There is a need for more archery ranges in the country. Archery coach Frankie Naranjilla, son of 1972 Filipino archery Olympian Francisco Naranjilla Jr., said this is one of the basic things needed if the sport wants to get back its lost glory.
“We need a permanent facility dedicated to archery, one that has enough target butts and archery equipment for archers to train regularly. What we actually need is an Archery Training Center. Unfortunately, there is no government public range available for archery,” said Naranjilla, who has just completed his Levels 1 and 2 coaching training recently.
He said this following the recently concluded World Archery Philippines’s 5th SEA Games qualifiers held simultaneously in Dumaguete, Baguio, Davao and Cebu City, with the NCR leg hosted by the STI-Goldtoe range in Marikina, established by Naranjilla together with other archery lovers, including 1977 SEA Games silver medalist Nino Sinco.
The top archers will go to the final qualifying tournament set January next year in Marikina to select next year’s Olympic Recurve and Compound Teams A and B.”There are only three private ranges that offer 70-meter distances, the Sevilla Range in Novaliches, a small one in Paranaque, and the STI Goldtoe, which our club, the Olympus Archery Philippines, is managing. This is the only range that can offer up to 90 meters and accommodate more than 30 target butts, enough to hold an international competition,” added Naranjilla.
A sustained archery grassroots’ program to scout for young promising archers is also necessary, according to Naranjilla.”Archery is still not a popular sport here and if we can bring archery to the UAAP, this will help grow the sport, and with more archers, the bigger the pool of selection to join the national team,” Naranjilla said.
He also cited the current coaching webinars being conducted by WAP as it will help increase the number of coaches, who in turn can teach the sport.