Record Number of Participants at Mexican Grand Prix 2009

Record Number of Participants at Mexican Grand Prix 2009 Tijuana (MEX) – 21 March 2009 Aida ROMAN, Luis ALFARO, Alma Cristina QUIROGA and Eduardo    VELEZ (MEX) receiving awards from the sponsors of the event.    The Organising Committee of the Mexican Grand Prix 2009 assured that this event would go down in history by its large number of registered participants. Naty JAIME, vice president of the Archer’s Association of Baja California and general coordinator of the event, reported a total number of 279 registered archers. He explained that no other event in Mexico had reached such numbers, and as such Tijuana has set a new mark for archery in Mexico.   Among the participants, 15 were archers from the United States, 15 from Venezuela, 5 from India,  4 from Guatemala, but the biggest number by far where the number of participants from Mexico.   For the Grand Prix at the Tijuana Training Centre in Baja California, the event also counted on judges of international rank and accreditation approved by the International Archery Federation (FITA), among them Sergio FONT from Cuba and Mauricio PAZ VASCONSELOS from Brazil.   For the first time and thanks to the support provided by the Athletic Institute of Baja California led by Saul CASTRO VERDUGO, the competition took place with 84 targets available to shoot simultaneously in one turn. This availability was due to the amazing infrastructure available at the Training Centre where only one turn allowed all the archers to experience the same conditions and avoid late afternoon winds.
Due to the importance of the event as a World Ranking Event (WRE), anti-doping tests were done to various archers who placed among the top on the first day. All tests were registered by the International Olympic Committee and sent to a laboratory in Canada for analysis.   In addition to the competition, seminars were available relating to various topics where experts in their field shared their experience and knowledge. On the first day Dr Carlos HERMES, who oversaw the anti-doping tests required by the Olympic Committee, gave a seminar providing information on the requirements, processes, methods and risks implied in the use of prohibited substances in sport.   Another speaker was the Olympic coach Lloyd BROW. In addition to taking high speed video images of archers during the event, he explained and shared cases where the use of high speed video offered knowledge to correct both technical errors in form and tuning problems in equipment. The use of high speed camera has become more frequent and knowledge of its use and analysis has become an important part of archery at training centres such as the one in Tijuana.         On the second day of seminars, Guy KRUEGER, Kisik LEE’s assistant coach, shared some knowledge and experience of his working under the tutelage of Coach LEE. He shared his experience working at the Olympic Training Centre in Chula Vista, California as well as his reasons for choosing coaching as his true calling. Mr KRUEGER also gave a presentation on the key elements behind the success of archery in the United States and broke down the new national archery system in place in the US giving information on the pioneering system set up by Kisik LEE, Mr LEE’s wife Ha PARK, and himself.   The Coach with the Golden Touch, Kisik LEE, presented in brief his revolutionary B.E.S.T. method which has been implemented all over the world and has been seen in use many times at the Olympic Games. His book Total Archery, which explains his method has been translated into seven languages and has become the official text book of archery in Italy and is the most widely distributed book on the sport of archery in the world.   Among the activities taking place at the Mexican Grand Prix, there was a presentation of prizes provided by sponsors of the event in conjunction with the official sponsor ROBIN HOOD ARCHERY who offered both equipment and cash prizes to the winners of the event in the adult category. Some of the sponsors included HOYT, EASTON, BEITER.NEET, CARTER, PSE, and BCY who provided support for the Mexican Grand Prix and who established a new precedent of sponsorship in this country.    The top prizes went to archers who achieved outstanding results through their career. One went to David MARIN of Baja California who received a complete recurve bow courtesy of ROBIN HOOD ARCHERY. The latter also presented a compound bow to Gerardo ALVARADO of Nuevo Leon and was received by Armando DE LA GARZA TREVINO in his place.    Without a doubt the Mexican Grand Prix 2009 met all expectations and is expected to do better if given the opportunity to do so again in the same venue. Such is the hope for the future growth and success of archery in Mexico and Latin America!   Ø More information at http://grandprixtijuana.com or http://tiroconarcoenmexico.com/index.php   Ø Photo gallery at http://www.zumbolicious.com/   Source: Robin Hood Archery Edited FITA Communication