Preview: Barebow titles on offer at 20th European indoor champs

Continental champion titles on offer for barebow archers for the second time in the history of the European indoors – which appears on the calendar for the 20th time in 2024.

Renowned Italian barebow woman Cinzia Noziglia – who became the first archer to win the World Games, world field and world 3D championships in the same year in 2022 – and much-hyped Swedish youngster Leo Pettersson took the individual crowns two years ago.

Ukraine topped the overall medal table at that event, which was held in Lasko, Slovenia.

The quality in this year’s entry list is skewed towards the compound classes, with many major recurves skipping the tournament – possibly due to the upcoming (outdoor) Olympics?

Set to shoot side-by-side during qualification on the first target bale, the compound women’s title is a presumed tussle between world number one Ella Gibson and back-to-back Indoor Archery World Series Champion Elisa Roner.

Roner beat Gibson in the 18-metre circuit final for the second straight season earlier this month in Las Vegas.

Key information

What’s happening? The 20th edition of the European Indoor Championships on 20-24 February 2024 in Varaždin, Croatia.

What’s at stake? Twenty-three continental titles.

Who’s competing? More than 230 archers from 24 countries.

What’s the story? The European indoors is one of the only handful of major target competitions to award barebow titles – so the division will draw significant attention, despite the big names in the compound and recurve events.

Schedule

• Tuesday 20 February: Qualifying
• Wednesday 21 February: Eliminations
• Thursday 22 February: Eliminations and team eliminations
• Friday 23 February: Team finals
• Saturday 24 February: Finals

How to follow

Live scores will be available on the World Archery website and there will be coverage on World Archery’s digital platforms throughout the competition. Check Facebook, Instagram and X for more.

Who’s competing?

Full entries are available online. These are the top-ranked archers shooting in Varaždin:

• Recurve men: Mauro Nespoli, Italy (world rank: 3)
• Recurve women: Tatiana Andreoli, Italy (world rank: 19)
• Compound men: Jozef Bosansky, Slovakia (world rank: 2)
• Compound women: Ella Gibson, Great Britain (world rank: 1)

Competition at the European Indoor Championships starts on Tuesday.