Archery Great Britain on Thursday said it has delivered a proposal for archery’s inclusion in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games as an additional optional sport, fuelling hopes of its inclusion at the quadrennial event after a gap of 12 years.
Archery last featured at the CWG 2010 in New Delhi where India’s Deepika Kumari clinched twin gold medals in the women’s recurve individual and team event.
Archery GB was joined by representatives from World Archery and Archery England to present a vision that would broaden the diversity of the sport programme at the Games and provide exciting opportunities for the growth of archery across the Commonwealth.
Hailing the move, Deepika said, “It’s an exciting news for the sport. The archers will be more motivated to perform. It will give us more opportunity to earn medals for the country.”
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“Many of our fellow sportpersons were asking ‘why we’re not going’. It was a sad thing to explain them that archery was no more part of the CWG.”
The bid focused on archery’s accessibility as a world-class spectator sport, its inclusivity and wide appeal as a grass-roots activity, and delivering a strong post-Games legacy.
In the proposal, the picturesque 17th-century Aston Hall has been suggested as the venue.
Located less than two miles from the city centre and near to existing Games venue Villa Park, which will host the rugby sevens, Aston Hall would provide excellent facilities and is one of Birmingham’s popular historical landmarks.
The proposal raised the possibility of establishing an archery club at the location, plus plans to put in place a regional representative to drive archery’s development in the Midlands.
Further legacy plans could see equipment from the tournament distributed to local clubs and a programme established to develop coaching overseas.
The decision on whether additional optional sports may be included in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is expected in early 2019.
World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen said in a statement: “Archery’s proposal to Birmingham 2022 featured an inclusive sport engagement programme that would build on the excitement that the Commonwealth Games generate.
“We see the Games as both a world-class competition and an opportunity to inspire future athletes across the Commonwealth.”
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