’s-Hertogenbosch hosts Dutch nationals 1 year before worlds

The Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch, often shortened to Den Bosch, hosted the Netherlands’ national outdoor championships in 2018, just one year prior to welcoming two world archery championships.

The World Archery Para Championships and World Archery Championships will be held back-to-back in Den Bosch in June 2019.

An historic square in front of St John’s Cathedral in the centre of the city was the venue for the medal matches at the NK Outdoor 2018, and will – after the construction of a world-class arena – host the arena at the 2019 World Archery Championships.

“The venue is great. It shows history and has awesome ambiance. There were a lot of people walking by and stopping in their tracks to see what was going on,” said Dutch Olympian Sjef van den Berg.

“I took some time after my match to explain the sport and tell them what was going on. I feel everybody was very excited about the idea of a world championships in their town.”

Qualification and elimination matches at the worlds will take place on the rugby fields at The Dukes, a short walk from the city-centre arena.

That’s also where the first quota places for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be won.

“There will be extra attention on the tournament, which will also mean more pressure, and the fact we’re used to the circumstances and the place might give us an edge,” added Sjef. “I think it will be cool to feel the vibes of the people in Den Bosch, cheering.”

Rick van der Ven, Esther Deden, Peter Elzinga and Jody Vermeulen won the individual titles at the 2018 Dutch national championships.

When archery returns to the centre of Den Bosch in the summer of 2019, a sympathetic crowd will be hoping for more Dutch archers on top of the podiums.

“We aim to organise a celebration of archery that even people not familiar with the sport will enjoy,” said Organizing Connection CEO Eric Kersten, who leads the Den Bosch 2019 project. “We think we can offer the ultimate celebration of archery.”

The 2019 World Archery Championships and World Archery Para Championships take place in June in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.