16 December 2008 - FITA and ISF join forces to develop Archery in schools

PRESS RELEASE   Lausanne (SUI) – 16 December 2008     FITA and ISF join forces to develop Archery in schools From left to right:    Tom DIELEN, Jean Louis BOUJON and Thierry ZINTZ    On 10 December 2008 an agreement was signed between the International School Sport Federation (ISF) and the International Archery Federation (FITA). ISF President Mr Jean Louis BOUJON and FITA Secretary General Mr Tom DIELEN—representing FITA President—signed this agreement at the CNOSF (National Olympic Committee) Headquarters in Paris, France. This is the start of cooperation between the two organisations to further develop archery in schools.    The first concrete step in this cooperation will be the inclusion of archery in the programme of the ISF Gymnasiade 2009 (World Schools’ Championships) taking place in Doha, Qatar, on 7-12 December 2009. Two distinct competitions will be held in this major event: one for young archers who are in school and one for teams of schools that use archery as an optional sport but are not regular members of the National Archery Associations. For the second group a set of standard archery equipment will be used so that there is no difference between the children.   The agreement is the result of a discussion started a year ago between ISF and the FITA Youth Development Committee headed by Mr Thierry ZINTZ.   For further details on the Gymnasiade please have a look at www.isfsports.org.   Further details will be communicated in the coming months to the Member Associations of ISF and FITA.   FITA Communication info@archery.org