Qualifying for the Games & U.S. Status
Because of the limited number of places allotted to FITA for the ‘92 Olympic Games and the possibility that the number of entries will further be restricted, FITA has implemented an archer place qualification system for the ‘96 Olympic Games and beyond. A total of 128 participants will be allowed in ‘96 (64 men, 64 women).
There are three ways used to select the maximum number of archers that a country may send to the ‘96 Olympic Games (these are country quota slots, earned by an archer for a country, not for the individual archer):
- ‘95 World Championship final placement
- Continental tournament final placement
- Development places selected by a tripartite commission (IOC-FITA-NOC).
1995 World Target Championship
This is where approximately 72% of the number of archers competing at the Games will qualify — 46 men and 46 women. A maximum of three slots per country will be assigned. In addition, the top eight teams in the team competition will earn three slots in the ‘96 individual competition, even if one or more team members finish below 46th place.
The U.S. men earned all three slots. Jay Barrs, Rick McKinney and Lonny King finished in the top 46 and as the team placed third.
For the U.S. women, Denise Parker earned one slot by finishing 20th.
Continental Tournaments
FITA will sanction five qualifying tournaments in 1995 and early 1996, with one major tournament or continental championship in each Olympic continent. Fifteen slots will be awarded through this process (three men, three women for each of the five continents). A country can earn no more than two slots for men and two slots for women.
Archers that won slots at the World Championships cannot win another. Quota slots will be awarded based on final placement.
The U.S. will send a contingent of four women to Mexico City for the Continental Qualifying Tournament, Oct. 31-Nov. 5. The top three competitors will earn slots for their countries, with a limit of two per country.
Development Places
A tripartite commission consisting of representatives of the International Olympic Committee, FITA, and National Olympic Committee will distribute three slots for men and three for women to encourage the development of archery. These may be made to countries that did not earn slots through the other two paths.
Competition Format
At the 1996 Olympic Games, each country is allowed to enter three men and three women in separate events. The format of the Olympic competition consists of a Ranking Round followed by the FITA Olympic Round.
In the Ranking Round, archers shoot 72 arrows at 70 meters in ends (groupings) of six arrows each. (A score of 720 is a perfect score.)
The FITA Olympic Round is divided into the Elimination Round and the Finals Round.
All 64 competitors in the men’s and women’s events will advance to the Elimination Round, a single-elimination, match-play style of competition. Six ends of three arrows (18 arrows total) are shot at 70 meters. Archers alternate shots, with 40 seconds allowed for each shot.
Winners of each match move on to the next matches.
The Finals Round is held when the field has been narrowed to eight archers. It begins with the quarterfinals then continues with the semifinals and bronze-medal match and ends with the gold-medal match. Archers shoot four ends of three arrows (12 arrows total) in each finals match.
The top 16 nations (based on the total of a country’s individual scores from the Ranking Round) compete for team medmeters in each elimination match between two countries. The finals round in the team event will consist of the top four teams medals. Three archers per country will each shoot nine arrows from 70 meters in each elimination match between two countries. The finals round in the team event will consist of the top four teams.
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