Eric Bennett elected para athlete representative in World Archery committees

Eric Bennett was elected as World Archery’s para athlete representative with 143 votes during the ’s-Hertogenbosch 2019 World Archery Para Championships.

He was the only candidate.

Bennett had previously been appointed to the role, which sits on the para archery committee. This vote sees him democratically elected to serve in the position until the world para championships in four years’ time.

The 45-year-old US archer has been shooting for 20 years. He’s already observed huge progress in the para side of the sport.

“It’s grown tremendously since I started. There are lots of archers that grow, every year I see new faces, more countries,” he said.

“World Archery’s para committee is now trying to reach out to the countries that may be underserved. To try and introduce them to the sport, show them different abilities, different classes, different adaptive equipment and things like that which are available.”

Eric thinks athletes should be key in shaping the way the sport is run. He sees his position as the point of communication so that the committee can make informed decisions.

“Something that I feel is really important is trying to increase the number of medals we can win at the Paralympic Games,” he said.

“That’s a pretty steep hill to climb. But we would like to see more opportunities to win medals. We would also like to see visually impaired archers included in the Paralympic Games. So my goals are to try grow the sport, increase participation and represent the athletes the best I can.”

The 2019 World Archery Para Championships take place on 3-9 June in ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.