MORE than 1,000 ice skaters from 25 countries and regions are participating in the ongoing Skate Asia 2006 at The MIXc and the Shenzhen Gymnasium.

At least 5,000 skating events will be held during the eight-day competition, which started Saturday (August 12) and will continue until Aug. 19.

This is the eighth time the annual event is being held. It was first organized by the Ice Skating Institute (ISI) Asia in 1999.

Major events include footwork, figure, freestyle, artistic, team skating and ice hockey.

Skate Asia, hosted by a different country each year, has invited skaters from the Middle East, Australia, Europe, India, Canada and the United States to participate. The youngest competitors are the 3-year-olds Li Nok Sze and Kevin Shi from Shenzhen and the eldest 76-year-old Gin Wee Kit from Singapore.

For some beginners, it's an event to expand their horizons. Kelvin Kwok, 9, won his first medal Saturday along with five other team members after winning a group skating event. Kwok said he began skating three years ago.

Filipina Leslie Pena Ching came from Manila for the event. Ching, 15, began skating at the age of 7.

There is also a team from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

"Our team has participated in Skate Asia for the last four years because it is a great opportunity for my students to travel overseas together and compete against the best international skaters," said Luda Kalenuk, coach of the Al Nasr Leisureland ice skating team.

"There is a lot of pressure because the competition will be tough," she said.

The event is open free to the public, and will be broadcast on the Shenzhen TV selectively. Although World Ice Arena at The MIXc is an Olympic size surface, another 800-square-meter rink has been prepared for some events at the Shenzhen Gymnasium.

The first ISI Skate Asia was held in 1989 in Hong Kong. Due to a lack of adequate ice rinks and few skaters in Asia, the competition was abandoned for 10 years. The rapid growth of ice rinks throughout the region in the mid-1990's made it possible for the event to be rejuvenated in 1999.

Both the 1999 and 2000 Skate Asia competitions were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The following competitions were held in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Taipei respectively.

For more information, call 8266-8288 or visit the official Web site www.skateasia2006.com.

Editor: Wing