30/07/2026
✅ Major Recognition: Spyros Bakas Elected to the World Traditional Archery Federation Board (WTAF)
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The ΑΣΤ Κορύβαντες / Koryvantes Archery Club is pleased to announce that its Vice President, Spyros Bakas, PhD Candidate in Archaeology at Masaryk University and specialist in ancient Greek archery, has been elected to the Board of the World Traditional Archery Federation (WTAF) and simultaneously appointed as a member of the Federation’s Academic and Scientific Committee.
👉 https://wtafederation.org/page/bod
👉 https://wtafederation.org/profile/spyridon-bakas
The Board of Directors serves as the supreme executive body of the WTAF, responsible for implementing the decisions of the General Assembly and guiding the strategic development of traditional archery at a global level. The Academic and Scientific Committee, in parallel, coordinates international research initiatives, documentation projects, and scholarly activities related to the history, equipment, and theory of traditional archery.
The "World Traditional Archery Federation," established under Swiss Civil Law and officially founded on 1 November 2025, is the international governing body for traditional archery. Headquartered in Ulsan, Republic of Korea, it was founded by 31 member countries and one observer member. Guided by the principles of tradition, research, community, and inclusiveness, the Federation works to safeguard traditional archery as living cultural heritage while promoting its development as a modern cultural sport within an international framework. Its long-term vision includes cooperation with leading global cultural and sporting institutions, including the International Olympic Committee.
Its governing bodies and twelve technical committees bring together leading figures of world traditional archery, including President Kim Chang-soon, Vice Presidents Cüneyt Öztan and Dr. Attila Gyula Racz, and representatives from numerous countries worldwide, under the coordination of Secretary General Zafer Metin Ataş (Türkiye). https://wtafederation.org/page/committees
✅ Spyros Bakas is an ancient warfare specialist and a PhD Candidate in Archaeology at Masaryk University (Czech Republic). He holds an M.A. in Archaeology from the University of Warsaw (Poland), with a focus on Bronze Age warfare, military equipment, armor, and tactics.
For nearly two decades, he has been actively involved in traditional archery, combining academic research with hands-on practice, competition, and experimental reconstruction. His work bridges scholarship and experiment, with particular emphasis on the tactical, operational, and material dimensions of ancient Greek archery, as well as the reconstruction and testing of ancient bows and archery equipment.
He serves as Secretary General of the KORYVANTES Association of Historical Studies and as Vice President of the KORYVANTES Archery Club. He is also a trainee judge with the Hellenic Archery Federation (World Archery). In 2019, he was awarded the International EXARC Twinning Award for Experimental Archaeology for his research on the Bronze Age “Sintashta composite bow.”
The Koryvantes Organisation warmly congratulates Spyros Bakas and wishes him every success in this important international role.🙏
More information about the Federation, here : https://wtafederation.org/
