The election of a new World Boccia Athletes’ Committee is now the next significant moment in a busy period of change for the sport, with the vote taking place during the 2026 World Boccia Championships in Seoul.
World Boccia held its General Assembly in the South Korean capital on the eve of the current championships, with major changes to its governance structure already taking shape.
The athletes’ committee election will now give competitors a direct say in how the sport is represented at the highest level, with all accredited athletes at the Seoul championships eligible to vote.
Ten current athletes are standing for the six available positions on the new committee: Stefania Ferrando, Tasneem Goda, Sally Kidson, Klemen Kramzar, Daniel Michel, Grigorios Polychronidis, André Ramos, Mateus Rodrigues Carvalho, Jovin Tan Wei Qiang and Nicholas Ryan Taylor. The committee will comprise three male and three female members.
The importance of the election has been increased by recent amendments to World Boccia’s Articles of Association.
The new Athletes’ Committee will select an Athlete Representative to sit on the World Boccia Board, ensuring that the athletes have a formal voice in the organisation’s decision-making process.
The successful committee members will serve from the day after the closing ceremony in Seoul until the closing ceremony of the next World Boccia Championships in two years’ time.
The athlete vote follows the General Assembly’s own important board elections, with Marta Sofia Luis de Mascarenhas of Portugal and Richard Boele of Australia elected to the newly created Vice-President positions.
Elsa Matthee of South Africa and Wai Ki “Ricky” Lau of Hong Kong were also elected as Members at Large.
The elections are part of wider governance reforms designed to strengthen accountability, gender diversity, athlete representation and the range of skills available to World Boccia.
The organisation has also moved away from the traditional Treasurer role, replacing it with a Director of Finance, while plans are in place to appoint two more additional independent non-executive directors.
The new board faces an ambitious agenda, including strengthening World Boccia’s finances, expanding the sport into new territories, improving media and broadcast exposure and developing commercial partnerships.
There is also a strong focus on growing boccia in regions such as Africa, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, while improving youth pathways and support for emerging federations.
But before the full new governance structure takes shape, attention turns to the athletes themselves.
With six places available and 10 candidates competing, the Seoul championships will provide the stage for competitors to decide who they believe should represent their interests – and potentially help shape the future direction of world boccia from inside the boardroom.
