Hydration and nutrition on competition day in archery: a practical guide.

Part of the complete guide: How to improve your archery score

Archery is not an endurance sport. In a 144-arrow outdoor FITA round, the act of shooting alone burns roughly 400 to 600 calories, and even that is only a partial figure: it covers the movement itself, not the full energy cost of a competition day, which, once you factor in travel, waiting, and thermoregulation, can run considerably higher. It is still far less than a runner or cyclist burns at the same level. That, for years, is why hydration and nutrition were written off as negligible details. More recent research has made the picture clearer: even in a precision sport, these variables produce measurable effects, particularly during long sessions and in demanding conditions.

This article covers what the research says about hydration, pre-competition carbohydrates, blood sugar management during long sessions, relevant micronutrients, and the most common mistakes. The approach is practical, built on general principles and concrete examples, with one firm boundary: personal choices should always be developed with a qualified professional.

Hydration: the most underestimated variable

Hydration is probably the nutritional variable with the greatest impact on performance, and at the same time the most neglected one. Studies on shooters and archers show that as little as 2% dehydration produces clear subjective effects: perceived fatigue increases, sustained concentration becomes harder, and mood declines. The objective effect on scores is more nuanced. One study specifically on archers found no measurable score drop even beyond the 2% threshold, despite participants reporting greater fatigue and reduced clarity. It is worth distinguishing the two: the subjective effect is real and makes competition harder to manage, but an automatic score collapse is not supported by the evidence. That is not an argument against staying hydrated, quite the opposite, but it does mean the 2% threshold should not be treated as a point of no return.

The mechanism works on two levels. First, dehydration reduces plasma volume and increases blood viscosity, impairing muscle perfusion. Second, it produces the cognitive symptoms archers actually feel: attention harder to hold, slower reactions, worsening mood. This often happens before thirst sets in.

That 2% threshold corresponds, for an average adult, to roughly 1.4 to 1.6 kg of water lost. In a summer competition, or indoors with the heating on, you can reach it in 3 to 4 hours if you are not actively drinking. A simple way to measure your personal losses: weigh yourself before and after a session, then calculate the difference.

Electrolytes: when they actually matter

When you sweat heavily, water alone is not enough: you also lose sodium, potassium, and smaller amounts of magnesium. Replacing these electrolytes matters once sweating continues beyond an hour to an hour and a half, which is common in summer or in very warm indoor venues.

Sports drinks on the market generally contain sodium (40 to 110 mg per 100 ml), potassium (10 to 30 mg per 100 ml), and carbohydrates (4 to 8 g per 100 ml). For an archery competition of average duration (2 to 4 hours), lower-carbohydrate formulations work better than more concentrated ones, since they avoid blood sugar spikes that can disrupt concentration.

For specific choices, which product, at what dose, with what composition, the right person to ask is a sports nutritionist who can calibrate everything to your history, your discipline, and the conditions in which you typically compete.

Pre-competition carbohydrates: stability over spikes

Carbohydrates in archery have one specific job: delivering glucose to the brain, the organ that consumes the most of it. Stable blood sugar keeps your attention sharp even in the final hours of a long competition. Blood sugar that swings up and down, with spikes and crashes, alternates moments of clarity with lapses in concentration, and that shows up in the score.

The key principle, then, is stability, not spikes. Low glycaemic index carbohydrates, oats, brown rice, rye bread, whole fruit, release glucose gradually over 2 to 4 hours and keep blood sugar in a consistent range. High glycaemic index foods, sweets, sugary drinks, white bread, produce a spike followed by a crash that destabilizes you precisely when clarity is most needed.

Four foods and drinks to avoid on competition day

Certain dietary choices undermine performance in entirely predictable ways. Recognizing them lets you cut them before you even start thinking about what to eat instead. Often the simplest corrections produce the most visible improvements, in just a few weeks.

Adapting nutrition and hydration to conditions

General guidelines need to be adjusted to the specific conditions of each competition. Three situations in particular shift requirements significantly and deserve attention.

Summer outdoor competitions drive water and electrolyte losses sharply upward. Pre-hydration matters more, refueling intervals shorten, and sodium becomes more important. When heat is extreme, above 30°C with high humidity, the recommendation is clear: get a personalized plan from a sports nutritionist.

Winter competitions, outdoors or in poorly heated venues, might seem to demand less attention to hydration, but that is an illusion. Cold suppresses the sensation of thirst without reducing actual fluid needs, and chronic dehydration in winter is more common than most people expect. Caloric intake should also increase slightly to support thermoregulation.

Multi-day competitions require careful planning of recovery between days. Replenishing muscle glycogen, sleeping well, and managing stress become decisive variables. For national or international competitions, working with a specialist sports nutritionist is an investment that a commitment at this level more than justifies.

Micronutrients relevant for archers

Beyond macronutrients and hydration, a few micronutrients have specific relevance for performance and deserve attention in everyday eating. This is not necessarily about supplementation: it is about ensuring adequate intake through food.

Magnesium is involved in muscle and nerve function. Mild deficiencies are common in adults and can manifest as cramps, reduced fine motor control, and disturbed sleep. Good dietary sources include leafy green vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts.

B vitamins fuel the brain's energy metabolism, and sustained mental clarity is exactly what you need during long sessions. Sources include whole grains, eggs, fish, legumes, and leafy greens. Mild deficiencies are frequent in highly restrictive diets.

Iron is essential for oxygen transport, which in turn keeps the mind sharp over time. Mild deficiencies, particularly common in female archers of reproductive age, can present as fatigue and reduced attention. If you suspect a shortfall, a simple blood test can give a clear picture of iron status and haemoglobin levels.

For all these micronutrients, one practical rule applies: food first, supplements second. A varied and balanced diet meets most needs for most people. Targeted supplementation, when genuinely indicated, should be built with your doctor or dietitian on the basis of specific test results, not taken broadly because it "can't hurt."

Common nutrition mistakes on competition day

Working with archers at every level, the same nutritional mistakes come up repeatedly. Recognizing them is the first step to removing them. Often the most straightforward corrections produce the most visible improvements, within just a few weeks.

The first mistake is skipping breakfast on competition day. Even for someone who is not an athlete in the strict sense, an adequate breakfast keeps blood sugar stable during the first hours. Skipping it leads to concentration drops that typically appear between the thirtieth and sixtieth arrow, exactly when clarity matters most.

The second is drinking only when thirsty. Thirst is a late signal: by the time you feel it, some degree of dehydration has already set in. The practical rule is to drink little and often, even without feeling the urge, especially in heat or dry air.

The third is eating too heavily during the lunch break. Some competitions have long intervals and the temptation is to eat as if it were a normal lunch. The result is afternoon drowsiness and declining clarity. A light, easily digestible meal delivers far better performance than a full one.

The fourth is unguided supplementation, with over-the-counter products and no clear rationale. Generic multivitamins, BCAAs taken on a whim, energy supplements never tried before. The rule is firm: every supplement should be tested in training before competition, and its actual usefulness ideally assessed with a nutritionist, based on objective test results.

Correcting these four mistakes, without changing anything else, often produces improvements visible in competitions within the following weeks. These are zero-cost interventions with a meaningful return, especially for anyone who has simply ignored nutrition until now.

One final practical point: competition-day nutrition rewards a well-tested routine far more than chasing theoretical perfection. Finding 3 to 4 foods and drinks your digestive system handles well, testing them repeatedly in training, then replicating them identically on competition day, delivers more than pursuing the optimal combination on paper. When the system is consistent, your digestive tract knows what to expect and adapts. Fewer surprises, fewer variables, on exactly the day that counts.