Rome a success thanks to inter-sport cooperation

The 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final was held in the Stadio dei Marmi in Rome, Italy – an iconic and impressive arena that also sits next to the headquarters of the Italian Olympic Committee, CONI. Since the launch of the international circuit, World Archery has made a point of putting its tournaments in incredible locations.

In 2013, the World Cup Final was held under the Eiffel Tower, in 2015 in Mexico City’s Zocalo – and the first-ever such event, in 2006, was held among the Mayan ruins in Merida.

Rome’s Olympic site joined this vaunted list. 

The organising committee was led by lawyer Ardingo Scarzella and supported by a team of more than 150 staff, volunteers and contractors – working for up to a year – far more than the 32 athletes that took to the competition field.

“The initial plan for the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Rome was connected to the city’s bid for the 2024 Olympic Games,” said event manager Scarzella. 

“When the city decided to pull out of the Games process, we decided to continue with the Final because we believed that we could deliver a great event.”

A previously-planned venue in the centre of the city became unavailable when the Olympic bid fell through.

The Italian Olympic Committee offered up the space just outside its offices as a replacement.

“‘This is the centre of sport in Italy, you can shoot here’, they told us. It’s a fantastic stadium and an historical place,” said Scarzella.

Securing such an important spot is a long task.

Behind every event proposal is an extensive list of requirements set by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism.

“We had to justify everything to get the approval; there were plenty of permissions we needed,” explained Ardingo.

Fortunately, just two weeks after the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, the Stadio dei Marmi was due to host a large horse-riding event, in a similar layout.

Ardingo and his team worked with the equestrian event to effectively share infrastructures and make use of temporary builds for both events – rather than constructing one stadium and having it replaced with another almost immediately.

“Being able to forge this cooperation is something that should be considered in Italy for future events as we proved that two sports can work together even when those sports – and the budgets – are different,” said Scarzella.

The final result, an impressive Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in an iconic venue that generated a live or delayed television audience of 10 million, was a true team effort. 

“Everything is easy when there’s passion. I enjoy the good and the difficult parts – but there’s a lot of people that I need to thank because hosting an event like this requires a crew to work together,” he said.

Evaluation is the last and an important part of the process of organising an event.

“I’m never satisfied and I think we can do it even better,“ said Ardingo.

The 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final was held in Rome, while the 2018 edition of the event is planned for Samsun, Turkey.