4 July 2011 - Flash Quotes from Qualification

Flash Quotes from Qualification Turin – 4 July 2011   Today is the qualification round day for the recurve women and the compound division. Since the archers are focused on shooting, we asked for some impressions to coaches and VIPs present on the field.  Kisik LEE (USA), Coach This is a very big competition; it must have been a very hard job for Italy. We appreciate how many volunteers are working. We want the Olympic spot, so we are focusing only on it! My archers are shooting well and the weather is okay for shooting. I know it will rain in the afternoon, but that does not bother us. All the venues are exciting, both this and the elimination one, and we are expecting a lot of spectators. I have been to Piazza Castello, where the venue of the final match will be built. By now there is nothing there, but I think it will be impressive. It will be a good chance to make people aware of the archery world.   Selwyn MOSKOVITZ (RSA), Coach First of all, let me say that the organisation is very good. The volunteers are very well organised and efficient; you can see this from the way they are led. They can work fast and on such a big field it is important to respect the schedule. I also appreciate the water dispensers on the field; it shows that the organisation really cares about the archers. Something I really liked is that the volunteers, which are also archers, helped the athletes who had lost their bows at the airport. The judges are very well organised, too. And, if I may make a remark, I would have liked to see also the archers’ names on the result screen, together with the team name. We have seen an outstanding Opening Ceremony, in which they linked history and technology very well. In addition, let me say that I am glad to see that George (note: TEKMITCHOV) is back as the official speaker. The only thing I would change is the weather forecast for this afternoon, but I know the Organising Committee cannot do anything about it.  UM Sung-Ho (KOR), Secretary General of the Asian Archery Federation The preparation on the venue is very nice and I like the weather, it is perfect for shooting. So we are hoping for more world records here, more than ever! This is one of the best fields I have ever seen! I had the same experience in Ulsan, when we organised the World Championships in 2009, so I know what it is like to organise such a big event. But there we had a permanent field, so it was easier. Here they had to build everything on every venue, and they were very very good at it! The Korean archers are shooting very well, they are a little worried because the result is very important for the Olympic qualification, and I see everybody is shooting at their best to win and to gain the quota.   Thomas AUBERT (FRA), Athletes’ Committee candidate I proposed myself as Athletes’ Committee candidate for recurve men. The other candidates are for recurve women, compound men and compound women. Moreover, there will be also a member for the Paralympic athletes and next year a member for field archery. About the field of play, I can say that the venue is big, huge, and maybe even too big to be managed. In fact, there are three different fields and we have to move from one to another, and this is hard also for the archers. It would have been better to shoot practice, qualification and elimination rounds at the Hunting Residence of Stupinigi, reducing all the movements. If they will not find a different solution, I think it will be hard for the Paralympic archers to move on the gravel roads. For our archers, to get here at the World Championships the preparation has been very tough, based on the results of the last two legs of the World Cup. Considering the results achieved in Antalya and Porec, I think that the men's team should be able to gain three quota places for London. And the women's team should have good chances, too. The athletes showed they are forceful!   Stanislav ZABRODSKIY (RUS), Coach I like the qualification field, it is nice, but the training field is too far away. It is better for coaches and athletes when the training field is situated right next to the field of play. I think that some butts should be placed on the field of play if the practice field is that far. The Russian recurve women are in a good shape today and the shooting is good. One of our athletes had a small problem at the first distance and she could have been higher in the result list. But now we are okay. I can surely say that our women's team is very well prepared. I think they have good chances to win a medal, even a gold one! I think there is no order in the organisation because some people do not know the necessary information. This programme is a bit tangled: divisions are shooting in different order and we need to shoot on different fields. It would be better to separate the order of shooting for the compounds and recurves. I do not see any significant changes in archery in the last years, although there are some things that I do not like. For example, I do not like the 50 metres distance for the compound archers: I do not see the reason for this change. Of course, World Archery needs to meet the requirements of the mass media. It is the price to pay for popularity, especially when we talk about the Olympic Games. On the other hand, I like the change in the ranking list and the fact that the first eight archers in the final ranking after the qualification round do not have to shoot until the 1/16. This is fair.   Mariya LARKINA, Dajana PICCOLO, Rebecca RABOZZI World Archery Communication