Archery Rounds & Scoring

Target Scoring Zones

All outdoor, and most indoor target archery rounds are shot on the standard five-colour faces which come in four different diameters: 122cm, 80cm, 60cm and 40cm.

Each colour is divided into two zones of equal radial width and the central zone is further divided into two more zones, the inner of which has a cross marked at the centre. Inner zones always attract the higher scores. Most of the zones are bounded by a black ring which, for scoring purposes, is considered part of the higher scoring zone. The exceptions are the outer blue, which does not have a visible ring around it and the inner black which has a white ring around it. Arrows touching the ring around a colour zone are often referred to as linecutters.

World Archery (WA) rounds are shot at metric distances, and GNAS imperial distances. The scoring differs between the two systems. The score each colour zone attracts can be seen in the diagram below.

Scoring at Tournaments

Once everyone has shot their end, there will be 3 blasts on the whistle to indicate that the archers can go forward to score and collect their arrows. The following details what you should then do.

  • Only archers are able to walk to the targets. If someone else wants to walk to the targets they must ask the Judge’s permission first.
  • Make sure you do not touch the target face until all the scoring has been completed, otherwise any line cutters will be scored at the lowest value.
  • All the archers should gather in front of their target first before going to look for missing arrows yet. The person who is doing the scoring will then call the name of the first archer on the score sheet.
  • Scores should be called out in groups of three, starting with the highest score, so for example 9, 9, 7 pause 5, 5, 3. The scorer should call back what you have said to confirm it.
  • When you call your arrows, make sure you indicate to them, but do not touch them. If the shaft of the arrow is touching a dividing line between two scores (a line cutter), then it scores the highest score. If you don’t agree on a line cutter, the say so, no one will mind. A Judge is called who will look at it with a magnifying glass and give a final decision.
  • If you make a mistake when calling out your arrows or they are written down incorrectly, then call for a Judge who will come and ask for the scores to be recalled and then correct the score sheet, do not alter it yourself. (You can alter the adding up yourself, just not the actual arrow values).
  • You may also want to record your score in your own score pad for future reference and also to help you double-check the scorers adding up.
  • The score sheet will probably be passed between a couple of archers, as the scorer is not allowed to record their own scores. Alternatively, there may be two identical score sheets with two people doing the scoring (double scoring).
  • Once everyone on the target has scored then the arrows can be pulled and any missed arrows can be
  • picked up from behind the target.
  • Help your target companions pull the arrows and look for any lost arrows. If it is a World Archery round then the arrow holes will need to have a small mark put against them in case of bouncers or ‘pass-throughs’.

Metric WA & GNAS Archery Rounds

The following tables detail all the WA and GNAS round types. The number in the distance column refers to the number of dozen arrows shot at the respective distance per round.

Metric Rounds – Outdoor

10 Zone Scoring – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Round Name122 cm Target Face80 cm Target FaceMax Score
-90m70m60m50m40m30m20m50m40m30m20m15m10m-
WA 1440 (Gents)33-----3-3---1440
WA 1440 (Ladies)-33----3-3---1440
Metric II--33----33---1440
Metric III---33----33--1440
Metric IV----33----3-31440
Metric V-----33----331440
WA 900--2.52.52.5--------900
WA 70-6-----------720
WA 60--6----------720
WA 50-------6-----720
Half Metric (Gents)1.51.5-----1.5-1.5---720
Half Metric (Ladies)-1.51.5----1.5-1.5---720
Half Metric II--1.51.5----1.51.5---720
Half Metric III---1.51.5----1.51.5--720
Half Metric IV----1.51.5----1.5-1.5720
Half Metric V-----1.51.5----1.51.5720
Long Metric (Gents)33-----------720
Long Metric (Ladies)-33----------720
Long Metric II--33---------720
Long Metric III---33--------720
Long Metric IV----33-------720
Long Metric V-----33------720
Short Metric I-------3-3---720
Short Metric II--------33---720
Short Metric III---------33--720
Short Metric IV----------3-3720
Short Metric V-----------33720

Metric Rounds – Indoor

10 Zone Scoring – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Round NameDistanceFace SizeDozensMax Score
WA 1818m40cm5600
WA 2525m60cm5600
WA Combined18m & 25m40cm & 60cm101200
Stafford30m80cm6720

Imperial Rounds – Outdoor

5 Zone Scoring – 9, 7, 5, 3, 1

Round Name100yd80yd60yd50yd40yd30yd20yd10ydMax Score
York642-----1296
Hereford/Bristol I-642----1296
Bristol II--642--1296
Bristol III---642--1296
Bristol IV----642-1296
Bristol V-----6421296
St.George333-----972
Albion-333----972
Windsor--333---972
Short Windsor---333--972
Junior Windsor----333-972
New Western44------864
Long Western-44-----864
Western-44----864
Short Western---44---864
Junior Western----44--864
Short Junior Western-----44-864
American-2.52.52.5--810
St. Nicholas-43--756
New National42------648
Long National-42-----648
National--42----648
Short National---42---648
Junior National----42--648
Short Junior National-----42-648
New Warwick22------432
Long Warwick-22-----432
Warwick--22----432
Short Warwick---22---432
Junior Warwick----22--432
Short Junior Warwick-----22-432

Imperial Rounds – Indoor

10 Zone Scoring – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Round NameDistanceFace SizeDozensMax Score
Portsmouth20yd60cm5600
Bray I20yd40cm2.5300
Bray II25yd60cm2.5300