Archery Rounds
An archery “round” means shooting a certain number of arrows (usually measured in dozens), over one or more distances, at different sizes of target face. Shooting rounds is a good way to assess your own improvement over the weeks and months as well as building up stamina to shoot more arrows at longer distances.
As well as being a skill, archery is a sport where archers can compete against one another or as teams in competition.
Either way, it’s helpful to understand the rounds that can be shot, how to assess handicaps and what classifications or awards can be gained as an incentive to improvement.
Archers in the UK shoot rounds in both imperial measurements and metric. Imperial rounds are measured in yards whilst metric rounds are measured in metres. These measurements are the distances from the centre of the gold to the shooting line. For all rounds, imperial or metric, the longest distance is shot first and the target moved forwards, finishing with the shortest distance (if applicable).
Below are tables showing the most common indoor and outdoor rounds that you can shoot at our club. For more detailed information please check the latest Rules of Shooting and Shooting Administrative Procedures on the Archery GB website. Alternatively, do ask any experienced archers in attendance if you want to know more about rounds and scoring.
We have put together tables of all the officially recognised rounds in the links below. Each table shows the target face size/type, scoring method, distance(s), and how many dozen arrows are shot at each distance.
Scoring
There are a few differences in how rounds are scored and the rules that apply are summarised below.
Indoor Scoring
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Ten-zone scoring (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1) for both metric and imperial (except Worcester and Vegas)
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10s count as gold (inner 2 rings for all bowstyle except compound)
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Only X ring counts as 10 for compounds
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No Xs recorded on scoresheet
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3 arrows shot per end (except for Worcesters which are 5 arrow ends)
IOutdoor Scoring - Metric
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45 minutes of practice is allowed (usually 2-3 ends)
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Unlimited arrows per end in practice
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Ten-zone scoring (X,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1)
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X and 10 count as golds
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6 arrows shot per end
Outdoor Scoring - Imperial
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Only 6 sighters at the first distance - no more sighters when you change distances
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Five-zone scoring (9,7,5,3,1)
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9s are golds
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6 arrows shot per end
Completing a score sheet
For all scoring schemes, if an arrow is touching the line between two scoring zones (a line cutter) then the higher score is recorded.
As each end is shot the arrows are scored with the highest scoring arrows first. All misses are marked as an 'M'. For outdoor metric scoring, the inner gold is recorded as an 'X'.
The score sheet usually shows the following information:
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Name, date and bow style
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Each 'End' with the total of the arrows in a single end (usually 3 indoors or 6 outdoors)
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Each ‘Dozen’ total
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The 'Hits' are the number of scoring arrows in the dozen.
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The 'Golds' are the number of 9s in a dozen for five zone scoring, or the number of 10s in the dozen for 10 zone scoring. Note: 9s do not count as a gold when using 10 zone scoring. X may be recorded separately if an outdoor metric round.
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The 'Total' is the running total.
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The distance totals record the same information but for all arrows at each distance.
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The round totals record the same information but for all arrows in the round.
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Once completed the scorer signs followed by the archer.
There are a variety of archery scoring apps available which enable you to score using your phone. These apps also calculate your handicap. In competition, you have to use paper score sheets so it's good to get used to completing these.
Below are examples of completed score sheets for a Hereford (outdoor) and WA 25m (indoor) (signatures removed for security).
Submitting your scores
Submit your scores via email to the records officers.
All score submissions need to have the following information - scores submitted without this info won't be recorded by the club:
Archer's Name
Date shot
Round
Location (Pembrey or Kidwelly)
Bow style
Score
Hits
Golds (10s only unless shooting imperial outdoor rounds)
Xs (Xs not counted for indoor rounds)
The records officers ask that all scores for a month are submitted by the end of the first week of the following month. This will help them to keep accurate monthly handicap records and ensure awards are handed out in a timely manner. Scores not submitted on time may not be recorded by the club.