GUO Bei (CHN) : “The image of archery is very important”

GUO Bei, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Organising Committee: “The image of archery is very important” Shanghai (CHN) – 31 August 2010   The Shanghai World Cup Organising Committee is in the good hands of Ms GUO Bei, who has a long experience in the sport as an archer and judge and holds a high position in the sports administration of Shanghai. We met GUO Bei on the eve of World Cup Stage 4.   What was your involvement in archery throughout the years? I was an archer many years ago. At the time China was a very closed country and I didn’t compete outside of the country even though I was on the National Team. I became a FITA judge in 1987 and went to many World Championships and Olympic Games. I was the head judge during the 1992 Olympic team final when the FITA Events Director Juan Carlos HOLGADO won gold as a member of the Spanish team. I was also a judge at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics and the Beijing Games in 2008. In Athens 2004 I was the team captain of the Chinese archery team. I’ve also been a member of the FITA Technical Committee in 2001 as well as a Council Member of the Asian Archery Federation (AAF). I already worked in the Shanghai World Cup Organising Committee last year so I’m very much involved in archery, but it is only a part-time activity. Outside of archery I work full-time as Deputy Director of the Shanghai Administration of Sports and Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Sports Federation, which covers 71 sports federations.   What were the major challenges you encountered in the organisation of World Cup stage 4 this year? First of all many people wanted to compete in Shanghai and because of that we had to look for a big archery range. Secondly, this time the World Cup is taking place during the Shanghai World Expo and most of the hotels were already fully booked but there is a positive side as well: the city of Shanghai is completely ready to host big events thanks to the World Expo, therefore everything related to the competition will be very smooth. The third challenge is the weather. Last year we were hit by a typhoon and this morning we heard that a typhoon might come from Chinese Taipei. We are following the weather forecast carefully. The fourth challenging factor is the spectators. In China the most popular sport is table tennis. Archery is not very popular even though we have a top team and the current women’s Olympic champion ZHANG Juan Juan is Chinese, but thanks to Shanghai hosting the World Cup, many more people have heard about archery. We have made a photo exhibition in the stadium to inform the local community about our sport. After the competition we will move the gallery to schools, so that more and more people can discover archery.   What are the promotion efforts for the finals? The image of archery is very important and so is the way we must promote our sport. For the second consecutive year, there will be live television for the finals on Saturday. We are also going to set up a 5-metre target to allow spectators to try archery. For promotion next year we’ll offer the same tryout of archery to the media. This year more than 30 media have already attended our press conference yesterday.   On a more general level I think it’s very important that FITA promote archery all over the world. The Federations that host international events need sponsors for their local organising committees. I hope that in the future FITA will manage to help us bring more funding and create a wider media interest. Things have improved a lot from where they were in the past and I hope the situation will keep improving in the future.   What was the impact of the organisation of the three World Cup stages (2006, 2009 and 2010) in terms of the development of archery in the country? It made more and more people aware of archery and it raised the level of the sport in Shanghai. It also made many people come to Shanghai and visit the city. I think the impact is very positive both for archery and for the city of Shanghai.   What are your major satisfactions and your most beautiful memories? Everyone in the archery community is very nice, active and efficient. Organising the World Cup doesn’t feel like working because we all share a passion for archery. All the FITA officials are good friends of mine. We are like a big family. That’s what I enjoy the most.   Do you have any plans for an eventual future World Cup stage organisation? Yes, and I also hope that Shanghai will host the World Cup Final in the future.   Is there anything else you would like to share? We hope that all the archers will achieve good results here and we are going to do our best for everyone who came here to Shanghai. I hope everyone will enjoy their stay in Shanghai and have the time to visit the World Expo.   Vanahé ANTILLE World Archery Communication