Introduction: Life as a Tropical Ice Princess

Imagine living in a country where it feels like summer all throughout the year. Where the only seasons you know are "Wet" and "Dry", and where you cannot seem to go outside without having to feel like you're getting barbecued.

That is life living in the tropics.

My name is Anniza and I live in what others would refer to as paradise, the Philippines. I grew up in the island of Cebu, home to many of the most beautiful beaches one could ever see! I've recently just graduated from University and am trying to pursue my dream as a professional figure skater.

I first stepped on the ice when I was 10 years old, and immediately I just fell in love. Figured out how to do the basics in just a day! Skating rinks in my country are all situated within a mall and one brand of mall in particular called SM. We were on holiday in the capital city of Manila, visiting one of the biggest malls in the country SM Mall of Asia. It housed the first ever Olympic sized rink in the country. And I stayed in the mall the entire day! I don't even remember eating, to be quite honest. After a while, my mother decided to inquire for lessons, thus the beginning of my journey in figure skating!

Playing around the ice with a Chinese Arabesque

Being a figure skater in a tropical country is quite a challenge. Besides the location, being in a mall meant having to skate along with the public skaters. It's not the best training ground when you constantly have to dodge public skaters around you. Coaches are also have divided attention, from assisting public skaters to having private lessons. It's also very hard to avoid the people outside constantly watching and judging, sometimes laughing when you make a mistake, but I try to shut them out by thinking "They don't really know what I'm doing anyway".

Skaters along with the coaches

Trying to get adequate training is hard, Figure skating is an expensive sport and even more expensive in countries where resources are scarce. There not enough coaches and even if there are, they don't have the training suitable enough to bring us to higher tier figure skating. There is only figure skating store and it's in manila, I live an hour away by plane and most of their products are crazy expensive (Inflation, anyone?). What the skaters in my rink do is we have one time where we order online and use somebody's credit card, then we pay them with cash. That way it's cheaper and more adequate for all of us even when we need to sacrifice time for shipping.

My home rink in SM Seaside City Cebu (credits to owner of image)

The rates for my rink are as follows:

Unlimited Skating	420 php
1 hour Skating	99 php
30 minutes assist with coach	150 php
Polar Bear rental per hour	100 php

And of course, the private lessons vary in price depending on what level you're in and which coach you want to have.

It's discouraging to think that my rink isn't one that devotes to the sport alone, we also have to share it with the hockey players and the public skaters do get in the way sometimes. Most especially when they don't follow the basic rules and wander to the area where we train.

Despite all this, I am still very much in love with my sport, in love with the ice. When I'm upset, I skate, even for an hour. There's just this sense of being home, being safe, as I glide. Even if it's a fleeting feeling, I would trade many things just to be on the ice. Even when there's no training, when you just want feel the ice under your blades, the cold wind on yours cheeks, and the overall feeling of happiness.

Doing a One-foot spin, one of the basic spins in figure skating

In my country, we've had only one winter olympian, Michael Christian Martinez. He competed in the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014. After which, figure skating became more recognized. But still not recognized enough. He came to my city last year to train us, and I am happy to be called his friend. The nation is proud of him and he's put in a lot to reach the olympics.

Michael and I after training camp

Life as a figure skater in a tropical country is hard, we need to catch up, we need to double time, we need to put in more than what others do, but that's what it is all about. The end game is rewarding, the journey is fulfilling. I don't think I will ever tire from this sport. Even when I stop competing, there was always be performing and coaching. My dream is to be able to help my local rink grow in number, grow in terms of achievements, and one day we will have remarkable skaters that will step on olympic podium.

I look forward to a great time here in Steemit, and looking forward to meeting new people as well. This has been a new chapter in my life and I plan to make the most of it. Salamat! (Thank you)