It’s a great time to be an archer. Beginners today have access to more coaches, ranges and shops than ever. People on every continent are enjoying archery as the sport grows exponentially, sparking even more demand for places to shoot, train and host tournaments.

Among archery’s newest venues is the World Archery Excellence Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, which held its grand opening in December. World Archery is target archery’s global governing body. It’s responsible for international competitions like the Olympics and world championships. The Excellence Centre took nearly seven years to plan and build, and World Archery hopes it will become the epicenter of target archery.

The World Archery Excellence Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, held its grand opening in December. The Excellence Centre took nearly seven years to plan and build, and World Archery hopes it will become the epicenter of target archery. Photo Credit: World Archery

So what’s going to happen there? The objective is to provide world-class training to archers and archery coaches. The Excellence Centre will emphasize coaching development to help make great coaching available worldwide.

Korea dominates Olympic archery and consistently producesthe world’s best archers. A full-time Korean coach, Kyeong Su Jeong, will be in residence at the Excellence Centre to give world-class coaching clinics.

The World Archery Excellence Centre held its inaugural indoor tournament, the Lausanne Archery Classic, on Dec. 4. The Centre’s state-of-the-art indoor space, Easton Hall, measures over 5,000 square meters, and allows shooting out to 70 meters. Photo Credit: World Archery

The Centre’s outdoor field allows up to 90-meter shooting. It’s huge state-of-the-art indoor space, Easton Hall, measures over 5,000 square meters, and allows shooting out to 70 meters and can host full-scale 18-meter indoor tournaments. It blends artificial and ambient light from long upper-story windows. Its facilities include a gym, restaurant, physio room, office space, athletes’ lounge, equipment-repair room, and meeting and conference rooms.

The Excellence Centre nestles into the Swiss countryside, creating a breathtaking backdrop for archery events. World Archery made a deep environmental commitment in the building, which features many eco-features such as geothermal heating and solar power.

The facility is a spectacular example of target archery’s premium place in Olympic sports, and a testament to how far archery has come since returning to the Olympic Games in 1972.

Lausanne, Switzerland, is home to the International Olympic Committee and World Archery, target archery’s global governing body. Photo Credit: World Archery