Fitness in young archers: Lau 2020 study

Twelve young Malaysian recurve archers, 9 boys and 3 girls with a mean age of 16, who represented their state at national tournaments, shot 36 arrows at 70 metres. On the basis of that score (from 219 to 322 out of 360, mean 276.00) they were split into two groups of six: the better archers, with a median of 296.5, and the rest, with 253.0. Body dimensions and a range of physical capacities were then measured.

The better archers were taller (median 173.1 against 160.5 cm), had a longer arm span (181.0 against 163.6 cm), a stronger grip in both hands (35.2 against 23.8 kg on the left, 33.8 against 29.3 on the right) and a higher estimated maximal oxygen uptake (45.9 against 42.9 ml/kg/min). Body mass, body mass index, fat, muscle mass, back and leg strength, flexibility, one-leg balance, push-ups and sit-ups did not differ significantly. Taking all twelve together, score correlated with height (0.799), arm span (0.822), right-hand grip (0.614) and estimated oxygen uptake (0.682); left-hand grip (0.571) and back and leg strength (0.560) came close without reaching significance.

The study has two phases. In the first the archers shoot 36 arrows at 70 metres and are ranked by score; in the second their bodies and fitness are measured. Height, body mass and arm span follow the ISAK protocol, and fat and muscle mass come from a bioimpedance scale. Grip is measured with a Jamar dynamometer, elbow at 90 degrees, three attempts per hand; back and leg strength with a pulling dynamometer; flexibility with the sit and reach. Push-ups and sit-ups are counted over one minute. Oxygen uptake is not measured but estimated from the level reached in the 20 metre shuttle run, and balance is the time held on the ball of one foot with hands on hips. The two groups are compared with the Mann-Whitney test and the correlations with score are Spearman's.

Six archers per group is very few, and the sample includes 3 girls out of 12 without the paper saying which group they were in. Height, arm span, grip strength and oxygen uptake are exactly the measures on which boys and girls differ most: if the girls were mostly among the weaker archers, part of the differences may come from sex rather than level. The same goes for growth: at 16 the more developed athletes are often taller, stronger and may have been shooting longer, but maturity, years of practice, draw weight and draw length were not recorded.

The score comes from a single round of 36 arrows and there are many comparisons with no correction for multiple testing. The idea that height and long arms give a longer draw and so a faster, more accurate arrow comes from the literature cited, not from measurements in this study. The authors themselves say the results are suggestive at best. In the descriptive table the maximum body mass is printed as 10180, clearly 101.80 kg. Crossref lists the paper in volume 8, issue 4, while the PDF gives 8(s2).

Among young archers in the same programme, those who scored more at 70 metres were taller, had longer arms, a stronger grip and better aerobic fitness. This is a snapshot, not an experiment: it does not show that training grip or running raises the score, and it does not separate shooting level from sex and growth.

For a youth coach the finding needs careful reading. The authors suggest taking height and arm span into account in selection, but with twelve archers, three girls in undisclosed groups and no measure of maturity, there is a risk of rewarding those who simply grew earlier. One-leg balance, flexibility, push-ups and sit-ups did not separate the better archers from the rest; with six archers per group, though, that may simply mean the sample was too small to show a difference.