15 July 2010 - The TRAFFORD family is back!

The TRAFFORD family is back! Visegrad - 15 July 2010   At the World Archery Field Championships Llwynypia 2008, we discovered the TRAFFORD family. The dad, the mum and the four children were all competing. We caught up with the father, Skip, in Visegrad.  Hello Skip! So the whole family is back at the world archery field championships? Yes we are back, but five of the six members of the family made it to the team this time. My wife unfortunately just missed the team, finishing 4th in the trials, so she has become our family's team manager.   What are the news with the kids? They are growing up of course! The little Hardy, 10 years old, has closed a bit the gap with the older archers in his junior category. In any case, he still should have four more chances in the future. He can compete in junior several more years. The good thing is that we have four archers shooting in juniors here in Visegrad, the mathematical odds of getting a medal are bigger (smiling). More seriously, I am glad that the four children are now part of the US junior Olympic program under the direction of Coach LEE Kisik. I dream that one or more of them would be going to the Olympic Games in London 2012 or in Rio de Janeiro 2016.   With these world championships in Visegrad, you are making a return to Hungary? Yes! I lived in Budapest for six years running a large American iron foundry there. Hardy was actually born in Budapest when we lived there. I shot as a Hungarian in 1999 and was elected to carry the Hungarian flag (as an American shooting for Hungary wearing the Hungarian uniform in Bovec, Slovenia) in the opening ceremony at the insistence of my dear Hungarian friends. However I respectfully declined saying the thought and the photo taken was my lifetime memory. We TRAFFORDs are all so excited about returning to Hungary, where my son was born and we lived and shot field archery for six years! I consider our time here as the best of our lives and we have lived all over the world.   Did you keep contact with some archery friends in Hungary? Of course. During these championships, we are actually staying at Gabor BANSZKI's home in Budapest. I believe he still holds all the Hungarian records in Recurve. At the time, I actually tried hard to bring the European championships to Hungary when I lived there from 1997 to 2003. Now that they are hosting the world field championships, I am sure that they do a SUPER job! I would even predict the best ever! My girls won't even have to bring their violins to play the US anthem for the gold medal ceremony, like they did in Llwynypia. Hungary has thousands of violins available to borrow (smiling)!   Thank you for the news Skip and good week to every one!   Didier MIEVILLE World Archery Communication