Archery meet fails to attract sponsors
Archery meet fails to attract sponsors
JAKARTA (JP): The 38th World Outdoor Archery Championships, on
which the organizers expect to spend Rp 2 billion (US$887,705),
has proved unattractive to potential sponsors and the media.
"No company is interested in sponsoring the event," said
Joseph Renyut, the organizer's officer in charge of fund raising.
"And none of the prominent businessmen I have personally
approached wanted to provide sponsorship. They all opted to make
a donation, even though we could have arranged great promotion
schemes for them with the money they donated," Renyut told The
Jakarta Post yesterday.
"Hence, during the championships I'll see that some banners
bearing the names of their companies will be erected as a token
of gratitude," he said.
Renyut eventually managed to collect "a sum of money which
will meet the need" from the National Sports Council (KONI) and
from donations. He declined to reveal the amount and is still
expecting further donation.
Poor media coverage thus far shows that the media is also not
interested in covering the event, the first world archery meet
hosted by Indonesia.
"None of the country's five private television companies is
interested in broadcasting the championships live," Renyut
complained, adding that the organizers had to pay the state
television TVRI to provide live broadcasts during the Aug. 1-6
tournament.
"It's regrettable that this world meet is not getting the
attention it deserves, especially because Indonesia's archers
have good performance records," he said. Indonesian women archers
won the silver medal both at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and at
last year's Asian Games in Hiroshima.
"Indonesian soccer has never attained such a higher level on
the international stage, but people always keep flocking to our
soccer stadiums to watch the game," he said. "Since it's clear
that the world championships won't sell, spectators will be given
free entrance."
Fifty-two countries have confirmed the names of the archers
they will send to Jakarta for the championships. There will be
118 female archers and 164 male archers competing in the recurve
event and 38 female archers and 88 male archers in the compound
event.
Guam, Tajikistan, North Mariana Island, Thailand and Zimbabwe
have officially withdrawn from the championships. Serbia and
Montenegro, Rumania, Israel and Portugal have yet to return their
entry forms by name, although they have confirmed their intention
to participate.
"But we have allotted spaces for them in anticipation of their
coming," said Asep Gumilar, who is in charge of the
championships' technical administration. (arf)