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Everything you need to know about indoor archery

5 archers doing indoor archery

Each training session and competition takes place indoors, in complete silence and with respect for the discipline. But how does indoor archery work? What are the disciplines to follow? To answer all these questions, in this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about indoor archery practice. 

The disciplines to follow for indoor archery practice

A new practitioner's first arrows in an archery club are often shot indoors. But to do this, certain disciplines must be followed.

For indoor archery, the official distance is 18 meters, although for some clubs, the distance is defined according to the archers' level. Indeed, they can shoot from a distance of 10 meters or 15 meters.

For young archers in the benjamin and minime categories, the target size is 60cm. While for cadet, junior, and adult categories, the target size is 40 cm.

For indoor archery, we generally find two types of targets:

  • 40 cm targets with scoring zones from 1 to 10 points
  • Triple spot targets with scoring zones from 6 to 10 points.

Essential information about the shooting range

To ensure everyone's safety, certain conditions are required for indoor shooting setup.

The safety perimeter will be defined by the peripheral walls of the room with the different adjacent spaces. The shooting range area must be adapted and follow international standards. 

For the length, we distinguish two spaces which are:

  • The free circulation zone behind the shooting line: minimum 5 meters for safe training and 15 meters for competition training.
  • The shooting area which is only accessible to authorized persons. It can be from 18 meters to 30 meters.

 Regarding width, the shooting area width should be 7.5 meters for setting up 4 targets.

It should be noted that these measurements are valid for learning, training, and competitions.

The necessary elements for designing a suitable practice facility

The design of the shooting range must comply with current construction standards and rules. 

  • Dimensions: the recommended length is 35 meters, the recommended width is 7.5 meters, and the height must reach at least 3 meters.
  • Lighting: natural lighting is mandatory to avoid glare zones on the target or shooting line. You could also install artificial lighting.
  • Heating: it's very useful for adjusting the temperature.
  • Acoustics: for good sound transmission throughout the room.

What equipment is needed for indoor archery?

For proper arrow reception, a target suitable for all types of bows must be installed in the shooting range. You could therefore opt for fixed targets or mobile targets.

To ensure the safety of archers and their protection, it is important to set up mobile panels to divide the spaces.

How does an indoor archery competition work?

During an indoor competition, archers each shoot 20 ends of 3 arrows, totaling 60 scored arrows. After the 10th end, there is a break before resuming the next ends. The maximum score is 600 points.

Like outdoor shooting, an indoor archery competition can include a final phase. To determine the finalists, archers will be ranked according to their points. Archers will then meet in duels and the best wins the duel. The loser will be eliminated and so on.

Note that a warm-up at distance is planned before shooting begins.