World Archery’s annual awards go digital with launch of NFT trophies

World Archery has partnered with LEVERADE, a company specialising in sports data and blockchain technology, on a five-year project to develop exclusive NFTs for the sport.

The first set of NFTs will be the Athlete of the Year trophies for 2022 – as World Archery’s annual awards go virtual.

The one-off original digital artworks will be presented to the winners of the awards during a special live edition of The Archery Show in December 2022, after online public voting in November.

Athletes will be able to sell parts of the NFTs through a bespoke marketplace.

A total of 10 awards will be presented in 2022.

In addition to the six athlete categories – recurve, compound and para men and women – and breakthrough, coach and judge of the year trophies, an overall athlete of the year award, voted on by experts and journalists, will be reintroduced.

There will also be a shortlist and the first inductees to the new World Archery Hall of Fame.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital blockchain records that can be used to trace the ownership of a physical or virtual file. The purpose of this new partnership is to explore possible applications for the sport, particularly for trophies and records.

World Archery secretary general Tom Dielen said:

“We’re pushing our annual awards into the digital future as part of this new innovative partnership with LEVERADE. It’s another opportunity to celebrate our talented athletes – present and past – while embracing cutting-edge technology that will allow them to share their awards with fans and potentially bring real value to our sport.”

LEVERADE chief executive officer Antonio Romero said:

“This partnership between LEVERADE and World Archery is a significant step towards the future of the sport. We are proud to be the technological partner of World Archery and deliver digital trophies in NFT format to its athletes.”

World Archery awards in 2022

• One overall Athlete of the Year
• Six category awards for recurve men, recurve women, compound men, compound women, para men and para women
• Three special awards for breakout performance, coach and judge of the year
• The first two people inducted into the World Archery Hall of Fame