Target archery involves archers shooting from a shooting line. The targets are 4ft diameter straw bosses with coloured concentric rings. The closer to the centre of the target the higher the score.

The archers shoot rounds which consist of fixed numbers of arrows at various fixed distances for example:

A Warwick round consists of 2 dozen arrows shot at 60yds followed by 2 dozen arrows shot at 50yds.
A York round consists of 6 dozen arrows shot at 100yds, 4 dozen at 80yds followed by 2 dozen at 60yds.

Target archery is split by two governing bodies in the UK, the Grand National Archery Society which traditionally shoots Imperial distance rounds and FITA the International governing body for archery: Federation Internationale De Tir A L'Arc. FITA rounds are shot at Metric distances:

A Gents FITA consists of 3 dozen at 90m, 3 dozen at 70m, 3 dozen at 50m and 3 dozen at 30m.
A FITA 70 consists of 6 dozen arrows at 70m.

With both governing bodies, there are appropriate rounds for different age groups, ladies are also not required to shoot as far as men in this age of equality.

In the winter season there are indoor rounds that can be shot in most sports halls. A FITA 25 for example, consists of 5 dozen arrows at 25m.

Field Archery is much more varied than target archery. The targets in field archery can be anything from a paper face on a conventional boss or they can consist of 3D lifesize animal targets made from tough foam.

Rounds are made up of between 14 and 40 targets set out round a wooded course or area of rough terrain. The archers shoot from pegs in the ground that are either marked giving the approximate distance to the target or unmarked, in which case the archer is required to estimate the distance to the target and adjust their technique accordingly. Add to this the challenge of shooting uphill, downhill or from light to dark and you can see that field archery pits the archer against their environment in a far more challenging way. Archers move round the course in small groups in a similar way to golfers following a golf course.

Field Archery is governed by two national bodies: The National Field Archery Society or NFAS and the English Field Archery Association. NFAS rounds tend to use terrain to greater effect to disrupt the archer from hitting the target than EFAA rounds. The Wych Elm Archery club has members that are affiliated to both of these governing bodies. We hope to soon host a field archery competition at the Sedgeway Equestrian Centre.