Participants giving cheery thumbs up to Skate Malaysia 2024 in Petaling Jaya which drew contestants from various parts of the world.
The 16th edition of Skate Malaysia saw the largest number of participants and events in the history of the international figure skating competition.
Held at Sunway Pyramid Ice in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Skate Malaysia 2024 hosted 600 skaters from 25 ice rinks worldwide.
Due to huge entrant numbers, the annual event took place over five days.
Skate Malaysia 2024 was also part of the third championship series of Ice Skating Institute (ISI) Asia.
The institute was set up to develop winter sports within the South-East Asian region, China, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other areas of coverage.
Consequently, the competition saw local entrants as well as those from Indonesia, China, Thailand, Kuwait, the Philippines, Qatar and the US.
With 1,700 programmes for novice as well as seasoned skaters, the competition was supported by Malaysia Ice-Skating Federation (MISF), Ice Skating Association of Malaysia (ISAM) and Youth and Sports Ministry.
Qian Xin clinched the Most Promising Female Skater award.
Subang Jaya assemblyman Michelle Ng was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony, which was also attended by Skate Malaysia competition director and ISI Asia president Harry Janto Lee and ISAM president Billy Johan.
Representatives from Sunway City Bhd included Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Square and Sunway Giza senior general manager Jason Chin.
Sunway Pyramid Ice, Sunway Giza and Sunway Square assistant general manager Albert Cheok said, “Sunway Malls believe in nurturing aspiring athletes by hosting events, and local and international competitions.
“Sunway Pyramid Ice Skating Academy plays a huge role in bringing to life this aim.
“Part of our dedication to this includes building an ice rink in our upcoming mall located in the Sunway City Ipoh township, which will ultimately serve the local community and encourage international competitions.”
He was speaking at the competition’s opening ceremony that saw a parade of participants waving their country flags and a performance by national men’s champion Fang Ze Zeng.
Ean whizzed his way to becoming the Most Promising Male Skater.
The 20-year-old figure skater is a living testimony of Sunway City’s philosophy in nurturing aspiring athletes, its media statement said.
Fang joined the academy at the age of seven and began competing internationally in 2018 as a 14-year-old.
The statement added that over the past 27 years, the academy had trained close to 22,000 students, some of whom had gone on to become professional coaches or active participants in international competitions.
“This is our 16th time hosting Skate Malaysia and the competition always gets better,” said Chin.
“It is indeed an honour as we are the longest serving ice-rink in Malaysia and pioneers of ice-skating as a fun activity, and a competitive sport.
“Since our first edition, we have steadily grown our numbers and garnered international recognition as an influential platform for developing winter sports.
“We look forward to hosting many more competitions in the years ahead,” he added.
Sunway Pyramid Ice has hosted six Skate Asia editions since 1999, four World Ice Hockey Championships since 2001 and 14 Skate Malaysia editions.
Skate Malaysia 2024 also saw Sunway Pyramid Ice named the overall winning ice rink followed by Blue Ice Skating Rink in Kuala Lumpur and Oasis Centre Arena in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Young Malaysians Ean Lam (Male) and Lai Qian Xin (Female) secured the Most Promising Skater awards.
