|
 THE World Field Archery Championships are coming to Wales.
Next year the championships will be held at Llwynypia in the Rhondda between August 31 and September 6 and the organisers are looking forward to making it a week-long carnival.
"It's going to be a massive event for Wales but we want it to be an event for everyone in the UK," said Jean Howells, chair of the organising committee. "It's also going to be a massive event for the GNAS, and while we're aware there's a lot of hard work ahead of us, there is much to look forward to and I know it will all be worthwhile come August 2008."
Grand National Archery Society director of marketing and development Eric Jackson fulfils the same brief on the Llwynypia 2008 organising committee, while Tim Jackson, who played a big part in the world junior event at Lilleshall, Shropshire, in 2004, is events co-ordinator.
"The world junior championships, which were hosted at Lilleshall two years ago, were a massive success, so we'll be arranging to speak to Alf Davies, who was in charge of them," said Howells. "But there is so much experience and goodwill throughout the GNAS and we will be tapping into it."
The GNAS has been growing steadily since the Athens Olympics and now has 28,500 members. The organisation aims to have 50,000 members by 2012 when London will play host to the Olympics.
The 2008 event will take place in three locations, ranging from the official practice days in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd; the qualification and elimination rounds in Glyncornel, Llwynypia; and the finals at the Museum of Welsh Life in St Fagans, Cardiff.
Field archery has a great tradition in the UK and has many former and current world champions. The GNAS will be co-ordinating the organisation of the championships with the International Archery Federation (FITA) and, said Howells, "with the enthusiastic archers in Pentref and South Wales, we look forward to welcoming the field archery fraternity from around the globe, old friends and new in 2008".
|