All about indoor archery

Every training and competition is done indoors, in a very calm and controlled environment. But how is archery indoors practiced? What are the rules to follow? To answer all these questions, this article will talk about everything you need to know about indoor archery. 

The rules to follow for indoor archery practice

The first arrows of a new member of an archery club are often shot indoors. But to do this, there are rules to follow. 

For indoor archery, the official distance is 18 meters even if for several clubs, the distance is defined according to the level of the archers. Indeed, they can shoot at a distance of 10 meters or 15 meters.

For the archers of the youngest and minor categories, the size of the target is 60cm. For cadets, juniors and adults, the target size is 40 cm.

For indoor archery, we generally find two types of target faces:

• The target faces of 40 cm with scoring zones from 1 to 10 points
• The trispots target faces with scoring areas from 6 to 10 points.

The essentials to know about the shooting hall

In order to ensure the safety of all, some requirements are necessary for the development of the shooting hall.

The safety zone will be delimited by the perimeter walls of the hall with the various adjoining spaces. The surface of the shooting range must be adapted and follow the international standards. 

For the length, we distinguish two spaces which are :

• The free area behind the shooting range: at least 5 meters for safe training and 15 meters for training in a competition situation.
• The shooting range zone which is only accessible to the authorized persons. It can be from 18 meters to 30 meters.

 As far as width is concerned, the width of the shooting area must be 7.5 meters for a set up of 4 targets.

It should be noted that these measures are available for training, practice and even competitions.

The necessary components to design a shooting hall adapted to the practice

The design of the shooting hall must conform to the standards and construction rules applicable. 

• Dimensions: the recommended length is 35 meters, the recommended width is 7.5 meters and the height must be at least 3 meters.
• Lighting: it is mandatory to have natural lighting to avoid glare on the target or on the shooting range. You could also use artificial lighting.
• Heating: it is very useful to adjust the temperature.
• Acoustics: for a good transmission of sounds in all points of the hall.

What equipment is necessary for indoor shooting?

For a good reception of the arrows, a target adapted to all types of bows must be installed in the shooting range. You can choose either a fixed or a mobile target.

For the safety of the archers and for their protection, it is important to place mobile panels in order to share the space.

How does an indoor archery competition work?

During an indoor archery competition, each archer shoots 20 flights of 3 arrows, for a total of 60 counted arrows. At the end of the 10th flight, there is a break before the next flights begin. The maximum score is 600 points.

Just like outdoor shooting, an indoor archery competition can have a final round. To determine the finalists, archers will be ranked according to their points. The archers will then meet in a duel and the best one wins the duel. The loser will be eliminated and so on.

It should be noted that a warm-up at the distance is planned before the shooting starts.