Archery Canada — in partnership with Archery Manitoba and Tourism Winnipeg, is pleased to announce that Winnipeg is a candidate city to host the 2025 World Archery Youth Championships, an event with an estimated $5-million economic impact that would bring nearly 600 athletes from more than 60 countries to the city for a week’s worth of high-level archery competition.

If Winnipeg is successful, the event is set to take place in late August 2025, with qualification rounds and early elimination rounds at Red River Exhibition Park, with the finalists shooting for gold medals at The Forks in what will be an exciting public spectacle.

“We are thrilled to get an opportunity to bid on the 2025 World Archery Youth Championships and host more than 580 athletes and their families in our city,” said Dayna Spiring, president and CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg. “Winnipeg shines in the summer, offering world-class attractions and a lively culinary and festival scene that will be the perfect backdrop to the final competition at The Forks — our community’s historical gathering spot right in the heart of the city.”

The economic impact of the event includes more than 3,600 room nights, catering and restaurant meals for athletes, combined with a hard-to-predict spinoff from parents and family members accompanying many of the athletes. Sportcal, a global sports economics consultancy, estimated the economic impact of a similar 2015 event in Denmark at US$3.2 million. Adjusting for inflation and converting to Canadian currency, the bid committee arrived at the $5-million estimate.

World Archery plans to announce which city has won the right to host by Dec. 31, 2021.

“Archery Canada is seeking to host more world level events in Canada for the development of the sport here at home,” said Al Wills, President of Archery Canada. “Archery has a great deal of potential and bringing the best in the world to Canada allows for those with an interest in the sport to see this level of competition up close, to be inspired and for the community at home to have the opportunity to support our talented athletes.”

Manitoba has a proud tradition of placing athletes on Team Canada for previous World Archery Youth Championships, and many have found their way onto the podium, including the 2019 junior silver medallist, Austin Taylor, as well as 2011 compound junior team champion Keenan Brown and 2006 champion Doris Jones.

The next World Archery Youth Championship is slated for August, 2021 in Wroclaw, Poland, while the 2023 event is headed to Limerick, Ireland.
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For more information:
Kelly Taylor, chairman, bid committee, 204-795-5892
Karl Balisch, executive director, Archery Canada, 613-260-2113 
Ryan Van Berkel, executive director, Archery Manitoba, 204-291-1775