World Archery Field Championships in Yankton postponed until 2022

• Next world field championships delayed from 2020 to 2022.
• Yankton will still host Hyundai World Archery Championships in 2021.

The 2020 World Archery Field Championships in Yankton, USA have been postponed until 2022.

The event was due to take place in September this year at the NFAA Easton Yankton Archery Center, the largest dedicated archery facility in the world, which has previously hosted the world youth and world indoor championships.

This joint decision to delay was made to safeguard athlete wellbeing and due to restrictions still in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A one-year postponement was rejected due to the number of events already moved to 2021. Yankton is also due to host next year’s Hyundai World Archery Championships.

The world field was planned to act as the primary qualifier for the upcoming World Games in Birmingham. That event was initially scheduled for 2021 but moved to 2022 following the delay of the Olympics.

A separate qualification event will now be held, likely in the summer of 2021, with more information made available at a later date.

The vote for the field archer representative to the athletes’ committee was also due to take place this year in Yankton. It will be delayed with the championships and committee chair Naomi Folkard will remain in post for the additional two years.

International competition has been suspended since March. The next update on the international calendar will be issued no later than 1 July 2020.

Recognition of national events, for the purposes of world records and performance awards, will resume on 1 July.

National federations are being encouraged to organise competitions when possible and as long as they comply with local health regulations.

World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen said: “It is with huge regret that we delay the field championships but this decision had to be made in the current climate.”

“We will now focus on scheduling a successful World Games qualification event in 2021 and look forward to the Games and championships in 2022.”

Yankton organising committee and NFAA Foundations president Bruce Cull said: “Making the choice to reschedule an event that so many archers are working hard towards is not easy. We want to host international tournaments that Yankton and the archery community can be proud of and this is just not possible at this time.”

“The city of Yankton and the NFAA Easton Yankton Archery Center look forward to welcoming the world to the world target championships in 2021 and field championships in 2022.”