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Congress closes with awards ceremony honouring outgoing president Erdener and others

03 septembre 2025

Gwangju, Korea

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Prof Dr Ugur Erdener receives Gender Equity and Inclusion Award from committee chair Yuko Oda.

Prof Dr Ugur Erdener (Türkiye) was among the recipients of awards and honours presented during the traditional closing session of the World Archery Congress on 3 September.

He had previously been named Honorary President and received a golden collier on the first day of the meeting for his longstanding contributions to the sport. At the closing session, Erdener was recognised with the Gender Equity and Inclusion Award for advancing gender equity in governance and sport, achieving gender balance in permanent committees, increasing women’s representation on the executive board and overseeing the introduction of mixed team events to the Olympic Games.

“I would like to thank you very much for all your great support, and also my dear friends from our executive board for their great contribution to our activities and for having a very nice family all together,” said the outgoing World Archery President.

Other recipients of the gender equity award included Jodie Grinham (Great Britain) and Hilda Gibson (Great Britain).

Grinham was celebrated for demonstrating that disability is no barrier to participation, winning bronze in the compound women’s individual event at Paris 2024 and becoming the first pregnant Paralympic gold medallist in any sport in the mixed team event alongside Nathan MacQueen.

Gibson was recognised as an inspiring role model as athlete, coach, official and mentor, supporting women officials and developing para archery and judge education programmes in Africa.

The Spanish archery federation was presented with the Equal Opportunity Award for remarkable progress towards gender parity and inclusion during the last Olympic cycle. Measures included 50% female representation on its executive board, gender quotas for the general assembly, participation of both male and female athletes at 17 international events, and a dedicated Women and Sport committee to increase participation, train women officials, and improve athlete health.

Korea won the nations’ trophy for both the 2023 and 2024 Hyundai Archery World Cup seasons, ahead of India and the USA. The award ranks national teams based on points accrued across all categories during each year’s outdoor circuit.

Mario Scarzella receives gold plaquette from Prof Dr Ugur Erdener.

The final session also recognised the contributions of long-serving officials.

World Archery vice president Mario Scarzella (Italy) received the World Archery gold plaquette. He served as president of the Italian archery federation from 2016 to 2025 and has held the presidency of World Archery Europe since 2022. Scarzella’s award was unanimously approved by delegates, who praised his long-standing contribution to the sport.

Five silver plaquettes and eight bronze plaquettes were also awarded, while four retiring officials were thanked for their years of service. Among those stepping down were Martin Bauer (Germany), Hilda Gibson (Great Britain), Dominique Ohlmann (France) and Jonathan Shales (Great Britain).

The award session concluded the congress, which took place on 2-3 September in Gwangju, Korea, bringing together a record 151 member associations from across the globe ahead of the 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships and 2025 World Archery Para Championships. Delegates reviewed the progress of the last four years, elected new leadership, and set the federation’s direction for the future.

The congress closed with the symbolic handover to newly elected president Greg Easton. Outgoing president Erdener thanked delegates, the executive board and the local organising committee for their support, highlighting the smooth running of the congress and the collaborative spirit among member associations.

“My term is finished now… I hand over the World Archery management to Greg, and I believe there will be another successful period of time awaiting World Archery,” Erdener said in his final speech.

The outgoing president also paid tribute to secretary general Tom Dielen and the federation’s staff for their vital contributions over the past two decades.

Hilda Gibson receives retiring official honour from Prof Dr Ugur Erdener for years of service.

Gender equity and inclusion award

First awarded in 2009 as the Women’s Award, the honour was relaunched in March 2023 to coincide with International Women’s Day. It recognises individuals – regardless of gender – who have made significant contributions to ensuring equal opportunities or effecting meaningful change towards equality in archery.

Three personalities were presented with the honour in 2025:

Ugur Erdener, Türkiye
Hilda Gibson, Great Britain
Jodie Grinham, Great Britain

Equal opportunity award

It rewards World Archery member associations that have made remarkable progress towards gender parity and inclusion during an Olympic cycle. One national federation was presented with the honour in 2025:

Spanish archery federation

Nations’ trophy

The award ranks the teams with the best results across all categories at all stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup in a given season. The rankings for the last two years were as follows: