Archery is a challenging and enjoyable sport that dates back thousands of years. It has many different forms, each with unique rules and competitions. In this blog post, we’ll explore the various types of archery competitions available today, from indoor target shooting to 3D archery. Whether you’re looking for a casual way to enjoy archery or are interested in competing at a higher level, there’s something here for everyone! Read on to discover the different types of archery competitions and find out which one is best suited to your skill set.
Indoor Target Archery
Indoor archery competitions involve shooting a round of arrows at a target from a fixed distance, usually between 18m and 25 yds (events can occur at metric and imperial distances. There are a variety of different target faces used in indoor archery, and a list of all the different rounds can be found here on the Archers of Raunds website. Indoor events are held in various venues such as school gymnasiums to large event arenas.
Outdoor Target Archery
Outdoor target archery is the most common type and the one most people think of. Outdoor archery also has a wide variety of different rounds archers can shoot. These can be on different face sizes, distances and scoring rules. The World Archery 720 is the standard for all World Archery events and the Olympic games and is shot at a distance of 70m on a 122cm face. A list of outdoor rounds can also be found here.
Field Archery
Field archery is a form of outdoor archery that involves shooting at targets set at varying distances, heights and angles around a course. The target faces differ from those used for target archery. Field archery targets have a gold centre with black rings for different scoring values. Archers are drawn to field archery because of its changing terrain, and it is often shot in wooded areas with challenging but fun targets. It is a popular discipline of the sport of archery in the United Kingdom and in many parts of the world.
Clout Archery
Clout archery is a form of archery in which participants score points based on how close their arrows land to the flag. Archers shoot at the flag from a distance and can score points depending on which scoring zone the arrow enters. The ground may be marked with the radii for each scoring zone, or a rope or chain may be attached to the flag pole to indicate them. Distances in clout archery are significantly further than those of target archery and can go up to distances of 185m! Rounds are typically composed of three dozen arrows, shot in ends of 6 arrows each. Tournaments involve a double clout round with six dozen arrows being shot.
3D Archery
3D archery is a form of archery that requires shooting skills and the ability to estimate distances accurately. 3D archery is similar to field archery in that you move around to different targets set at varying distances, heights and sizes. Targets used for 3D archery come in the form of life-size animals and are marked with scoring rings which award different points depending on size. In a match, the player with the highest points after throwing at a set number of targets is the winner. 3D archery is practised both recreationally and competitively.
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