As part of a five-year deal with Leverade, a company that specialises in sports data and blockchain technology, the governing body is seeking to develop exclusive NFT trophies for archery.

Ten digital awards will be presented to winners of this year’s Athlete of the Year prizes in December, following an online public vote.

Prizes are up for grabs in the athlete of the year category, categories for recurve men, recurve women, compound men, compound women, Para men and Para women, and special awards for breakout performance, coach and judge of the year.

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."

NFTs are digital blockchain records that can be used to trace the ownership of a physical or virtual file.

After they receive the NFT trophies, athletes then have the option to sell parts of the NFTs through a bespoke marketplace.

"This partnership between Leverade and World Archery is a significant step towards the future of the sport," said Leverade chief executive Antonio Romero.

"We are proud to be the technological partner of World Archery and deliver digital trophies in NFT format to its athletes."

World Archery is also set to announce its first two inductees to its new Hall of Fame during the awards.

Last month, Leverade partnered with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) as part of a two-year agreement that is set to see winners of the Baseball5 World Cup and WBSC Virtual Cup receive digital medals and trophies in an NFT format, alongside traditional prizes.