The 56th World Archery Congress will take place on 2-3 September in Gwangju (Korea), where representatives from more than 100 national archery federations will meet to make important decisions on the future of the sport at a global level.
Among the key decisions is the selection of a new World Archery President as Prof Dr Ugur Erdener’s mandate comes to an end after 20 years in the role.
There will also be elections across the federation’s governance structure, motions on changes to the rules – including a large rewrite of Book 2 (events) and Book 3 (target archery) of the World Archery Rulebook – and the opportunity to welcome new federations as members.
Here’s a quick guide to how the voting works at Congress.
Who votes?
National archery federations that are members (in good standing) of World Archery, normally represented by their president or secretary general – although a national federation may appoint an alternative voting delegate.
World Archery has 168 member associations as of 31 August 2025. Some 102 are registered to vote at Congress and nearly 50 more have appointed another federation to act as proxy. The final number of available votes will only be confirmed after on-site registration has closed.
Each federation has between one and four votes, depending on their level of activity over the previous eight years. A proxy is always worth one vote.
Organising at least 12 registered events in the last two years is worth one additional vote; competing in at two international events with both genders in the last Olympiad is worth one additional vote; and participating in at least two congresses in the last Olympiad (maximum one proxy) is also worth an additional vote.
How do they vote?
Some simple votes, such as the approval of minutes and acceptance of bylaws implemented by the executive board, are carried out by a show of hands. More critical votes, including elections and changes to the constitution and rules, are carried out electronically.
The process is anonymous and overseen by two independent scrutineers, who are appointed by congress. The system being used in Gwangju is provided by LumiGlobal, a trusted international supplier of voting software for congresses also used by organisations including the International Olympic Committee.
Once a decision has been made, and accepted by the scrutineers, the result is announced. The already anonymous voting data is deleted at the end of congress.
Who wins the vote?
There are three types of vote at World Archery Congress.
Simple majority: More than 50% wins the vote. Applies to accepting minutes (show of hands), bylaws (show of hands), and motions that do not affect the constitution or competition rules (electronic).
Two-thirds majority: More than 66.67% wins the vote. Applies to motions that do affect the constitution or competition rules (electronic).
Elections: The most votes wins, but a simple majority (more than 50%) is required to be elected.
If there are more candidates than positions (which might by the case in committee elections) and not enough candidates achieve a majority to fill those positions, then the candidate with the lowest votes is removed and the remaining candidates progress to a second round.
If there is an election for one positions and there are two candidates, as is the case for the role of World Archery President, the election is decided by a simple majority, as long as that candidate accrues more than 50% of the votes cast.
Who runs the vote?
The World Archery President acts as chairperson of World Archery Congress. He usually delegates responsibility for the delivery of votes to the secretary general. In the case of the election for president at this congress, responsibility will be delegated to the first vice president.
After the subject of the vote is announced, the person opens the vote for a period of time. Once this time has passed, and if at least 75% of the available votes have been cast and no delegate raises a request for technical assistance, the vote is closed. During a vote, delegates must remain in their seat and cannot interact with anybody except scrutineers and voting staff.
The result of the vote is announced and displayed on screen (and on stream) as soon as it is accepted by the scrutineers.
When are the votes?
The 2025 World Archery Congress takes place on 2-3 September in Gwangju (Korea). Decisions on motions to change the rules are expected in the afternoon of the first day. Elections will take place in the morning of the second day, starting with the selection of the new World Archery President.
Any information contained in this article is intended solely as a guide. The official rules and detailed procedures have been communicated directly to delegates and will be explained on-site.
