Caesar's Arrows III

Field Archery competition in memory of Yaron Tal – Caesarea 2011

This open international field archery competition will take place on October 28 and 29, 2011, in the Old City of Caesarea, Israel.

"Caesar's Arrows", an annual field archery competition in the Old City of Caesarea, is an international meet, open to archers from all over the world who may like to take part in the amazing experience of a field shoot in the ruins of the ancient city of Caesarea.

In the course of the competition, athletes who have mastered the skill of hitting targets with bow and arrow, will travel on foot among the antique structures and fortifications, in the moat and on the fortress walls, over the bridges, overlooking the sea surf and the rocky shore, within the massive Roman hippodrome and the historic harbor, sniping at targets placed in varied locations around the venue while estimating the ranges and angles of shooting. This type of competition requires very high skill at accurate shooting at varied distances, as well as absolute control of the bow and other archery equipment, high technical expertise and total mental control – in short, it is the supreme test of skill for any trained archer.

Among the competitors will be men and women, adults and juniors, who will shoot bows of various types – from the traditional English longbow to the modern Olympic recurve and the ultra-sophisticated compound bow using a complex system of cams and cables and optical sights.

24 targets of varied sizes will be placed at different locations, distances and angles throughout the harbor, the beach and the hippodrome, creating a tough and highly challenging course for the marksmen. For the first time in the history of this competition, handicapped archers from the IDF Handicapped Veterans Organization will also participate in the meet, with wheelchair access provided to 12 of the course's targets.

The Old City of Caesarea will wear a festive attire in honor of this rare occasion. The athletes moving along touring paths winding among the ancient artifacts and carrying their archery gear, will mix with the many visitors filling this popular site, until they reach the designated and clearly marked shooting stands, barring any access to the general public and spectators. The entire shooting course and target locations will be planned and executed to the highest standard of safety, with secure arrow trajectories and natural buttressing walls behind every target.

The focal point of the festivities will be an archery tryouts site where the public will be welcome to try their hand at shooting professional bows at competition targets – free of any charge. The site will function under the aegis of participating clubs and run by qualified archery instructors.

Starting this year, this very special competition will be open to archers from all over the world. The organizers have no doubt that the unique appeal of the venue and the rare challenge offered by the course will generate genuine interest among the many high-level international athletes who specialize in field archery.

"Caesar's Arrows" is a special competition dedicated to the memory of Yaron Tal who passed away while still a young athlete, a reigning Israeli Champion and record holder who trained many of the best Israeli archers active today. It is also an event that brings to a close a year of competitive archery in Israel, the 14^th in this year's schedule, and athletes representing all 7 of the currently active archery clubs will participate in it.

Eric Soroker, Director of the Competition

Jay Ben-Ari, International Archery Judge and Chief Judge of the Competition

Eitan Tagar, Organization and Public Relations Director