Preview: Americas event season begins in Puerto Rico
The outdoor calendar opens early in the Americas with the first world ranking tournament of the year taking place in Bayamon, Puerto Rico on 14-20 March 2022, ahead of the official start of the international season in April.
Some 120 archers will compete at next week’s Puerto Rico Cup, which is also where nations will win quota places for the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2023.
Among the top archers taking part are Olympic mixed team bronze medallists Alejandra Valencia and Luis Alvarez of Mexico, reigning world number one and World Archery Champion Sara Lopez of Colombia, and reigning Pan American Games Champion Robert Hernandez of El Salvador.
Puerto Rico’s Harold Cuadros is the oldest competitor on the field at 64 years old, while the youngest is Mexico’s Regina Bernal, who turns 16 next month.
This will be the largest international event ever held in Puerto Rico – and the first to be produced for live broadcast.
Key information
What’s happening? The Puerto Rico Archery Cup on 14-20 March 2022 at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
What’s at stake? World ranking points and quota places for the next Central American and Caribbean Games, which are scheduled to take place in San Salvador, El Salvador in 2023.
What’s the story? This is the first major outdoor event of the new season for archers in the Americas. It’s early – and a good chance to get an early tune-up before the official start of the international season in April.
Event schedule
- Tuesday 15 March: Qualifying
- Wednesday 16 March: Team eliminations
- Thursday 17 March: Eliminations
- Friday 18 March: Eliminations
- Saturday 19 March: Team finals
- Sunday 20 March: Finals
How to watch
World Archery will stream the individual finals live on its YouTube channel at 20h00 CET on Sunday 20 March. Live scores will be available on the World Archery website and there will be coverage on World Archery’s digital platforms throughout the competition.
University squad
Most of the team representing USA Archery at this world ranking event comes directly from the student ranks. A squad from Columbia University is wearing its nation’s colours this week – with each of the 12 athletes on the college roster (of the 16 on the team in Puerto Rico) making their international debut, and with a shot at entering the world rankings after the event.
Teams sent by the USA to world ranking events are self-funded. The archers at Columbia University took their chance to shoot a major international by raising money for this tournament.
Who’s competing?
These are the top-ranked archers competing at the Puerto Rico Cup:
- Recurve men: Angel Alvarado, Mexico (world rank: 37)
- Recurve women: Alejandra Valencia, Mexico (world rank: 6)
- Compound men: Daniel Munoz, Colombia (world rank: 15)
- Compound women: Sara Lopez, Colombia (world rank: 1)
A total of 120 archers from the national teams of the following 15 countries are registered to compete at the tournament: Bahamas, Bermuda, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guadalupe, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA.
Competition at the Puerto Rico Cup starts with qualification on Tuesday.
