Your first archery competition: from entry to results

Are you ready for your first competition?

Start with a routine you can carry out in a competition setting: shoot the required number of arrows, follow the signals, walk safely to the target and record your score. Practise the whole round, including breaks and time limits. Discuss with your coach whether the distance and workload suit you, then choose one clear goal, such as following the same routine for every end.

Entry conditions vary between competitions. Check the invitation for your bow division, age category, distance and registration requirements. The description “open competition” does not answer all these questions on its own. If the invitation does not cover your circumstances, ask the organiser before entering.

Entering: what should you check in the invitation?

Look for events in the Lithuanian Archery Federation calendar. The invitation linked beside an event explains its programme and entry procedure; the results link often leads to IANSEO. Entering in advance and checking in at the venue on competition day are two separate steps.

The LLF competition regulationsrequire minors to have a health check and a medical certificate confirming it. Arrange the certificate in advance. If your club submits entries, agree who will enter you so that you do not register twice.

Check-in, equipment inspection and your target assignment

On arrival, confirm your entry and check your name, bow division and competition category on the start list. Find out where equipment inspection takes place and when official practice begins. Have your bow, arrows and accessories ready for inspection; follow the judges’ instructions for any spare equipment. Under World Archery rules, arrows must be marked with the athlete’s name or initials.

Find your target number and letter on the start list. For example, 7C means target butt 7 and position C. Before shooting, confirm which face and shooting detail are assigned to you. If the event uses AB/CD details, the announced pair goes to the line; seeing another archer start shooting is not enough to establish that it is your turn.

The Klaipėda Cup 2026 invitationillustrates these steps: check-in and equipment inspection were scheduled before the opening and official practice, followed by qualification and individual eliminations. Other events may use different times and sequences.

Official practice and shooting signals

Use official practice to check your assigned face, aim and equipment under competition conditions. Before scoring begins, listen to the director of shooting explain the details, time limits and signals. The event’s clocks or lights show the shooting time, and the director of shooting controls proceedings.

• Draw your bow only from the shooting line, towards the targets and with the director of shooting’s permission.
• When you finish your end, return behind the waiting line.
• Walk to the targets only on the appropriate signal, once shooting has stopped for everyone.
• Report any danger or equipment failure to a judge or the director of shooting immediately.

This follows the LLF event safety rules. At your first competition, ask for the signals to be explained beforehand so you can concentrate on your shots during scoring ends.

How do you score and record arrows?

The coloured scoring zones have set values. On outdoor 122 cm and 80 cm faces,X is the inner ten and is worth 10 points. A miss is recorded as Mand scores 0. An X does not earn bonus points: it helps separate archers with equal totals under the rules for the particular round.

1. On the signal, go to your target butt and agree the arrow values with the other archers.
2. Call your arrows from highest to lowest value; the appointed scorer records them on the scorecard.
3. Check the entries and end total. If there are two scorecards, or both paper and electronic scoring, cross-check them.
4. If an arrow shaft touches the line between scoring zones, it receives the higher value. If in doubt, call a judge before pulling the arrows.
5. Do not touch the arrows, face or butt until all arrow values on that butt have been recorded. Then pull the arrows carefully.

These procedures are set out in World Archery Book 3, chapters 12 and 15. If you make a recording error, resolve it and correct the entry before pulling the arrows; refer any disagreement to a judge. At the end, check the overall total, separately counted hits and required signatures.

Worked example: two outdoor ends of six arrows

This is an invented scoring example using X notation. It shows how to complete a scorecard; the actual number of arrows in an end is determined by your round.

First total: 10 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 0 = 44. Second total: 10 + 10 + 10 + 9 + 9 + 8 = 56. Across the two ends, there are 3 Xs and 2 tens outside the X ring — five arrows worth 10 points in total. In separate X and 10 (excluding X) fields, you would enter 3 and 2; in a “10+X” field, you would enter 5. Always read the field labels on your scorecard.

Scoring at 18 m differs: tens and nines are compared, and the compound ten ring on a 40 cm face is smaller than the recurve ten ring. Do not apply the outdoor X example to every target face. Face dimensions and scoring zones are given in World Archery Book 2, chapter 7.2.2.

Qualification and eliminations: how do the scores differ?

Qualification adds up the points from the scoring arrows. If eliminations are scheduled, that total determines your position in the match bracket. The following describes individual World Archery target events. After qualification, check whether you have advanced, the time of your next match and your new target number. Bye in the bracket means advancing to the next stage without an opponent in that stage.

For example, if your three arrows in a recurve set score 26 and your opponent scores 24, you receive 2 set points. If you both score 25 in the next set, you each receive 1: the match score becomes 3:1. In qualification, these ends would simply be added to the overall total. The formats are explained in World Archery’s target archery overview.

Reading IANSEO results: an example from Klaipėda

The IANSEO pagefor the Klaipėda Cup held on 15 August 2026lists start lists, qualification results, elimination brackets and final rankings separately. The winner of the men’s recurve qualification scored 635, but finished second in the final rankings. This is a concrete example of why qualification rank and final placing can differ.

The event’s qualification resultsshow 72 arrows, two halves of the round, Xs, tens and the overall total. Recurve archers shot at 70 m, while compound and barebow archers shot at 50 m. This was the programme for that particular event; when choosing another competition, read its own invitation.

Check your published result after competing. If you notice a discrepancy, contact the judges promptly, while it can still be resolved before the next stage or awards. Save the link to the final results and discuss one or two points with your coach for your next training session: the rhythm of an end, how you used your time or the accuracy of your score entries.

What should you pack and practise before travelling?

• Your checked bow, the required number of marked arrows, and the protective equipment and accessories you use.
• Entry information, required documents, a pen and the event programme.
• Sports clothing and shoes; for outdoor events, clothing suited to the weather, water and food for the day.
• A clear travel plan with time to spare; allow for the ferry crossing when travelling to Smiltynė.

Before the competition, rehearse one complete end at training: waiting, the signal, shooting, returning, walking to the target and completing the scorecard. If you are still choosing your first event,contact Klaipėda Archers and tell us which bow you use, the distance you shoot and how much shooting you currently do. This will help us discuss your readiness and a suitable competition format.