skater Michael Tsao, 14, from Taipei, who won the gold medal in the Asian Junior Figure Skating Championship 2012, had the crowd roaring their approval during his special performance.

This is the fourth time Skate Asia will be held at Sunway Pyramid Ice, setting the record for being the most times this event has been held at a single venue.

The highlights include performances by the youngest skater in the competition, two-year- old Ariel Ku from Hong Kong.

Today is the last day of Skate Asia 2012. The event is free for public viewing from 7am to 9pm.