Target Archery Rules

The bow and arrow may have been invented as early as 50,000 BC in Africa, and early archery was a skill for hunting and warfare. The first Olympic archery competition took place in 1900 AD. The first women were allowed to compete in target archery in 1904. Today an international organization, FITA, Federation Internationale de Tir a L'Arc (International Archery Federation) sets the rules and monitors Olympic archery competitions. Many amateur archery events follow or adapt FITA rules.

  1. Indoor and Outdoor Rules

    • The main differences between indoor and outdoor target archery regulations are distances and target size. Outdoor targets are set from 30 meters to 90 meters from the shooting line and Olympic distance rules mandate 70 meters. Indoor measure from the shooting line to the target is between 18 to 25 meters. Each "turn" is called an end and there are 20 ends per round in indoor competitions. Each end is from three to six arrows--indoor competitions allow three arrows per end, to be released within a two-minute time limit, and outdoor competitions may allow the shooter to use as many as six arrows per end.

    Safety Rules

    • As archery is a potentially lethal sport, safety rules are paramount. First, archers and spectators must observe the shooting zones and safety zones. Archers must stay within regulation personal space limits when preparing to shoot; must shoot with feet straddling the line--one front, one back; must not nock an arrow if there is a shooter in front of the line; may not discharge an arrow if anyone is downrange; must remain in place until the shooting archer has released his/her arrow, and must not collect arrows while other archers are shooting. A particularly important rule is to call "Hold!" if there are any unsafe conditions, and to lower the bow and unnock and remove the arrow immediately if the command "Hold!" is called. Shooters must wait for the command to shoot and the command to retrieve before releasing and collecting their arrows.

    Scoring Rules and Regulation Targets

    • Targets are marked with ten colored, evenly-spaced concentric rings. Each ring has two bands and each band is worth from one to ten points--the closer to the center of the target, the smaller the ring and the higher the number of points. The center ring is called the X ring and is worth ten points in indoor competition and is used as a tiebreaker in outdoor competitions. The colors of the rings are: white for the two outermost rings (rings one and two); black for rings three and four; blue for rings five and six; red for rings seven and eight; and gold for rings nine and 10. No arrow may be touched before or during scoring. An arrow that lands on the line between rings is counted as the higher ring score. An archer's score is the sum of the points the arrows hit. Regulation target sizes and distances are smaller and shorter indoors than out. Olympic matches use 122cm targets and distances of 70 or 90 meters.