13,102 compete in largest archery tournament ever, using PVC bows

The people of Cebu City attempted four Guinness World Records on Saturday. Two of them involved archery – and they broke both.

The first was for the largest archery class – 745 students – and the second: the largest archery tournament ever held, with 13,102 competitors.

Simon WEE, a member of World Archery Asia’s Council and who witnessed the event, said: “I didn’t expect this to be so big.”

The USA’s National Archery in Schools Program previously held the mark for the biggest archery competition at 9,426, set in May last year.

Cebu’s record attempts were conceived by archer Dondon SOMBRIO some years ago, according to The Freeman news site, but were shelved due to super typhoon Yolanda and an earthquake. SOMBRIO represented the Philippines at an Asian Grand Prix event in 2011.

“I came from a public school in Cebu. I was given the chance to do archery and I did well – which got me a scholarship to university,” said Dondon.

Participants in the lesson and competition used PVC bows, made by SOMBRIO and paid for at his own expense.

“I wanted all the public school students to have a chance to enjoy the beautiful sport of archery at an affordable price.”

Each PVC bow can cost less than five US dollars, making the equipment a prominent and useful development tool for the sport. Dondon made over 3,000 bows, received donations of arrows from friends and invested much of his own time into the project.

“I want to expand to other provinces,” explained SOMBRIO. “To make it possible for all the poor students to take up archery. One day we will produce an gold medal winning Olympic archer.”

The Philippines have already become a model on grassroots development in archery in the world, WEE told local news outlets. WEE now intends to work with Dondon to expand the PVC bow project into Thailand.

Philippine Sport Commission Chairman Richie GARCIA said that “there should be more competitions in archery to keep the interest in the sport high.”

The city also set a new record for the largest Zumba class – 8,232 people participated – but failed to beat India’s mark for the largest human pink ribbon formation. The pink ribbon symbolises breast cancer awareness.

Read the story on the Cebu Daily News website.