Jul. 31, 2014 at 12:01am

PHILIPPINE Olympian Michael Martinez will vie in the International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating (Grand Prix), slated on Oct. 24 until Dec. 14.

SM signs a contract with Michael Martinez to fund his bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Under the four-year contract, SM will provide an endowment of P36 million to support Martinez’s training. Shown in the photo during the signing ceremony are: Nicole Deato, Assistant Vice President for Education and Leisure Centers at SM LEI; Teresa Martinez; Michael Martinez; Edgar Tejerero, President of SM LEI; and Carmen Linda Atayde, Executive Director for Education Programs at SM Foundation, Inc.

He will be the only Filipino and Southeast Asian to compete in this year’s prestigious Grand Prix Series.

The Grand Prix is a series of senior international figure skating competitions in the 2014 to 2015 season. Medals will be awarded in the disciplines of men’s singles, ladies’ singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters will earn points based on their placement at each event and the top six in each discipline will qualify to compete at the Grand Prix Final to be held in Barcelona, Spain.

“The youth and the promotion of athletic excellence through our facilities, programs, events and schools are among our primary advocacies. Michael Martinez is a homegrown talent and a role model for today’s youth as he sets his sights even higher. We fully support his dreams to continue to represent the Philippines and to place in the next Winter Olympics,” SM Prime Holdings, Inc. President Hans T. Sy said.

Martinez is set to compete in the Hilton Hhonors Skate America in Chicago, Illinois from Oct. 24 to 26 and is the first of six events that make up the 2014 Grand Prix Series. Martinez was one of the select few invited by the organizing committee to compete in the prestigious event.

Other stops include Skate Canada, LEXUS Cup of China, Trophee Eric Bompard in France, Rostelecom Cup in Russia and NHK Trophy in Japan.

Skaters earn points throughout the Grand Prix Series to qualify for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The 2014 Grand Prix Final will be held on Dec. 11 to 14 in Spain.

Organized by the ISU, the Grand Prix series sets the stage for the 2015 European, Four Continents, and World Championships. The corresponding series for junior-level skaters will be the 2014–15 ISU Junior Grand Prix.

Martinez will be competing against world and Olympic medalists the likes of Tatsuki Machida of Japan, Denis Ten of Kazakhstan, Jeremy Abbott of the USA and Artur Gachinski of Russia.