The Sierra Leone Archery Association in partnership with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Sierra Leone and the Development of National Sports Structure (DNSS) for Archery recently presented certificates to 19 participants of the online Level 1 coaching, Ardel, and Practical courses.
According to a press release issues by the National Olympic Committee, each of the 19 participants was presented with three certificates at the Henry Moore Auditorium at the Olympic Africa Centre, Goderich.
In his statement, the Secretary General NOC, Joseph Nyande, welcomed and recognized members of the sporting fraternity.
He send praises on the expert of the course, Marja Eva Woortman, for her tremendous effort for making the course becomes a reality.
The release further stated that: “Fortunately through the approval of Development of National Sports Structure (DNSS) for Archery, the expert was able to come here for some time and she went through a lot of procedure and protocols. She didn’t come for the second visit because of COVID-19 pandemic that was why the course was done online.”
“I must thank her for that. Let me advised you, Yayah is the president who is internationally recognized by the World federation, so if anyone want to talk to the international federation you have to talk to him or the NOC,” he stated.
Giving the keynote address, President of the Sierra Leone Archery Association, Yayah Koroma said: “We are here today not just to present certificates but also to present to the sporting community the Sierra Leone Archery Association and to also indirectly showcase the incredible work that the NOC is doing that is geared towards the development of sports in Sierra Leone,” he said.
Mr. Koroma briefly explained that in 2017 when they actually started the procedure to start an Archery association in Sierra Leone.
“Having gone through the required procedure, in 2017 upon a no-objection vote that was passed by the World Archery Federation during congress in Mexico and also an acceptance by the National Olympic Committee, Sierra Leone Archery Association became a member of the World Archery Federation,” he stated.
He said that immediately after the Association was formed it became a member of the World Archery Federation, and they as officials started to plan the development of Archery in Sierra Leone, adding “therefore we developed a five-year working plan which is going to be our document for the next five years, this is going to be our pathway towards the development of Archery in Sierra Leone.”
According to him the five-year development plan has three strategic paths, the first is to structure and develop the sport, the second to achieve high performance and excellence and the third is building a sustainable future. “We are in the first path which is to structure and develop the sport and that is why we actually engage the National Olympic Committee for them to come to the aid of the Sierra Leone Archery Association to have a program like this, it’s because of the vision of the president of the NOC and his executive to ensure that we have more sports,” Koroma says.
He said that immediately they had the approval of the International Olympic Committee, they contacted the World Archery Federation to send an expert. “Marja Eva Woortman was selected by World Archery to be the Expert for this course,” he said.
Koroma added that the Association is not yet ready for competitions , but is busy structuring and developing coaches and the athletes because they are a new sport.
Course expert, Marja Eva Woortman said addressed the certified coaches saying: “It’s your job as coaches to take Archery to another level in your country. You have a strong federation behind you, and the Olympic Committee, Archery is an Olympic sports and also recreational sports that bring family together.”
He added that it builds our confidence, self-esteem and ability to focus: “take it to the schools, the police force, the military force and the university level, you will find someone who will represents you in international competitions.”
“When the pandemic is over we will conduct a training camp to improve the coaches, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to assist the Sierra Leone Archery Association, let’s build up a good relationship, I wish you success and lot of goodies,” Eva Woortman stated.
The President of NOC, Dr. Patrick Coker, expressed his admiration for the courage and patient Yayah Koroma gone through to make his dream come true. “Because the competition is much greater, I am not being pessimistic; I am just being realistic, for us to get medal in sport like 100 meters,” he said.
15/10/2020. ISSUE NO: 7931