Curtain comes down on dramatic weekend of archery in Las Vegas

World Archery Gala, Indoor Archery World Cup Final and The Vegas Shoot highlight sport’s global appeal

The record-breaking Vegas Shoot on Sunday evening brought to a close a sensational weekend of elite and amateur archery which showcased the elegance, excitement and enduring appeal of the global sport.

The first-ever World Archery Gala got the weekend underway on Friday night as some of the sport’s finest athletes were in attendance to discover who would be honoured with the inaugural awards. The votes of fans from around the world were combined with those of an expert panel that included World Archery President Prof Dr Ugur ERDENER, members of the World Archery Executive Board and World Archery Olympic Games Development Director Juan Carlos HOLGADO.

Tens of thousands of votes were cast as archery’s global fan base was eager to have its say in an evening which celebrated and recognised everyone involved in the sport from the archers and their coaches to volunteers and photographers. The full list of award winners can be found below:

Recurve men

Brady ELLISON (USA)

Newcomer

Marcus D’ALMEIDA (BRA)

Recurve women

Aida ROMAN (MEX)

Coach

LEE Mi Joung (KOR

Compound men

PJ DELOCHE (FRA)

Photographer of the Year

Geoff WEEKS

Compound women

Erika JONES (USA)

Volunteer of the Year

Teddy BETTEX

The following day saw the final of the Indoor Archery World Cup. On a night of tense and dramatic competition, Mike SCHLOESSER – who had recorded a perfect score of 600 during the third stage of the competition in Nimes – and Erika JONES came away with gold medals in the men’s and women’s compound. In the men’s recurve KIM Jaeh Yeong shot a perfect score in the gold medal match to secure the top honour and JO Seung Hyeon came through a thrilling shoot-off to take gold in the women’s recurve.

The Vegas Shoot brought the weekend to a close, attracting almost 3,000 amateur and professional archers over three days. The dramatic increase in participation of this year’s event - a 20% increase on last year – reflects the sport’s growing popularity and continued exposure in Hollywood blockbusters. In a gripping men’s final, broadcast live on Archery TV, first-time finalist Alex WIFLER overcame the challenge of Levi MORGAN to record an unexpected victory in the sudden-death shoot-off. Meanwhile, in the women’s final Sara PRIEELS beat Sara LOPEZ to first prize.

World Archery President Prof Dr Ugur ERDENER said:

"It has been a breath-taking few days in Las Vegas. We saw everything from intense, elite level competition, to mass amateur participation. As one of the entertainment capitals of the world, I can think of few cities more suitable for hosting this weekend’s events than Las Vegas.

"All three events this weekend have been a tremendous success and have demonstrated just what makes our sport so popular all around the world. It was fantastic to be able to host the World Archery Gala for the very first time this year. The event gave us the chance to formally recognise the athletes who give us so much joy and entertainment and the fans and volunteers who do so much behind-the-scenes. Without our volunteers events like the Indoor Archery World Cup and the Vegas Shoot would not be possible and our archers would not be able to deliver the world-class performances we saw this weekend.

"The huge appetite that exists for archery worldwide is clear to see. We are committed to being a sport for all and we will continue to innovate and work with our 155 member associations to increase participation and realise our sport’s full potential."

To relive the weekend’s events please click the links below:

World Archery Gala: http://youtu.be/tX6yZxq7S6M

Indoor Archery World Cup Final: http://youtu.be/6h_MpIXkH7A

The Vegas Shoot Pro Shoot-off: http://youtu.be/5BLytxmfxak

For more information, please contact World Archery Communications Manager Mr Chris WELLS via email (cwells@archery.org) or telephone (+41 79 947 55 20).

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