SIBU: The 10th Sarawak Indoor Archery Championship at Catholic High School here on Nov 22-24 will see 137 competitors, among whom are six men making up the Thailand national team.
Sarawak Archery Association (Pemasa) secretary Chong Yap Jin said the participation of the Thai national team was bound to up the ante and draw the excitement in the championship.
Other teams taking part included two novice archery teams from Selangor, teams from Malacca and Kelantan while on the home front, the participants include Pemasa members from Kuching, Sibu, Sarikei, Bintulu, Limbang and Lawas.
“This is a rare chance for the local archery enthusiasts to witness the professional archers in action,” he said when contacted.
Chong described the response as overwhelming, saying it was the first time that the number of entries had hit the 130 mark.
He said this was also the first time that they managed to attract a team from Thailand.
“In fact, we did send invitations to some Asian countries and we are happy that Thailand is sending its national team here. The participation of the Thai national team will definitely add all the excitement to the championship.”
Due to space and time constraint, Chong said they would no longer accept any entry.
“We have only three days to run the championship and with only 14 target butts, it is impossible for us to complete the competition if we continue to accept last minute entries.”
Chong also disclosed that this was the first time the indoor championship was staged in Sibu.
He said Pemasa had always found it difficult to stage the championship in Sibu due to the lack of facilities and logistics.
However, despite the lack of facilities, Chong said they had decided to give it a try this time, hoping that through staging the tournament, it would help generate interest among the archers here.
The three-day competition will include team, individual elimination rounds and gold medals matches.
It is divided into six categories – Men’s and Women’s Recurve Bow, Compound Bow and Novice.
The top three winners in the individual and team categories, with the exception of the novice category, will receive medals.
A separate cash prize of RM1,000 will be awarded to the first archer who hit 300 points out of 30 arrows in the first and second half of the qualification round.
Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing Challenge Cup will also be given to the team collecting the highest total points in all the team events.
Meanwhile, Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh is expected to grace the opening at 4pm on Nov 22 while Nangka assemblyman Dr Annuar Rapaee is expected to officiate at the closing ceremony on Nov 24, also at 4pm.