▲ [Memorandum] A Week in Al-Ula, a City of Culture and Traditional Sports     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

On Wednesday morning, the 13th December, I headed to Incheon International Airport, Republic of Korea. I boarded the flight to support the coverage and progress of the ‘2023 Horseback Archery World Cup (here-in-after referred to as the ‘World Cup’)’ approved by the World Horseback Archery Federation (Chairman Young-sup KIM, WHAF) to be held in Al-Ula, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

It took a total of 28 hours to arrive the place. [From Incheon to Istanbul: 12-hour. Waiting time for boarding: 9-hour. From Istanbul to Medinah: 3 and half hours. From Medinah to Al-Ula: 3 and half hours.]

Al-Ula was definitely different. Although it is the same KSA, the scenery of Medinah, which first caught my eyes when I boarded the vehicle, and the dance of the unique rock formations that gradually began to change as I entered Al-Ula were completely different.

▲ A view of the Shaden Resort, which was the executive accommodation for the 'WHAF 2023 Horseback Archery World Cup.'     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

The Shaden resort, where I stayed for a week, was located right under the unique rock formations of Al-Ula, and I flet a subtlety that could not be described by the energy of the entire Al-Ula, which is 800 meters above sea level. Al-Ula is a region with a long history as inhabited by Nabataeans who built Petra in Jordan from around B.C. 100, and it was as if the breath of ancient people in the Al-Ula region, which has not been open to Western society since modern times, was penetrating into my inhalation breath.

At the moment, I first entered the venue from accommodation in a vehicle provided by the host organzing committee (HOC) of the World Cup, I confirmed with my eyes that it was clearly different from the previous sports stadiums. In 2023, the sports that I covered such as Muaythai (IFMA), Taekwondo (WT), and Kurash (IKA), were indoor sports of the type of Olympic sport style. All international competitions in these sports were held in indoor stadiums, but the WHAF was an Al-Ula equestrian (Polo) venue in Al Fursan Village with a wide view of an outdoor. 

▲ The equestrian (polo) venue in Al Fursan Village, where the 'WHAF 2023 Horseback Archery World Cup' was held.     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

▲ Outdoor view of the venue of the 'WHAF 2023 Horseback Archery World Cup'.     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

The outdoor venue is a characteristic of Horseback Archery sport, and the unique natural environment and panoramic view of the area, where the competition is held, can be melted into the appearance of the games. From the perspective of the country or the HOC, that hold the international events, it would be positive that the characteristics of the region are exposed as naturally as possible to the audience and media. It this context, the international sports community has recently been paying attention to beach sports games.

Before the full-fledged games, the executive boarding meeting of WHAF was held. The face-to-face meeting of WHAF which been cut off for about 4-year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has revived at this World Cup. Among the various agendas, in-depth discussions were held to make Horseback Archery and WHAF as an international sports and international sports federation (IF).

▲ Before the executive boarding meeting of the 'WHAF 2023 Horseback Archery World Cup,' the introduction of each executive boarding members is underway.     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

▲ The competition of the ''WHAF 2023 Horseback Archery World Cup'.     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

Among them were short-term and long-term planning agendas such as the introduction of an integrated digital sport operation system and the formation of relationships with international sports organizations. Certainly, through this World Cup events, WHAF and Horseback Archery have grown more than a few steps, and it has provided an opportunity for faster growth in the future.

In particular, officials from Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), who attended this World Cup, expressed a strong willingness to support the Horseback Archery sport as an official sport of Asian Games (AG). Although WHAF and Horseback Archery began and spread around the world from South Korea, they want to support for AG as their national sport, and even for the Olympics in the long term purpose, because they are in line with the traditional equestrian culture of Middle Estern Aisan & Arabian countries due to the characteristic of Horseback Archery.

For reference, Qatar will host the Summer AG in 2030 and Saudi Arabia in 2034, and some new sports can be adopeted as official sports under the authority of the hosting country. According to the will of these two countries’ officials, the Horseback Archery is highly likely to be adopted as an official sport for two consecutive AGs in 2030 & 2034.

This World Cup match was largely composed of Korean-style ‘Serial,’ Turkish-style ‘Qabaq,’ and Hungarian-style ‘Kassai’ for a total of three competition days. Among them, the WHAF World Ranking Point System, which will be introduced as soon as possible, includeds Korean-style ‘Serial,’ Turkish-style ‘Qabaq,’ and ‘Massai’ matches will be added in the future.

Another characteristic of the Horseback Archery sport is that it plays an intergrated game without distinction between gender and weight classification. This is an unique characteristic that is consistent with the spirit of equality and inclusion currently emphasized by international sports organizations such as the International Olympic Commitee (President Thomas Bach, IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). This trend is included in the broader category of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by United Nations (UN) beyond the IOC and OCA. Following this trends, Olympic official sports such as Taekwondo (WT) and Judo (IJF) have newly established mixed gender team competitions and are holding exclusive competitions.

In particular, Al-Ula, which hosted this World Cup in this time, is a living heritage treasure that has a human history of more than 200,000 years, from UNESCO World Heritage (WH) to Memory of the World (MoW), as it is no exaggeration to call it the UNESCO city. WHAF has been holding the Wolrd Horseback Archery Championships that patronage by UNESCO. The growth of Horseback Archery and WHAF is also important in terms of sharing and spreading Olympic values, but Horseback Archery and WHAF have already been proven to be valuable as UNESCO officially sponsored traditional sport events. Therefore, hosting the WHAF World Cup in the UNESCO city, Al-ULA has a special meaning.

▲ The bird's-eye view model of 'Al-Muatadil Equestrian Village,' which aims to be completed by 2028.    ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

This World Cup was sponsored and hosted by the Royal Commission for Al-Ula (RCU) and the Saudi Arabia Equestrain Federation (SAEF). In particular, the RCU plans to develop 285ha. around the Al Fursan Village, where the Wolrd Cup was held, into the Al Muatadil Equestrain Village by 2028.

If the development is completed as planned, it is expected to become an international center for various Horse Cultures such as polo, tent pegging, and horseback martial arts, as well as existing equestrian and horseback archery sports. Considering the vision and potential of tourism and traditional sports in the Al-Ula region, Al-Ula’s Horse Cultures development project will function as very timely content.

▲ National overall ranking of the 'WHAF 2023 Horseback Archery World Cup'.     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

The competition lasted a total of 2 days from Saturday 16th to Monday 18th, ▲Serial Category △1st Place: Hesham Ali Altamimi (KSA) △2nd Place: Abdulmalil Mohammed bin Khurayyih (KSA) △3rd Place: Ahmad Masri (SYR) ▲Qabaq Category △1st Place: Hesham Ali Altamimi (KSA) △2nd Place: Yeralkhan Aikoz (KAZ) △3rd Place: Muhammad Yahya Ayyash (IND) were awarded in the individual category.

▲ A group photo was taken for a comprehensive awarding ceremony by WHAF commissioners including HH Prince Abdullah bin Fahd bin Abdullah.     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

The overall score of countries is ▲1st Place: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ▲2nd Place: Republic of Kazakhstan ▲3rd Place: Islamic Republic of Iran. HH Prince Abdullah bin Fahd bin Abdullah awarded medals and trophies to the winners.

After all the competition schedules were completed, on the last day, we had time to look at the scenic view of Al-Ula and the appearance of the old town.

● UNESCO MoW ‘Jabal Ikmah’

▲ Jabal Ikmah     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

● ‘Dadan’ of Kingdom of Dadan & Lihyan

▲ Ancient City, Dadan     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

● Guinness World Records ‘Maraya’

▲ Maraya     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

● Made by Time ‘Elephant Rock’

▲ Elephant Rock     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

● UNESCO WH ‘Hegra / Madain Salih’

▲ Hegra/Madain Salih     ©Seok-mu Mason KWON

While touring Al-Ula’s attractions including this World Cup events, I was able to confirm the warmth and potiential of Al-Ula, the hidden gem of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Although the current facilities and operational support alone held a high-quality competition that is hard to find a precedent in the world, I was eager to visit once again one day to see the remarkable developmet of Al-Ula, which is scheduled to be developed by 2028 along with plans of , and the future of Al-Ula, which will grow into a global tourist destination.