SINGAPORE : Singapore is planning to send a team to compete in the Asian Winter Games in Kazakhstan in 2011.

The move will mark the first participation of a Singapore team in a winter sport at an international level.

With the announcement of an upcoming Olympic-sized rink in Singapore, winter sports here are set for bigger stage including the Winter Olympics.

The latest to join the bandwagon is Ice Hockey, which was awarded the National Sports Association status in September last year.

For the first time, an all-Singapore team took part in the annual Singapore Invitational Ice Hockey Tournament.

The 100 percent Singaporean outfit is the result of the setting up of the Ice Hockey Association last year.

Mr James Kodrowski, President of Singapore Ice Hockey Association, said: "One of the recent announcements that has been made is that we are going to have an Olympic-sized ice rink, and that is one of the requirements for us to eventually qualify for the Olympics.

"That is a huge step forward for the organisation and for Singapore in order to compete on an international scale. As an organisation now that we are recognised as a National Sports Association, we want to grow participation in the sport, so we will be looking to expand to the schools through the School Education Programme."

Growth aside, the national team wants to aim higher - like competing at the Asia Cup in Hong Kong in April.

So the Singapore event is a good gauge of their standards and also good preparation for bigger events.

Size does matter in this sport but for teams like Singapore they can also rely on speed and agility.

Come 2009, when the larger Olympic-sized rink is ready, Singapore team members can indeed play a faster game.

Mr Daniel Chew, Member of National Ice Hockey Team, said: "The rink is small, there is not enough space for us to run, so it is too small for us to reach our maximum speed. So we can't really use our speed here."

The Olympic-sized rink will be a big boost as the boys prepare for the international stage. - CNA/de