Archery Competition Manager appointed

He will be responsible for all the planning, organisation and management of the Olympic and Paralympic Archery events which will take place at the historic cricket ground Lord’s in north London, and Eton Manor in the Olympic Park.

Commenting on his appointment, Chris said: “I am absolutely honoured to be joining the London 2012 team. It will be a stunning event to organise, presenting a variety of exciting challenges and raising the profile of Archery on a world stage.”

Tom Dielen, Secretary General of the International Archery Federation (FITA) said: “We are delighted to see Chris taking on this important challenge. Chris will make sure that athletes will be at the centre of the London Games. His experience in many areas will enable him to help deliver the best ever Games. We look forward working with him in this new capacity. He will have the challenge of managing an historical venue, Lord's Cricket Ground, to deliver an exciting event. FITA is looking forward to combining, one more time, history and a modern competition as was the case with the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens in 2004.”

Chris’s key responsibilities include the overseeing of all aspects of the Archery competitions and to be the focal point for liaison with the International Archery Federation. He will ensure that the competition is organised in accordance with IF rules, the International Olympic Committee Charter and the Host City Contract. Chris will liaise with other functional areas to ensure the coordinated delivery of support services such as accreditation, venue operations, medical services and volunteers.

Chris will travel to the Beijing Olympic Games to see what lessons can be learned from the Archery event there and will initially take up his post on a part-time basis, becoming full time in 2010.

Born in Shropshire, the county birthplace of the Wenlock Games (the forerunner to the concept of the Olympic Games), Chris has been a competitive archer for 20 years. A former British Champion and record holder, he has competed from club to world championship levels across five continents. He had also been coach, armourer, team manager and member of various teams for national and international sporting events. He also was a volunteer reporter at the 1996 Atlanta Games and coached the Great Britain Paralympic team in their success of achieving two gold medals in the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004.

He is currently based in Switzerland employed as a Regional Sales Director for an International Language School company managing Eastern Europe.

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