6 August 2010 - “Shoot Clean - Say No! to Doping” Campaign

“Shoot Clean - Say No! to Doping” Campaign Lausanne – 6 August 2010   The World Archery Clean Sport department, in partnership with WADA, has launched a promotion campaign called “Shoot Clean! - Say No! to Doping”. The aim of this campaign is to show FITA’s involvement in the fight for a clean sport, through a visible, modern and eye-catchy design. It aims at heightening the awareness of every archer in the world, from beginners to top level, on the importance of shooting clean, with respect and fair play.  In the last decade, only a few Doping cases, mostly due to ignorance, have been treated in archery. As much as we want to fight cheaters, we also want to make sure every archer in the world does know what this is about and is conscious of all substances that enter his/her body. We want to make archers aware of the dangers of doping, not only for their sporting career, but for their health as well.   Archery is a sport of precision, concentration, focus, elegance, where doping has no place to be. This is the image and lesson we want to teach the youngsters taking up the sport, the true essence of archery and sport in general. It is a state of mind, where body, mind and spirit are combined to reach the perfect shot, a clean shot.   Why “Shoot Clean” and “Say No! to Doping”? “Shoot Clean” is a short and clear motto, a positive and inspiring message that will easily remain in every archer’s mind when aiming at the target, should it be at the archery club or in the competition field. We wanted to give the campaign a personal archery touch.   “Say No! to Doping” is the official name of the campaign, initially launched by WADA.   Why green and black colours? These two colours come from the WADA logo that is described as follows:   The square shape of the logo background represents the customs and the rules that define sport. The colour black evokes neutrality and is the traditional colour of the referee. The "equal sign" expresses equity and fairness. The sign is depicted with a human touch to reflect the individuality of every athlete. The colour green evokes health and nature and the field of play. The "play true" tag line encapsulates WADA's core values and is intended as a guiding principle for all athletes at every level of competition.  What is involved? Say NO! to Doping was first launched in collaboration with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), whereby ice hockey players trained and warmed up using green pucks (normally black) co-branded with the IIHF and “in partnership with WADA” logos. The pucks became a springboard for discussion on fair play and doping-free sport.   While several organisations have shown interest in adopting the campaign since its launch during the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships, held in Germany in April 2010, FIFA (International Football Federation) was next to implement it. During the 2010 Football World Cup, FIFA provided each team with Say NO! to Doping balls.   Now, it is FITA’s time to join its fellow International Federations in this quest for a campaign aiming at promoting Clean Sport!   How will it be implemented? The 9 and 10-ring style design will be printed as stickers.   The launch of the campaign will be done during the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, where the stickers will be placed on target faces, replacing the yellow 9 and 10 rings, during the Official Practice day. Also the target butts at 10m will see some of these stickers hanging around.   Archers will be able to take home the Shoot Clean stickers, place them on their bow cases, bring them to their clubs and make their own promotion of their sport values, including a doping free sport! They will spread the word around the world, as there are no better ambassadors than the seeds and future stars of the sport!   The campaign will then be brought to FITA events, such as World Cups and World Championships, with a similar approach. Interest has already been shown from Continental and National Associations to use it in their events, which is a great start for this Clean Sport promotion campaign!   An inspired archer commented on the logo as “Hitting this centre means you are doing all you can to be positive about your life!!!!!!” This is the exact essence of the message.   Should there be interest in this campaign from National Federations, please do not hesitate to contact Chantal Steiner (csteiner@archery.org).   News on the campaign will be published in our website, so stay tuned!   Chantal STEINER World Archery Clean Sport