World Cup Season Opens This Week in Santo Domingo
The first stage of the 2009 World Cup season was opened on Tuesday 31 March 2009 at the Parque del Este in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where all qualification and elimination rounds will be held until Saturday 4 March. The individual and team finals will then take place on Sunday downtown. More than 170 competitors from 27 countries will compete in this outdoor season’s opening event to try and start getting points to qualify for September’s World Cup Final in Copenhagen, Denmark.
After official practice, equipment inspection and team captains’ meeting in the morning, all archers and officials attended the opening ceremony held on the Parque del Este field. The ceremony started with a dance by four young girls from the Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia School (CONSA), before the marching of the athletes.
After the Dominican national anthem was played, the Organising Committee’s president Mrs Barbara HERNANDEZ offered “a warm welcome to all the archers of the world that are with us today in this first stage of the Archery World Cup Santo Domingo 2009”. She added: “With great pleasure we join the effort of FITA in order to make the bow and arrow an even more attractive sport to all, when the economic situation not only touches our country but the whole world. This shows that sports development breaks all barriers, helping to strengthen ties of friendship and brotherhood among people”.
The opening ceremony then continued with welcoming speeches by president of the Dominican Olympic Committee Mr Luis MEJIA OVIEDO and FITA Secretary General Mr Tom DIELEN. “It is a pleasure to be back, and on behalf of the FITA President, I welcome everyone in Santo Domingo”, Mr DIELEN said. “I thank the sponsors and all the volunteers who will be working the whole week. I hope that everyone’s objectives will be realised”.
The local archer Paris GOICO DE LARA took the athlete’s oath before the Sports Secretary of State shot an arrow with a compound bow to officially open the competition. The ceremony closed with another dancing demonstration by the CONSA School.
The competition will start on Wednesday 1 April with recurve qualifications. The compound divisions will then shoot qualifications on Thursday. There also will be a new mixed team competition held on Friday afternoon.
Ludivine MAITRE WICKI
FITA Communication
After official practice, equipment inspection and team captains’ meeting in the morning, all archers and officials attended the opening ceremony held on the Parque del Este field. The ceremony started with a dance by four young girls from the Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia School (CONSA), before the marching of the athletes.
After the Dominican national anthem was played, the Organising Committee’s president Mrs Barbara HERNANDEZ offered “a warm welcome to all the archers of the world that are with us today in this first stage of the Archery World Cup Santo Domingo 2009”. She added: “With great pleasure we join the effort of FITA in order to make the bow and arrow an even more attractive sport to all, when the economic situation not only touches our country but the whole world. This shows that sports development breaks all barriers, helping to strengthen ties of friendship and brotherhood among people”.
The opening ceremony then continued with welcoming speeches by president of the Dominican Olympic Committee Mr Luis MEJIA OVIEDO and FITA Secretary General Mr Tom DIELEN. “It is a pleasure to be back, and on behalf of the FITA President, I welcome everyone in Santo Domingo”, Mr DIELEN said. “I thank the sponsors and all the volunteers who will be working the whole week. I hope that everyone’s objectives will be realised”.
The local archer Paris GOICO DE LARA took the athlete’s oath before the Sports Secretary of State shot an arrow with a compound bow to officially open the competition. The ceremony closed with another dancing demonstration by the CONSA School.
The competition will start on Wednesday 1 April with recurve qualifications. The compound divisions will then shoot qualifications on Thursday. There also will be a new mixed team competition held on Friday afternoon.
Ludivine MAITRE WICKI
FITA Communication