RollArch

The idea of proposing RollArch as an innovative sport starts from the need of making archery and roller-skating more known and appreciated in Italy. At the moment, in fact, they are perceived as minor sports, especially archery, and practiced only by small groups of experts.
So the main aim of RollArch is to spread knowledge about archery and roller-skating, in order to make people interested in two sports that are less practiced and to increase their visibility and popularity. The idea is to spark the interest of the youngsters, in particular.
Through the combination of these two sports, in fact, it is possible to create an activity that is more dynamic and challenging and less monotonous, in order to captivate the attention of larger groups of people. In this way, the potential user base of both archery and roller-skating would increase.
At the end, RollArch could be an opportunity to connect different groups of people and to promote an activity that is practiced open-air.

RollArch consists of dividing the race into two phases: a rollerblading path of 6 or 8 km and then at the end, using foot rests, doing 5 archery shots at a distance of 18/20m with a centre of 20 cm. Foot rests are used because athletes would not have time to get off their skates to shoot arrows and on rollers it would be too complicated. This innovative sport can be practised on the road or on the track.
The innovation is in making a sort of biathlon on roller skates, and using instead of carabine, a bow.

This innovative sport is open to everyone that wants to try a new kind of sport. It does not require any specific skill or ability, but it’s suggested to have basic knowledge of roller-skating technique and arch handling to assure safety in the practice of RollArch.
The participants are going to be engaged through the basins of CSIT and AICS, people that already know archery and roller skating, but also people that stand outside of these networks. The possibility to open this sport to everyone is due to the fact that length and difficulties can be calibrated according to the age and the experience of the participants. We will provide the necessary equipment (thanks to AICS), length and difficulties can be calibrated according to the age and the experience of the participants. These aspects give us the possibility to reach people with economic disadvantage, families, children, elderly and people without any experience in sport to give them the possibility to try RollArch!

The project is developed with the collaboration of AICS Archery and AICS Freestyle Skating sections.

Athlete:
Inline skates
bow and arrows
protection pads/helmet.
Possibility to borrow material from the organizers to enable everyone to approach the sport without expenses.

Field:
variable-length track suitable for roller-skating provided with enough surrounding space to set targets at the given distance of 18/20m.
Competitions at different levels can be organized without additional budget, by increasing/reducing the number of roller skating laps to be done or the distance and dimension of the target.

Personnel:
Presence of first aid medical personnel required for safety reasons
Referees at each shooting point, start/finish line
Timing service

We’re looking for advice concerning the promotion aspect of this new sport, thinking of it as a fundamental step to spread the knowledge about RollArch in order to give to the largest number of people possible the opportunity to know and to try it.