WORLD ARCHERY CHAMPIONSHIPS JULY 2011 - TORINO WORLD ARCHERY CHAMPIONSHIPS APE – ITIS PININFARINA

On 3-10 July, the World Archery Championships 2011 took place in our city, Turin. The competitions not only crowned new world champions in a sport that combines precision, intensity, elegance and fair play, but also allocated 35 places out of 64 per gender for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Moreover, they were the first in the history of archery to crown Mixed Team world champions and to be directly followed by the World Archery Para Championships.

 The event was presented as the most important sports event hosted by Turin, former capital of Italy, in the year when the country celebrates the 150th anniversary of its reunion. A sports event that fitted perfectly into the calendar of events dedicated to this historical celebration. The venues for the world championships were directly connected to the events and personalities of the Italian Renaissance: the final matches were contested in the Piazza Castello (Castle square) , the old parade ground in the heart of the city which is overlooked by Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace), Palazzo Madama, and other symbolic buildings of baroque age. The qualifications and first rounds of eliminations took place in the 18th-century hunting residence of Stupinigi, which is one of the Savoy palaces designed by Filippo JUVARRA.   The Hunting Palace Stupinigi

Final matches in Castello Square

Stupinigi – Savoy’s Hunting Residence

There were more than 600 archers from close to 90 countries who shot for the titles, the medals and the Olympic berths. The best surprise: the 31-year old Chilean archer Denisse VAN LAMOEN became the new world champion in Turin, on Sunday 10 July 2011. Before the championships, she was only ranked 68th in the world.

World Archery Para Championships Around 250 para-athletes from 40 countries conveyed to the Palazzo Stupinigi for the World Archery Para Championships on 10-17 July. Archery is a test of accuracy, strength and concentration. The sport is open to athletes with a physical disability (including spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, amputee…) in three functional classes (Open, Standing, and Wheelchair). It comprises of individual and team events, standing and wheelchair competitions, as well as events for visual impaired. Competitors shoot at a target marked with ten scoring zones, from a set distance. As a Paralympic sport, archery was originally a means of rehabilitation and recreation for people with a physical disability. The first archery competitions for people with a disability were held during the first International Games for the Disabled in Stoke Mandeville, England, in 1948, with the participation of 130 athletes. In 1960, archery was introduced to the world as a Paralympic sport during the Games in Rome. Since then, archery has always been included in the Paralympic Games competition programme.

  The official mascot: it represents a deer, symbol of the Hunting Royal Palace of Stupinigi in Turin, and it is called M'Arco, a very common name in Italy. The new mascot is a nice and funny archer deer with the Italian colours on his tummy. The deer is the symbol of the Hunting Royal Palace of Stupinigi that hosted the qualification and elimination rounds of the World Championships and the whole Para Championships.  Marco is one of the most used names in Italy. Of Roman origin, everyone knows Marco Tullio Cicero or Marco Antonio, Marco Aurelio and Marco Polo. Marco is a name that was used in all Italian history and is very common today. Arco is also the Italian word for the "bow", so M'Arco also means "Il mio Arco", in English "my bow".

ITIS PININFARINA Bibliography: - www.archery.org/ Images: - Courtesy of Mr. Mattia Boero wip.mattiaboero.net/arcieridellamole/ - www.discoveritalia.it