French federation hosts general assembly in 120th anniversary year

The French Archery Federation held its annual general assembly of club and committee representatives in Noisy le Grand, near Paris, on 30 March 2019. It was particularly special because 2019 marks the federation’s 120th anniversary.

President Jean-Michel Cleroy paid tribute to Octave Jay, who created the Fédération des Compagnies d’Arc d’Ile de France on 9 April 1899 so that an archery competition could take place at the Paris 1900 Olympic Games.

Topics at the assembly moved on to the next Olympics to take place in France, in Paris in 2024, with the president of the French Olympic and Sports Committee Denis Masseglia outlining how he expected these Games to act as a stepping stone for sport across the country.

The results of a digital and social media study which used 52 criteria to assess 76 French sports federations were presented. Archery ranked seventh, behind just football, rugby, athletics, basketball, golf and ice hockey.

The assembly was also informed that France would bid to host a Hyundai Archery World Cup stage in Paris for the period 2021-2023.

For the first time at the federation’s general assembly, voting was carried out using an electronic system powered by Ianseo, which has been used by World Archery at its previous international congress.

Arthur Cousin, the oldest French national judge, and Dominique Farjanel, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regional committee, were among those honoured at the meeting, both receiving the federation’s Médaille Grand Or.