So you’re somewhat new to archery and you’re looking into entering your first archery tournament – but where do you start? There’s a lot of information out there that can make it a bit confusing to figure out exactly how these things work.
Well look no further, this guide is just for you. I’ve tried to cover everything you need to know to not only understand how archery tournaments work, but how to get started shooting in them yourself.
First off, we’ll need to figure out exactly which type of tournaments you’re interested in. As far as tournaments go, there are three main types of archery: Target archery, field archery and 3D archery, respectively. I’m not including hunting and traditional archery as I’m not aware of any tournaments for either of them.
Regardless of what type of tournaments you’re interested in, you’ll want to bring one of these – it’ll come in handy for lots of things throughout the day.
Let’s take a look at each one, and how their respective tournaments work:
Target Archery
Probably the most well known and popularized type of archery is target archery. Target archery is what you’re looking at when you watch Olympic archery on TV. In fact it’s the only type of archery that’s shot in the Olympics.
What Bows are Used in Target Archery?
In target archery archers shoot mainly recurve bows and compound bows. However, only recurve bows are used in Olympic archery. In some instances other types of bows may be used – but for the most part target archery is down to recurve bow and compound bows.
The good news for newer archers is that only a few tournaments have any stipulations as to who can enter. So in most cases, you can enter almost any tournament you like.
Plus, most of these tournaments are also pretty laid back, so you shouldn’t feel intimidated or too much pressure when you compete. Many of these also actively encourage newer, less experienced archers to enter.
If you’re not sure whether or not you’re good enough to enter your first tournament yet, just use the following guideline. When you practice shoot, are you hitting the target most of the time?
If your arrows are consistently landing on the target, not the bullseye, just the target itself – it’s time for you to enter your first tournament. So just pay the (usually small) entry fee and sign up.
If you’re not sure what tournaments are in your area or available for you to shoot in, there are a few ways you can find out. A quick search online for something like: “archery tournament your city, your state” should turn up some good information.
Alternatively, you can always hit your local archery shop, if there’s one in your area. They’ll be the ones who’ll know about all of the local tournaments, as well as other tournaments and events in surrounding states.
Also, if you have an archery club nearby – ask around there too. Even if you’re not a member of the club, most archery club members tend to be pretty laid back and helpful to beginner archers looking to get into the sport.
Target Archery Tournaments
In target archery there are both indoor and outdoor tournaments, obviously the outdoor tournaments are shot during the warmer months of the year. During the winter months, the tournaments move indoors and the distances shot may vary a bit from the outdoor tournaments.
Generally you’ll be shooting at targets that are placed around twenty yards from each archer. In outdoor tournaments, however, you’ll be shooting at targets at several different distances away.
In target archery, outdoor tournaments will feature distances from thirty to ninety meters for men and thirty to seventy meters for women. While indoor target distances tend to be either eighteen or twenty five meters away from the archer.
In both indoor and outdoor target archery, tournaments are split up into rounds. These “rounds” will be called by different names, depending on where you’re competing. They could have different names if you’re in the United States, the United Kingdom or Australia. You can check the web site of the organization that runs any tournament that you’re thinking of competing in if you want to find out for sure.
In target archery, the organization that oversees all of the tournaments, rules and regulations is the World Archery Federation or WA. The WA also oversees Olympic target archery rules as well.
Many competitions are split up into what are called “ends”. In each end, every archer will shoot either three or six arrows. Exactly how many will vary from competition to competition.
Then all of the competing archers will head to the targets to score their shots. Typically, an indoor target archery competition will last for twenty total ends with three arrows shot in each one.
There is a time limit in these competitions, and all of the competitors will shoot until the end is over. Archers will then shoot at the next target distance, shooting at all of the various distances until the competition is done. There’s usually a break for a few minutes about half way into each tournament.
Be Aware of the Whistle
Whistles are used to signal the archers, and for safety reasons, so it’s very important that you pay attention to any whistles your hear and know what the whistle codes mean.
Two whistles tells all competitors to step up to the shooting line. A single whistle lets the archers know that they can start shooting. You are not permitted to move beyond the shooting line until all competitors have finished shooting.
Once you hear three whistles you can approach the target and retrieve your arrows. If you’re ever in a position where you feel out of place or you’re not sure what to do – just have a look at what the other archers are doing. It could help a beginner from committing a tournament faux pas.
How Long Do Archery Tournaments Last?
For the most part, target archery tournaments tend to take about three or four hours to complete, but they can sometimes go on even longer. As a general rule, plan on spending the day at any tournament you enter, just to be on the safe side.
Target Archery Tournament Scoring
The circle within a circle type of target used in target archery is scored quite simply. The scores run from ten down to one, with the scores getting lower the further away from the center of the target you hit. Each different colored section away from the bullseye your arrow hits, the score gets lower.
The “bullseye” is worth ten points and is mainly referred to as the X ring, as there’s a little X on it if you look closely. It’s also used for tie breakers – whoever shoots closest to the X wins.
The only difference is in tournaments or competitions using AGB rules. In AGB rules, the different scoring areas are worth nine, seven, five, three and one, respectively.
Competitors will score each end of the tournament by adding up the total score of all of their shots through the entire competition, and the winners are announced.
Field Archery Tournaments
In field archery, tournaments can also be shot indoors and out. One of the differences, however, is that while you may be shooting in a straight line – you will also be shooting at targets that are uphill, downhill and more.
The added challenge of shooting at various distances, angles and target that may be partially obscured is part of what makes field archery so interesting. The targets may or may not have marked distances – meaning you may have to judge the yardage yourself. The extra skill and talent it takes to shoot field archery is sometimes called fieldcraft.
Normally, outdoor field archery is shot in small groups of archers, each taking turns shooting. You will walk a course outdoors, stopping to shoot at each target along the course.
In field archery you’ll be shooting at one of three different types of targets, depending on which type of “rounds” you’re shooting. There are hunter rounds, field rounds and animal rounds, each with their own unique targets and scoring.
If you’re interested in field archery, I wrote a guide all about it here.
What Bows are Used in Field Archery?
In field archery, archers may shoot recurve bows, compound bows and longbows. If you’re shooting a recurve or compound bow, you’ll want one of these to keep your bow tuned up throughout the day.
There are two main divisions or competition classes in field archery: Individual and team class. There are some other classes that aren’t as frequently shot, and are a bit beyond the scope of this guide.
Field Archery Individual Tournaments
In individual competition tournaments archers will shoot forty eight targets over the course of two days. The first day they’ll shoot twenty four targets at various marked distances, while on the second day they’ll be shooting at targets of unknown distances.
Both recurve and compound bow archers will shoot three arrows at each target, with their shooting line being marked by red stakes. Longbow archers will shoot the same three arrows per target, shooting from behind blue stakes, which are closer to the targets to compensate for the reduced shooting power of longbows compared to recurves or compound bows.
The archers are scored on the total of all of their shots for the entire forty eight target tournament. The top sixteen will then move on to the first of the elimination rounds, in which they’ll three arrows per archer at twelve targets with marked distances.
Once the first elimination round is scored, the top eight archers will then progress to the second elimination round. In the second elimination round the remaining archers will shoot three arrows at eight targets with marked distances.
Once that round is scored, the top four archers will continue to the semi finals, where they’ll compete for the bronze and gold medals. Any ties are resolved with a shoot off – where whoever shoots closer to the X ring wins.
Field Archery Team Tournaments
In team tournaments, men and women are split into their own divisions. After which, three archers of each bow style are put together into teams. So there are teams of three that consist of one recurve archer, one compound archer and one longbow archer.
All of the archers shoot in head to head elimination rounds, similar to individual tournaments. In these tournaments, the competition starts at the quarterfinal stage.
The best eight teams will shoot three arrows at each target, one from each archer on the team. They start by shooting at eight targets with marked distances.
The top teams will then move on to the semifinals, in which the two losing teams of the semifinal will compete for the bronze medal – while the winning teams compete for the gold medal.
These rounds are made up of four targets with marked distances, any ties will be resolved the same as in individual tournaments, as mentioned above.
NFAA Field Tournaments
The National Field Archery Association, or NFAA, have their own tournament rules which can get quite complicated at times and are a bit beyond the scope of this guide. If you’re interested, you can check out their rules here.
As with any archery tournament, if you’re at all confused as to what’s going on – don’t be afraid to ask. You may be surprised at how many of your fellow archers would be happy to show you the ropes.
3D Archery Tournaments
My own personal favorite type of archery, 3D archery has it’s own tournaments for 3D archers. These can also be shot indoors or out, and have their own sets of rules.
There are both smaller, more laid back local tournaments as well as the large tournaments in which the pros compete for bigger prizes. Both can be a lot of fun to shoot. If you do hit a 3D tournament, be sure to bring along one of these, it’ll make life a lot easier.
There are lots of smaller local clubs and organizations across the country, but the ASA and the IBO are the two big ones. Most 3D tournaments and shoots base their rules on one or the other.
If you want more info on 3D tournaments, check out this guide I wrote about how 3D archery shoots work here.
I hope I’ve cleared up any questions you may have had about archery tournaments and how they work. It may seem confusing or overwhelming at first to beginner archers, but it’s really nothing to stress over.
Enter yourself in your first tournament – you’ll learn a lot pretty quickly. If you don’t feel up to it yet, why not attend a few and just watch? You’ll at least get a feel for how they run, and you may find that it even makes you more encouraged to compete in a tournament yourself.
Good luck on the journey to your first tournament, they’re really a lot of fun – so get out there and get shooting!