2010 Archery World Cup, Stage 3

Each year, World Archery holds the World Cup Series.  There are four stages to the World Cup and each stage is held at a different location around the world.  Shooting at these competitions is a really unique experience as they are held at really neat venues.  The finals have been held on the beach, in the canals of Copenhagen, in Mayan temple ruins, and the waterfront of Shanghai.  Archers gain points at the first three stages to qualify for stage four, the grand finals.

For 2010, the Easton Foundations had the honor of hosting stage 3 of the World Cup!  We held the competition in Ogden, Utah with beautiful mountains in the background.  For a week, we worked hard to setup the venue, starting first with the practice and qualification fields.  Two large fields at Weber State University were soon turned into beautiful archery ranges as we finished painting lines, setting up targets, scoring equipment, flags, chairs, tents, and much more.

Soon athletes from all over the world started to arrive.  Many of these athletes are well known on the international stage and have competed in the Olympics and World Championships.  It was really neat to be seeing them in person!

Over the next few days the archers shot the ranking, team, and Olympic rounds.  Watching these archers shoot is really amazing.  They make it look so easy as they hit the gold arrow after arrow from 70 meters away.  It was also really fun to hear the different countries cheer on their teammates in their own languages and cheers.  “Aussie Aussie Oi!  …  Oi! Oi! Oi!”    The Australian team has an especially fun cheer!

We also had a cultural fair in downtown Ogden.  An entire street was sectioned off and filled with street vendors.  Athletes and locals were treated to cultural performances and other fun activities while they ate food from the local restaurant booths.  It was a really fun time!

The competition finished with the final matches at Lindquist Field, a baseball stadium.  The venue looked great with the mountains in the background and the archers shooting to the outfield from home plate.

You can watch these matches on the World Archery Youtube Channel.