Reigning European Champion Ella Gibson of Great Britain has been elected as Chair of World Archery’s Athletics Committee following a vote held during the Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships in South Korea.
In the compound women’s election, the 25-year-old compound archer from Cirencester won with 55 votes, edging out Dafne Quintero of Mexico and Chen Yi-Hsuan of Chinese Taipei.
Abhishek Verma of India was re-elected to the committee and Verma was confirmed as Deputy Chair.
Gibson and Verma will serve four-year terms until 2029 representing fellow athletes and join existing committee members British archer Bryony Pitman (term until 2026), Crystal Gauvin (USA) and Bernardo Oliveira from Brazil (both until 2027). Terms are staggered to maintain continuity and ensure knowledge transfer. The election schedule ensures broad representation across disciplines and championships.
The World Archery’s Athletics Committee meets four times a year and Ella’s first meeting will be in December 2025 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
As a result of her new prestigious position, Ella has also automatically secured a place on the Executive Board of World Archery.
Ella said: “My goal is to make sure every archer has a voice that matters. I’ve always believed that our sport should put athletes first – from how we perform to how we feel while competing.
“I’ve never been one to just take part – I always want to push more and improve things, you’ve all seen me on every kind of stage in this sport giving my all and now I want to do more. Let’s shape the future of archery together.”
Article by Chris Roberts MBE PR
