Objective
This is a scoring exercise which you use as a training platform for the following:
- get archers used to scoring
- a basis to reinforce technique training
- test equipment changes
Preparation
- Your complete bow setup, ready to shoot.
- Set up a target butt at your chosen competitive distance with the target face you’d like to use. Typically, this would be your standard competitive distance, like 50m.
- Make sure you have six serviceable arrows, preferably with spares.
- Make sure you have a score card ready.
- Ensure that you’re warmed up.
Technique
- Shoot a full round or half round, for example:
- 36 arrows, 6 arrows an end, at 50m on an 80cm 6-ring face
- 72 arrows, 6 arrows an end, at 40m on an 122cm 10-ring face
- Score all arrows for each end and total up the scores.
Notes
- This is the most basic of training exercises, but it’s very important.
- Making sure to score each end reinforces the importance thereof, creates a performance monitoring baseline and creates an opportunity to concentrate on specific areas of training, such as:
- Balance: Posture & Stance
- Acquisition: Set-Up, Draw & Anchor
- Aiming: Target, Scope & Peep Alignment
- Release: Shot Timing/Sequence & Follow-through
- You can also use it to test equipment changes and upgrades.
- Make sure to make notes of all changes with a date and time. This allow you to correlate the change over time with the scores that would be affected.
- Use the target which is the most appropriate to the competitive age of the archer.
Step it up
- Stepping up is not recommended as you’d like to track consistency at the competitive distance for the archer, as well as have a consistent baseline to track equipment changes against.