10 October 2005 - FITA Opens a new era

FITA Opens a new era

Antalya (TUR) - 10 October 2005

FITA new President Dr. Ugur Erdener (TUR) officially held his first Council on October 8-9th in Antalya. On many aspects, the FITA is entering an exciting era with new leadership, competitions and commercial exposure.

Around President Erdener, the 16 members of the FITA Council went through an intensive agenda. Following the recent elections at the Madrid Congress, the new management team has gone to work and presented this week-end the executive plan for 2006 and the long term strategy for the FITA. A new vision has been set for the development of Archery for 2012 and beyond.

The long-term plan will focus on 5 pillars : Identity, Promotion, Competitions, Partners and Organisation. In other words, how can FITA create sustainable growth and remain a successful Olympic sport.

A World Cup circuit with sponsors and TV in 2006

The immediate key decision of the Council meeting was the establishment of a World Cup circuit which consists of four qualifying events and a Grand Final in Merida (MEX). This World Cup Final in Mexico will take place in October 2006 at a splendid location, the feet of the Maya pyramids Chichen-Itza.

A new commercial strategy is developed around this World Cup circuit with an attractive program for sponsors and a broad TV exposure. The goal is to cover all the qualifying events as well as the Final. This will enhance the existing TV distribution of the World Field Championships and European Outdoor Championships.

Sports development, co-funding IOC and FITA projects

The Council also decided to extend its support to its Members Associations by creating a FITA development fund which will be complementary to existing FITA and Olympic Solidarity programs. This includes athletes' scholarships to attend World Championships.

Moreover, the FITA development director presented the co-funded IOC - FITA project for a Middle East Training Center which will welcome and help archers from this region to reach the elite level.

Indoor Championships go to Izmir

The World Indoor Championships were allocated to Izmir (TUR) for 2007. The candidate showed a very successful staging of the archery competition at the Universiads last August. Archery was one of the key sports for spectators during these games. The indoor venue also proved its efficiency in accommodating three sports during the Universiads. The Council would also like to thank Prague (CZE) for its strong bid and hope it will be renewed in the future.

The Council also discussed the progress of the Beijing Olympic Games and was very pleased to see the implementation of the venue changes as agreed with the local Organising Committee. A second field of play was added which will allow better media coverage of the event. The team competition finals have also been advanced on the schedule which will jump start the enthusiasm for archery competitions at these Olympic Games.

In conclusion, the President Erdener expressed his satisfaction : "I am very pleased that my first meeting as FITA President is the start of many new projects. The World Cup circuit will be a driving force for FITA and its commercial strategy. With projects like this, FITA will strengthen its Olympic position in the future."

The FITA office will report in the very near future on the progress of these projects.

Tom Dielen

FITA Secretary General