Lausanne plays home to world archery organization

Archery may seem to be an obscure sport for many, but don’t tell that to FITA, the Lausanne-based organization regulating the sport worldwide.

The International Archery Federation, which is preparing to organize its annual world cup championships in Edinburgh in September, says it represents eight million archers.

Far from being a vestige of a bygone era, the sport, which was dropped from the Olympic Games for most of the 20th century before being reinstated in 1972, is making a comeback.

The recently released Hollywood film, Robin Hood, has stoked popular interest in a sport that has survived from medieval times.

Didier Mieville, communications and marketing manager for FITA, acknowledges only an elite group of athletes are able to make a living from competitive archery.

“They can earn prize money but also receive sponsorships from the companies making bows,” Mieville told Swisster.

Top archers competing in the Olympic Games can also receive support from government-backed sports agencies, he said.

FITA moved its world headquarters to Lausanne in 1998 from Milan.

In 2006, it became the first international organization to move into the Maison du Sport International to take advantage of the building’s proximity to the International Olympic Committee, also headquartered in the Vaud capital.

With a staff of 10, FITA shares a building with other world sports bodies for sports as diverse as canoeing, rowing, badminton and boxing.

Switzerland is not the strongest nation for archery but there are just over 100 clubs in the country with 1,000 active members, Mieville said.

One of the most beloved Swiss legends centres around William Tell, the folk hero famous for using a crossbow to shoot an apple off the head of his son to avoid execution by the enemy Austrians.

“The crossbow is a bit different, but it is shooting at a target,” said Mieville.

He recalled that when FITA organized the World Cup final in Lausanne in 2008, it was held in Montbenon park, graced by a statue of William Tell.

William Tell aside, the Swiss are not currently a powerhouse nation in archery.

“I would say we are not very strong,” Mieville said.

But Switzerland’s 30-year-old Patrizio Hofer came second in the men’s World Cup final for compound bows in Lausanne, and finished third in last year’s final in Copenhagen.

The compound bow is a mechanically aided bow with sights, distinguished from the more traditional recurve bow, which is the only one permitted in Olympic events.

Korea has dominated the recurve bow category for the past 20 years, with champion men and women.

But other top recurve archers include athletes from Britain, France, Italy, Mexico and India.

Americans are more dominant in the compound bow competitions.

Both types of archery involve shooting arrows at speeds of up to 250 kilometres an hour at targets 70 metres away with time limitations.

Bows range in price from as little as 100 francs for beginners’ models to more than 2,000 francs for high-tech ones used in top competitions.

They typically use carbon-composite bows and components made from space-age materials.

“If you join a club they will usually provide you with one (a bow) if you are a beginner," Mieville said.

FITA organizes world championships every two years that typically attract the 600 best archers on the planet competing in men’s, women’s and mixed team categories.

The next such tournament is set for July 2011 in Turin, Italy.

More recently, the federation launched the annual World Cup series, which consists of elimination stages with the finals held in spectacular settings.

This year’s finals, for example, will be held at Edinburgh Castle.

Last year, archers in the World Cup final shot across a canal in Copenhagen.

Other past venues include the Mayapan Pyramids in Merida, Mexico and the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, as well as Lausanne’s Montbenon park with its view of Lake Geneva.

“We try to go to where the people are to bring people to the archers,” Mieville said.

FITA helps organize archery events at the Commonwealth Games, held every four years.

And it is also promoting the World Archery Field Championships, to be held July 13-17 near Budapest, Hungary.

Field archery has different rules and categories that includes barebows.

In a bid to encourage the sport in Africa, FITA has opened an office in Benin and it has helped coordinate coaching in other countries on the continent, including Algeria.

For more information, FITA maintains a comprehensive website with information about all levels of competition and details about equipment and regulations.