Whether you’re stepping onto a competition line for the first time or you’ve got a few shoots under your belt, knowing the etiquette of target archery matters. It keeps everyone safe, keeps the day running smoothly and shows respect to your fellow archers.
This guide covers both the formal rules set by Archery GB and World Archery, and the unwritten social norms that experienced archers follow without thinking. Read it before your first competition. Revisit it before every season.
Good competition etiquette starts before you even step out of the car.
Know the round you’re shooting. Check the schedule in advance. Know whether you’re shooting indoors or outdoors, how many arrows per end and what distance you’ll be shooting at. Turning up without this information wastes everyone’s time, including yours.
Arrive early. Give yourself time to register, set up your equipment, sight in (if practice ends are available) and get familiar with the venue. Rushing onto the line is stressful for you and disruptive for everyone else.
Mark your arrows. Archery GB rules require that all arrows are marked on the shaft with your name or initials (do not put your initials on the arrows fletches as they can come off). All arrows used in the same end, and any spare arrows, must carry the same pattern and colour of fletching, nocks and wrap. Do this before you leave home.
Check your equipment. At record status shoots, all equipment is subject to inspection. Make sure your bow and arrows comply with the rules for your bowstyle. If you’re unsure, ask one of your club’s coaches before the shoot, not on the day. To find out more view the Rules of Shooting document, which can be found in the Member Resources section, when you log into your ArcheryGB account.
At record status shoots, dress matters. Many clubs have registered club clothing and colours, which you can wear. Eagle Bowmen’s club colours are black and red, and if wearing club kit, your trousers should be black. Most importantly, your clothing must be appropriate, clean and in good condition.
Here are the key points to remember:
If you are uncertain about what to wear, wear your club shirt. It is almost always appropriate and shows you are proud to represent your club.
Every competition is controlled by whistle or beep signals. These are not suggestions. They are formal commands that all archers must follow.
The standard whistle/beep commands are:
Some venues use traffic lights alongside whistles/beeps, particularly at higher-level competitions. If you are unsure of the system being used at any competition, ask the Tournament Organiser (TO) or a judge before the shoot begins.
If you are shooting at a competition for the first time, you will notice several lines marked on the ground behind you. Each one has a specific purpose. Knowing what they are and what you should be doing at each one will help you feel far more confident on the day.
Here is a guide to each line, working from the targets back towards the spectator area.
This line sits 3 metres in front of the shooting line, between you and the targets. You will not normally stand here or pay much attention to it, but it matters in one specific situation.
If you shoot an arrow and it drops to the ground within this 3-metre zone (for example, if it falls off the string before it has properly cleared the bow), that arrow is deemed not to have been shot. You are entitled to shoot a replacement arrow under the supervision of a judge. If your arrow drops behind the shooting line, it is simply a dropped arrow and is treated differently.
This is the most important line on the range. All shooting takes place from this line. Your feet must be either side of the shooting line when you shoot. You must not step in front of the shooting line for any reason until the three-blast whistle/beeps have been given to score and collect arrows.
When it is your detail’s turn to shoot, you approach the shooting line and stand either side of your target number (this will be in the ground) – A and C will stand on the left hand side, and B and D will stand on the right hand side. A and B stand either side of the number for odd-numbered ends; C and D do the same on even-numbered ends.
The waiting line sits at least 5 metres behind the shooting line. This is where you wait when it is not your detail’s turn to shoot. You must stay behind the waiting line until the whistle signals your detail to approach the shooting line. When the other detail is on the line shooting, you wait here quietly. You can talk, check your score, and relax behind the waiting line, but be mindful of archers who are still concentrating on the line ahead of you.
Waiting behind this line is not optional. Crossing the waiting line while the other detail is shooting is a breach of the rules.
If the space available is restricted, this distance can be reduced to 3 metres, but safety must not be compromised.
Behind the waiting line there is an equipment line. Bows should be placed behind this line when not in use. Use a bow stand to keep your bow upright and off the ground. Leaving your bow on the grass between the waiting line and the shooting line creates a trip hazard for other archers moving to and from the line.
Not every competition will have this line explicitly marked on the ground, but the principle is the same wherever you shoot.
The tent line is the furthest back of the marked lines. All personal shelters, pop-up tents and canopies must be pitched behind this line. Be considerate when setting up: leave enough space between tents for other archers to pass comfortably, and make sure your guy ropes and pegs are not creating hazards in walkways.
Your personal kit (bag, food, drinks, chairs) sits in the area behind the equipment line and in front of or behind the tent line, depending on the space available.
This is where safety and etiquette overlap most directly.
Stay behind the waiting line until the whistle/beep signals your detail to approach the shooting line. Never step forward of the shooting line for any reason until the three-blast signal is given, even if you have dropped an arrow.
Do not nock an arrow or draw your bow except when you are on the shooting line and the signal to shoot has been given.
Be aware of your neighbours. When you have finished shooting check that the archers either side of you aren’t at full draw. If they are, then wait on the shooting line until they have completed their shot before you leave. This is good practice and shows respect to those archers around you.
Do not talk loudly whilst others are shooting. A quiet word with your target partner is fine. Loud conversation, commentary or excessive noise on the line is not.
If you need a judge, step away from the shooting line and raise your bow or your hand above your head. This is the correct way to attract a judge’s attention on the shooting line without disrupting others.
Never shoot when anyone is within the safety area in front of the shooting line, regardless of the circumstances.
Equipment failures happen to every archer sooner or later. A string snaps mid-end, a nock splits on release, a sight works loose, or your tab tears. None of these situations disqualify you. But how you handle them matters, both for the rules and for the archers around you.
An equipment failure is a visible, verifiable problem with your bow or arrows that prevents you from shooting safely or correctly. Common examples include:
Shooting a poor end because you were nervous or misjudged your form is not an equipment failure. If you are not sure whether your situation qualifies, your judge will make that call.
One important rule: you cannot re-shoot arrows you have already shot, even if you believe the failure affected those shots. Only unshot arrows from that end are eligible for make-up shooting.
The 15-minute rule and make-up arrow allowance applies to Archery GB competitions and most standard UK competitions. At World Archery World Ranking events (such as World Cups and World Championships), the rules are different. No extra time is granted for equipment failure at those events. The archer leaves the line, deals with the problem and returns to use whatever time remains on the clock. This is why international-level archers often travel with a fully set-up spare bow.
For club-level and county competitions, you will almost always be under the Archery GB rules, so the 15-minute provision applies.
The best way to handle an equipment failure is to reduce the chance of one happening. Before any competition:
15 minutes sounds like a long time. In practice, when you are flustered on a competition line with people watching, it goes very quickly.
All shooting at competitions is timed.
If you have not shot all your arrows when the two-blast whistle sounds to signal the end of the shooting time, you must step back from the line. Any unshot arrows are not scored.
If you lose an arrow (for example, a dry fire or a bounce-out), or your equipment fails during an end, raise your bow and wait for a judge. Do not attempt to resolve the situation yourself without official guidance.
When you register for a competition, you will be assigned to a target and given a position letter: A, B, C or D. These letters are not just labels. They define when you shoot and what role you play during scoring.
Outdoor target archery uses a two-detail shooting system. This is how it works:
For odd-numbered ends (1st, 3rd, 5th and so on):
For even-numbered ends (2nd, 4th, 6th and so on):
This rotation continues throughout the entire round. The reason for alternating is straightforward: it gives every archer an equal chance to shoot at a fresh, undamaged target face. Arrows already in the boss from the first detail do not obstruct the view or the scoring of the second detail.
On your scorecard, names are filled in the order A, B, C and D. If you are not sure which detail you are in, check your scorecard before the round begins.
At most outdoor competitions, you will share a boss with the archers assigned to your target. If numbers are high, the competition organiser may use an A, B and C line simultaneously, with three archers on the shooting line at the same time. Indoors, the arrangement is slightly different: archers are ordered A, C, B, D across the target faces to ensure that arrows from adjacent archers are not too close together in the air.
Two of the four archers on each target hold specific scoring responsibilities.
The archer in the C position is the Target Captain. This is a formal role with real responsibility. The Target Captain records the scores for all arrows shot on that target.
One important rule: the scorer must not record their own arrows. When Archer C calls their own arrows, another archer on the target takes over the recording. However, if double scoring is taking place then Archer C can record their own arrows.
If it makes more sense for a different archer to take the role of Target Captain, for example if Archer C is very inexperienced and Archer A has years of competition experience, the roles can be swapped by agreement among all archers on that target. The key principle is that whoever holds the role carries the responsibility accurately.
The archer in the D position acts as the Lieutenant. Their job is to double-check that the scores being recorded are correct. At competitions where PDAs (electronic scoring devices) or running slips are in use, the Lieutenant will also maintain a secondary record of the scores simultaneously with the Target Captain. In the event of any discrepancy between a written score and a secondary score, the written primary scorecard takes precedence.
Archers A and B are not passive during scoring. They serve as score checkers, listening carefully as each arrow value is called and confirming that what is written matches what they see. If A or B disagrees with a score being called or recorded, they should say so clearly and calmly before the arrows are pulled.
A and B are also responsible for pulling the arrows from the target once all scores have been called, agreed and recorded. However, do check with the other archers that they are happy for you to pull their arrows. When pulling arrows, grip the shaft firmly against the boss with one hand while pulling with the other to avoid bending them. If an arrow is buried deeply, ask your target companion to help by supporting the boss from the other side. Take care with aluminium or aluminium-carbon arrows in particular, as these bend more easily than full carbon shafts.
Once a score is written down, it can only be changed by a judge, and only before the arrows have been removed. Once the arrows are out, the score stands.
Scoring is one of the areas where etiquette and formal rules are most closely linked. Get this wrong and you risk losing points, or causing a dispute.
Wait for the three-blasts before approaching the targets. Only archers and judges are permitted to walk to the targets. If a spectator or non-archer wishes to approach, they must first get permission from a judge.
Do not touch the arrows, the target face or the boss until all scores have been called, agreed and recorded. Under both Archery GB and World Archery rules, once written down, arrow values can only be changed by a judge, and only before the arrows have been removed from the target.
Call your scores in descending order and in groups of three. For example: “10, 9, 9” pause “8, 7, 6”. As you call each score, point to the nock of the arrow. Do not touch the arrow or wobble it. In a serious competition, touching an arrow before it has been scored and recorded can result in that arrow being forfeited.
Do not touch the target face. If you adjust or accidentally touch the face around a line-cutter, any arrow on or near that line will be scored at the lower value.
Scores must be recorded in blue or black ink. Pencil and erasable ballpoint are not acceptable. Scoring systems must also prevent any archer from being the sole recorder of their own score.
If the archers on your target disagrees about a arrow value, call a judge. Do not argue amongst yourselves or attempt to change the position of an arrow.
A line-cutter (sometimes called a line-breaker) is one of the most common scoring situations you will encounter at a competition.
Both Archery GB and World Archery follow the same principle: if the shaft of an arrow touches any dividing line between two scoring zones, that arrow scores the higher of the two values.
To put it simply: if you are on the line, you get the better score.
This applies to both scoring systems used in UK target archery:
The rule is based on the position of the shaft, not the point of the arrow. If any part of the shaft visibly touches or crosses the dividing line, it is a line-cutter and scores the higher value.
If no colour is visible between the shaft and the dividing line, it is a line-cutter. If there is a clear gap of colour visible between the shaft and the line, it is not.
On a well-used target face, the printed lines can be pushed aside, torn or obscured by previous arrows. If the dividing line is no longer visible, an imaginary continuation of that circular line is used to judge the arrow’s position. In practice, this is a call for a judge.
If you are calling your own arrows and you genuinely are not certain whether one of your arrows is a line-cutter, call it up. That is, claim the higher value. Your target companions will either agree or disagree. If they agree, the higher score stands. If there is any disagreement about whether it is truly on the line, call a judge before anyone touches the target or the arrows. Judges carry magnifying glasses for exactly this purpose and will give a final ruling.
If you call your arrow at the lower value and your companions agree and record the lower score, that score stands. Once the arrows are pulled, it is too late to change it. So when in doubt, call it up.
There is one important exception. If you or anyone else touches the target face around the arrow before the score has been agreed and recorded, any line-cutter claims for that arrow are voided and it will be scored at the lower value. This is why touching the target face before scoring is complete is such a serious breach of the rules.
These situations happen, and it is important to know what to do.
If your arrow bounces out of the target and other archers on your boss witnessed it and confirm this to a judge, you are entitled to shoot a replacement arrow. The replacement end must be shot after the scoring end has finished. You have 40 seconds to shoot the make-up arrow.
If your arrow is hanging in the target face (it has hit the boss but not penetrated), all archers on that boss must stop shooting and signal a judge. The archer whose arrow is hanging must go to the target with the judge. The judge will score the arrow, remove it and place it behind the target. Do not pull it out yourself.
If a hanging arrow falls out before it is scored, it is treated the same as a bounced arrow.
This is one of the most important unwritten rules in archery, and one that new archers sometimes miss.
Never touch another archer’s equipment without their permission. Bows, arrows, quivers, arm guards, sights and accessories are personal to each archer. Picking up or handling someone else’s equipment without asking first is considered a serious breach of etiquette, regardless of your intentions.
If you accidentally damage someone else’s equipment, acknowledge it immediately and make arrangements to pay for repair or replacement.
Do not walk up and down the shooting line comparing scores or looking at other archers’ equipment without invitation.
Keep your equipment tidy. Your kit bag, arrows and accessories should not encroach on a neighbouring archer’s space.
Pack away your equipment only after the last archer on the line has finished shooting. Packing up early creates noise and can break concentration during a critical final end.
Do not coach from the shooting line. Unless you are a registered coach at that event and it is appropriate to do so, unsolicited advice during a competition is unwelcome. Save feedback for after the round.
Keep score honestly. This sounds obvious, but archery is a sport built on integrity. If you are the Target Captain, record scores accurately and without bias. If you genuinely are not sure what a score is, call a judge rather than guessing.
Manage your reactions. A bad end happens to everyone. Outbursts, loud expressions of frustration or visible anger on the line affect the archers around you. Take a breath, reset and move on.
Be respectful to judges and officials. Judges are there to ensure fairness. If you disagree with a ruling, you are entitled to ask for a review through the correct process. Arguing with a judge on the line is never acceptable.
Switch off or silence your phone and digital watch before you step onto the shooting line.
Competition archery is a community effort, and good archers pull their weight.
If you arrive early enough, offer to help put out target stands, bosses and faces before the shoot begins. Clear up your space and take any litter away with you. These small things add up and make a real difference to how competitions run.
Even at well-run competitions, someone occasionally does something that crosses a line. Here is how to handle it.
If the breach is minor (talking too loudly, arriving late, packing up early), a quiet, calm word between ends is usually enough. Most archers will not realise they are causing an issue and will correct themselves immediately.
If the breach involves scoring (a disagreement over an arrow value or a suspected inaccuracy), call a judge before the arrows are removed from the target. Once the arrows are out, the score stands.
If the breach involves safety (someone crosses the shooting line, raises a bow in an unsafe direction, or creates a dangerous situation), call “Fast” loudly and clearly. Anyone on the field is entitled to call Fast. Do not wait for a judge. Once the situation is safe, alert the Tournament Organiser (TO) or a judge and explain what happened.
If the conduct is ongoing or seriously unsportsmanlike, report it to the Tournament Organiser (TO) or a judge. Do not try to resolve a significant conduct issue yourself. Competitions have officials precisely for this purpose.
Never retaliate. If another archer has behaved poorly, retaliating in kind only makes the situation worse and reflects badly on you.
Archery competition etiquette is not about rigid formality. It is about respect: respect for the sport, for your fellow archers and for the officials who give their time to run events. The rules exist to make competition fair and safe. The unwritten norms exist to make it enjoyable.
Follow both, and you will always be a welcome presence on any shooting line.
Good luck at your next shoot.
