Olympic Day was introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on 23 June 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris. The goal was to promote participation in sport across the globe regardless of age, gender or athletic ability.
President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Thomas Bach had opined: “Every year, Olympic Day allows the whole world to unite behind the Olympic dream.” Guyana is no different.
President of the Guyana Sport Shooting Foundation, Ms. Vidushi Persaud-McKinnon noted that on June 23rd every year, millions of people across the world get active to celebrate Olympic Day. She went on to say that in Guyana, the Guyana Sport Shooting Foundation/Archery Guyana will commemorate this day by hosting an Indoor Archery Competition among their registered members.
Archery made its Olympic debut at the Olympic Games from 1900 to 1920, becoming, in 1904, one of the first Olympic sports to include women.
In keeping with the objectives of establishing sports shooting and solid foundations and promoting the growth of the sport, the Guyana Sport Shooting Foundation on July 31, 2015 was accepted as a permanent member of the World Archery Foundation. Archery Guyana was officially launched on Monday 24th August 2015, with the GSSF using the opportunity to showcase what it has achieved thus far.
At the Official Launch of Archery Guyana, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth & Sport, Mr. Alfred King, congratulated the GSSF for the bold initiative, noting that the sport was a natural fit for Guyana, given the vast use of the equipment used for Archery by the Amerindians. He went on to state that apart from boxing which has given Guyana a taste of Olympic glory in the past, he was confident that Archery once fully practiced and established will take Guyana to another Olympic meet.
Chairman of the Archery Committee, Mr. Nicholas Hing, reported that everything is all set for Thursday’s Indoor Target Archery Competition which will be conducted under the strict safety rules which are a standard of the World Archery and its affiliated organisations. The GSSF, as an affiliate of WA, aims to uphold its standards and rules at all times.
At the Olympic Games, archers shoot at targets 70 metres away. The target is 1.22 metres in diameter and marked with 10 concentric rings. Individual archers compete in head-to-head matches in single elimination after being ranked from 1 to 64 during qualifications. In each contest both archers shoot 12 arrows and only the winner moves on. Teams are made up of three archers, and team events follow the same competition format as individual events. This event however, will be an indoor event with a much shorter shooting distance, and limited to just 2 hours (17:00h – 19:00h).
The Guyana Sport Shooting Foundation/Archery Guyana thanks the National Sports Commission for its support of the National Gymnasium as a Facility for the Foundation to currently host two Practice Sessions per week for Indoor Archery. The Board announced that once the inclement weather clears up, plans will resume for regular Outdoor Archery Practice Sessions. For more info visit the website: www.guyanasportshooting.com
Photo below: Flashback to Permanent Secretary Mr. Alfred King officially launching Archery Guyana on August 24, 2015.
