World Archery’s rebranded open-entry indoor circuit begins this weekend in Strassen, Luxembourg when the GT Open holds the first Indoor Archery World Series 250 competition.
There are over 300 archers – some travelling from as far afield as Trinidad and Tobago, India and Korea – taking part.
Every single person that competes in the Indoor Archery World Series will be listed in the circuit’s new open ranking, while the top-16 finishers in each of the four competition divisions receive points towards the elite ranking.
It’s the elite ranking that decides who is invited to the Indoor Archery World Series Final in Las Vegas in February.
Factsheet: GT Open 2018
- Venue: Guillaume Tell Strassen Archery Club
- Dates: 23-25 November 2018
- Number of athletes: 313 (100 recurve men, 51 recurve women, 115 compound men, 47 compound women)
- Points: 250 series ranking points for a division winner, top 16 finishers score
- Streaming: Live medal matches start at 14h00/15h00 on Sunday 25 November – watch on World Archery’s Facebook page or YouTube channel
Schedule
Friday 23 November: qualification (two sessions)
Saturday 24 November: qualification (two sessions), first-round eliminations
Sunday 25 November: second chance tournament, eliminations and finals (medal matches starts at 14h00 GMT/15h00 CET)
Photo courtesy Dubravko Buden.
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The name of world number two Steve Wijler jumps out of the recurve men’s entry list, although teammate and world medallist Rick van der Ven could challenge if in form.
Another archer flying Dutch colours in Gabriela Bayardo and the most renowned of her former teammates from the country in which she was born (Mexico), Aida Roman, have a shot in the women’s event. Casey Kaufhold, the 14-year-old from the US who’s been breaking senior national records, is one to watch in her first adult event overseas.
Marcella Tonioli, Tanja Jensen, Sarah Prieels and Toja Ellison are all compound women with proven winning records.
The compound men’s line in Strassen is stacked. Headlined by world number one Mike Schloesser, it also features world number two Stephan Hansen, number three Braden Gellenthien and number four Seb Peineau.
And then there’s Sergio Pagni, Peter Elzinga, Evren Cagiran, Kings of Archery winner Paul Tedford, and three-time junior world indoor champion Viktor Orosz.
The GT Open is the first stage of the 2019 Indoor Archery World Series.
