2008 WUC Archery: Opening Ceremony
July 8th, 2008
Juan Carlos Holgado & Isato Igarashi together with the OC
With a participation of 155 archers, from 27 different countries from around the World, the 7th World University Archery Championships start beating the participation record of the FISU Archery World Championships. In the previous edition in Slovakia in 2006 the participation was a total of 124 competitors.
The competition will start today in the Chang Jung Christian University, located in the Tainan County in China Taipei. FISU Assessor, Mr Hisato Igarashi from Japan declared “before even shooting one arrow, the event is already a success as the number of participants is the highest we ever had in a WUAC. We have to thank the organizing Committee, Tainan County, the Sport University Federation in Taipei and the Archery Federation of Taipei for the enthusiasm and excellent work they have done to welcome all of us and organize this event on such a high level”. The championship was officially declared open by Mr. Igarashi at the end of the official Opening Ceremony, after several speeches of the authorities, the marching in of the participants, some cultural performances and the raising ceremony of the FITA Flag and FISU Anthem.
Line up of the delegations at the Opening Ceremony
The facilities are ready for the competition that start and have been tested by the archers and inspected by the judges during the Official practice sessions organized there. Archers were satisfied with the field and facilities, but concerned with the weather they will have during the week. The temperatures are quite high (Hot and humid) and rain appears time to time… to disappear in few minutes and allowing the heat to bring more levels of humidity. “The entire field is a sauna… and shades, water-drinks, and level keeping a constant level of liquid in the body need to be taken into consideration by the athletes, officials and volunteers, if they all want to perform well” said Juan Carlos Holgado, Chair of the FISU Archery Technical Commission.
Another factor that some archers are feeling is the “jet lag”. With some teams having trips of 19 to 20 hours and enjoying 6 to 8 hours of difference with their respective countries, and with a condensed competition schedule, all this do not help to keep the archers focus on their performance.
The competition will start with a qualification Round at 70 meters for all the divisions. The next day the individual eliminations will be done during the entire day, to end the event next 10th of July with the team competition and the Mixed team event (recently adopted by FISU in its events and in the process to be adopted in FITA events as well). This day, one man and one woman from the same country and same type of bow can make a team and compete to get the gold medal. A format that was introduced in FISU events in the WUAC in Slovakia in 2006 and tested in the FITA World Cup in Dover in 2007… and since then proved as one of the future success of archery. Also a hit/miss target (Academic Round target face) will be used for all the team competition.
The competition will be filmed and video streamed in internet to allow the fans around the world to see some images of the event and follow the competition (On-line Live Broadcasting Service). The Website of this event where photos, news, results and videos can be seen is: http://2008wuac.ctusf.org.tw/ - Juan Carlos Holgado
The delegations march in at the Opening Ceremony
FISU Assessor Isato Igarashi's opening speech
