17 September 2010 - Happy winner of World Archery Fan Questionnaire at World Cup Final

Happy winner of World Archery Fan Questionnaire at World Cup Final Edinburgh – 17 September 2010   In February 2010 World Archery launched a questionnaire to know what archery fans think of World Archery events and how they follow archery in general. All completions were entered into a prize draw to win a trip for two to the Edinburgh World Cup Final. The winner of the contest is Laura KOURULA from Finland by drawing lots among the more than 1,400 fans who replied to the online survey.   Laura KOURULA has taken the trip to Edinburgh with her boyfriend Matti HATAVA. They are both 29-year old archers competing in Finland and at international level. Laura KOURULA competed at World Cup 2009 Stage 4 in Shanghai where she placed 16th. This year she finished 9th at the third leg of the European Grand Prix in Moscow.   Matti HATAVA also competed at Shanghai World Cup in 2009 as well as in 2010. He finished 43rd last year and improved to 33rd place this season. His best international result was a 2nd place at the Final Qualification Tournament for the Beijing Olympic Games held in France in 2007. As a result of this great performance he qualified for the Olympics to be held the year after where he placed 30th. In 2010 he won a bronze medal with Team Finland at the European Championships in Italy.   As the winner of the World Archery Fan Questionnaire contest, Laura KOURULA was invited to attend the World Cup 2010 Final as a spectator together with one guest she could choose. We have met both of them and asked them a few questions about their trip to Edinburgh.   Why did you reply to the survey? How came the idea to you? Laura: The main reason was to win the prize. When I filled in the survey, I found it interesting and not too hard to answer. I have finished a Master's in economics and marketing, and so it was interesting for me from this point of view also. Now I'm working as an auditor.   Matti: I also took part in the survey but never thought one of us would win!   What was your reaction when you learnt that you had won the prize? Laura: I didn't believe it! I first thought it was a spam… as it was written in the title something with 'Congratulations'. But then, when I realised it was true, I was very happy.   Have you ever come to Edinburgh? Both: No, it's the first time for us here, and for what we have seen so far, it seems a very beautiful city.   What do you expect from your weekend here and from the competition? Laura: It will be very interesting to see top archers shooting here in the city centre. It's different from world championships and World Cup events where we are competing. It will be a different experience to watch from outside the field.   What do you think of the new set format introduced this year? Laura: We have already used the set system in Finland the whole year in competitions with elimination rounds. So we are getting used to it. There was no complaint about it as far as I know. This system is mentally different. In some ways it's harder, in some others easier.   Matti: I personally think it's easier mentally. In 12-arrow matches you fear of making an error. If you make an error, the match is over almost for certain. In the set system, you can recover from a bad arrow. If you lose a set, there are still other chances to come back in the other sets. The 12-arrow match is rough; the set system makes things smoother. However, the other side of the coin is that even if you've won a set you still need to shoot again because the match is not over.   For the spectators who are watching, I think it's hard to follow as they don't know yet a lot about this system. It was easier with the 1 to 10 scoring. But I think it will be more interesting when they are more familiar.   What about your Olympic and World Cup experience? Laura: I've been shooting only for a few years. So I don't have any Olympic experience. As for World Cup I shot last year in Shanghai and finished 16th.   Matti: Beijing was a great experience. It was huge! More than I could ever imagine or expect! London will have a lot to do to be as good as Beijing. It will be very hard. The Olympic village was amazing; I could see many famous sportsmen in top sports like USA basketball players. The negative side of it is that for small sports like archery that have usually no media coverage, you suddenly get to give lots of interviews and it's very stressing.   What are you main goals for the future? Matti: Of course, for both of us it's a dream to qualify for London 2012 and also we hope to make it for the world championships next year in Torino. Being here this weekend is a good break before starting preparing for next year.   Thanks a lot and enjoy your stay and the competition!   Ludivine MAITRE WICKI World Archery Communication