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Preview: The Indoor Archery World Series heading to Chicago for the first time

11 February 2025

Chicago, USA

Real name:

Brady Ellison against Florian Unruh in the Nimes Archery Tournament.

The Great Chicago Open is the fifth stop of the 2025 Indoor Archery World Series with over 200 archers from four different shooting styles competing in two days.

It is the first time the Illinois city has hosted a stage of archery’s premier international indoor circuit, and the second time it has a place on the World Archery calendar with it last hosting a para world ranking event in 2023.

The tournament is open to able-bodied men and women, as well as para archers, with the venue being Festival Hall on Chicago’s Navy Pier that sticks out into Lake Michigan, the third largest natural lake in the USA.

Recurve world number one Brady Ellison headlines the entries after coming back off his gold medal triumph at the Nimes Archery Tournament last month, with his wife Toja, the compound women’s 2022 Indoor World Series Finals Champion, also on the shooting line in Illinois.

Other notable entries are Ellison’s mixed team Olympic bronze medallist teammate Casey Kaufhold in the recurve women’s event and ‘Mister Perfect’ Mike Schloesser who has already wrapped up three Indoor World Series golds in the 2025 season with wins in Lausanne, Strassen and Taoyuan City in the compound men’s category.

There will also be open tournaments for under-18s, under-21s and over-50s in Chicago.

Key information

What’s happening? The Great Chicago Open at Festival Hall on 13-14 February 2024 in Chicago, USA.

What’s at stake? Prize money, elite and open ranking points for the international circuit, plus world ranking points.

Who’s competing? More than 200 archers from 16 countries.

What’s the story? The mass-participation indoor circuit has six stops this season, including four 250-level events and two 1000-level events. The Great Chicago Open is the fourth stop, before the tour heads to Vegas for the final stage and the grande finale.