Archery
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About Archery
Archery is a sport where competitors use bows to shoot arrows at a target. It is an Olympic sport that has been enjoyed throughout the ages and since 1988, British archers have won 10 medals at the Olympic Games.
Alison Williamson, who won a bronze at Athens in 2004, has represented Britain at the last five Olympic Games. Team GB has also won 23 Paralympic medals since 1980, including four in Beijing.
Different forms of Archery
Target Archery - is the current Olympic form of the sport. This popular form of archery takes place on flat terrain and consists of shooting a given number of arrows, known as a round, at targets over distances of up to 100 yards for men and 80 yards for women. Juniors have their own special shorter distances depending on age. Indoor archery with its smaller target faces and closerdistances is very popular during the winter months.
Field Archery - takes place on a course of targets set out in rough country (often woodland). The shooting distances are frequently unmarked so that archers have to rely on judgement and instinct, particularly if they elect to shoot without sighting aids or with the traditional longbow.
Clout Archery - Similar to target, except that the archer attempts to drop arrows at long range (180 yards for the men and 140 yards for women) into a series of circular scoring zones on the ground surrounding a marker flag.
Flight Archery - A form of archery that can only take place where space permits since archers compete by shooting for sheer distance.
Objective
Archery is a sport where men, women and juniors from all sections of the community are encouraged to participate at all levels of the sport. It has also become increasingly popular with people with disabilities. The 'aim' of the sport is simple - archers must hit a target consisting of five coloured rings. The closer to the centre of the target the arrow lands, the more points are scored.
In Action!
Rules at a glance
Archery competitions can be held both indoor and outdoor and generally the rules will differ from competition to competition. Generally each competition will be divided into ends with each archer shooting either 3 or 6 arrows per end, depending on the type of round. For on indoor competition archers shoot 20 ends with 3 arrows in each end. The distance that archers will shoot from in an indoor competition vary from 18m to 25m. Outdoor distances range from 30m up to 90m, the Olympic games use a distance of 70m. All archers have a time limit per end to shoot their arrows and in a 3 arrow end this is generally 2 minutes under FITA rules.
Other rules are put in place to ensure the safety of the archers as the sport involves the use of potential lethal equipment. Competitors must wait for a command before they shoot and then must also wait for another signal before they can collect their arrows.
Useful links
ontarget – Our New Club Development Programme
At our development conference in October, we launched our new club development programme – ontarget. Details of the programme can be found on our website and all clubs and CSPs should now have received an ontarget brochure and FAQs (if not, please contact Arran).
Currently, approximately 50 clubs have signed up to ontarget. We are keen for clubs to join the programme, but only if they think it is right for them. There is no compulsion for them to join and we do want enthusiastic and positive clubs. One of the key messages is that the programme is a development programme and not an accreditation programme. It is not the finished product, but something that will evolve, as good development focussed clubs should see themselves.
For more information, please view the ontarget section of the Archery GB website.
Contacts
Archery GB -
Email: enquiries@archerygb.org
Telephone: 01952 677888
London Contacts
David Reader – National Development Manager
Kate Moss - National School and Young People Development Co-ordinator
Arran Coggan - National Club Development Co-ordinator
