World Archery has cancelled its annual international competition circuit, the Hyundai Archery World Cup, in 2020 but will recognise world ranking events from 1 September.
The decision was unanimously approved by the federation’s executive board after a lengthy consultation process.
It means that no world or continental competitions will take place until the next outdoor season. There has been no decision on the 2021 Indoor Archery World Series, an open entry circuit running from October to February.
Since the introduction of the competition hiatus in March, World Archery staff have studied the viability of several potential formats for a delayed international calendar.
Among the options considered were a full season held in the autumn, continental hub tournaments and a final, and a single location hosting multiple competitions back-to-back.
National federations were asked to provide feedback on the proposals at the start of July.
More than half preferred the season to be cancelled, while only 30% of teams said they were likely or even able to travel to the possible event locations taking into account current and expected restrictions.
This made the hosting of a truly international series of tournaments impossible.
However, it was clear from the survey of teams and during conferences with athletes and coaches that there is a significant appetite for high-level competition in 2020.
To facilitate this, World Archery will open the world rankings on 1 September 2020 for a transition period that is expected to last until 1 April 2021. During this time, new rankings can be added but no ranking points will depreciate. When the transition period ends, the hiatus period will be discounted from the depreciation calculation.
This will protect athletes that are currently unable to compete but allow small international events to take place if held safely under local health guidelines and delivered to published requirements.
World Archery will now develop processes, guidelines and resources for potential organisers, initially working with venues that already expressed an interested in hosting an event, to develop small and flexible tournaments that teams might attend over the coming months.
It is hoped that the progress made in hosting any events at the end of 2020 will allow the Hyundai Archery World Cup to return smoothly in 2021, the provisional calendar for which will be announced on 20 July.
World Archery president Prof Dr Ugur Erdener said: "Athletes have been at the centre of our work to return to international competition. Their well-being is our absolute priority and while we know that events can be held safely, ongoing restrictions mean that too many would be excluded from any single world-level tournament."
"We will now encourage the progressive hosting of smaller international events as part of a campaign to get archery competition up and running again so that, by next season, the calendar can return to normal."
"My thanks go to everyone who participated in the consultation process, our executive board, commercial and broadcast partners, other stakeholders and tournament organisers for their understanding and support as we navigate the sport through these challenging times."
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