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At the top of compound, scores sit so close to the maximum that differences between archers nearly vanish

3 studies · 37 archers measured

ForContextAgainst201220142016201820202022202420262025, context, n = 372012, for2014, for2014, against
Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

The clearest data come from an analysis of scores at two major international events in 2013. At the first World Cup stage sixteen men in compound scored 350 or more out of 360 over their first 36 arrows at 50 m, and the top twenty-two in the ranking gave away six points between them through groups not centred on the target face, three of those points belonging to a single archer: it is the only division in which the strongest archers do not lose points this way. A conference abstract had already seen, in international finals from 2006 to 2011, the two compound finalists closer to each other than the recurve ones, but without publishing any figures. Below the top the picture repeats: in 37 pre-elite Taiwanese archers the qualification score goes from 550 to 624 between high school and university in recurve, and from 663 to 670 in compound. The limit lies in the measure. In the same 2013 analysis one ranking place is worth about 0.7 points out of 720 in compound and 1.4 out of 1440 in recurve, that is 0.1% of the maximum in both divisions: in proportion the compound ranking is no more compressed than the recurve one. All of this work is descriptive, and nobody has separated how much of the compression comes from the bow, how much from the target face and how much from the archers. With one finding for and one against in the same paper, the status is "Contested".

Also phrased as: "in compound everybody shoots tens"; "in compound the archer who makes fewest mistakes wins"; "compound is decided by the arrows that drop out"; "compound scores near the maximum"; "in compound the differences are tiny"

In practice

Compound archers often say that at a high level everybody shoots tens now, and that a competition is decided by the two or three arrows that drop out.

Evidence

  • 2012
    For Archers Published later

    Conference abstract: arrow positions of the top four archers in World Cup, World Championship and Olympic finals from 2006 to 2011, recurve and compound. In recurve accuracy and precision differ significantly between first and second place, in compound the two finalists are closer; the abstract reports no values.

    Technical factors utilised by elite archers: towards setting an agenda for archery · Andrew J. Callaway, Shelley Broomfield

  • 2014
    For Archers Published later

    World Cup stage 1 in 2013, men's compound, 72-arrow qualification round at 50 m on the 80 cm face: over the first 36 arrows sixteen archers scored 350 or more out of 360.

    Analysis of scores and arrow grouping at major international archery competitions · James L Park, James E Larven

  • 2014
    For Archers Published later

    Moving each group of arrows to the centre of the face and recalculating the score, the top 22 in the men's compound ranking gave away 6 points in all, 3 of them belonging to a single archer; in the other divisions even the strongest archers lost points through the position of their group, and one point is worth about one ranking place.

    Analysis of scores and arrow grouping at major international archery competitions · James L Park, James E Larven

  • 2014
    Against Archers Published later

    In the same analysis, leaving out the tail of the ranking, one place is worth about 1.4 points of the 1440 total in recurve and about 0.7 of the 720 total in compound: in both cases about 0.1% of the possible score. In proportion to the maximum the compound ranking is no more compressed than the recurve one.

    Analysis of scores and arrow grouping at major international archery competitions · James L Park, James E Larven

  • 2025
    Context Archers Published later

    37 pre-elite Taiwanese archers from high school and university teams, qualification score closest to the test date: recurve 550 (465 to 638) in high school and 624 (599 to 657) at university, compound 663 (639 to 684) and 670 (644 to 689). The jump between the two levels is large in recurve and almost nil in compound.

    Associations of Scoring Accuracy with Postural Stability and Strength Measures in Archers on a Standard Archery Site · Chun-Hao Fan, Chien-Nan Liao, Wei-Hsiu Hsu

Status history

  1. 2012 Reported The first data on the question come from a conference abstract that plotted the arrows of the top four archers in international finals from 2006 to 2011: in recurve the winner is significantly more accurate and more precise than the runner-up, while in compound the two finalists are closer to each other. It is a single observation, with no figures published and limited to those who reach a final, so the evidence in favour is there but it is limited.
  2. 2014 Contested An analysis of scores at two major events in 2013 provides the first figures. At the first World Cup stage sixteen men in compound scored 350 or more out of 360 over their first 36 arrows at 50 m, and the top twenty-two in the ranking gave away six points between them through off-centre groups, three of those points belonging to a single archer: it is the only division in which the strongest archers do not lose points this way. The same paper also measures what a ranking place is worth, though: about 0.7 points out of 720 in compound and 1.4 out of 1440 in recurve, that is 0.1% of the maximum in both. The first finding points the same way as the 2012 abstract, the second the other way: in proportion to the maximum the compound ranking is no more compressed than the recurve one. With a contrary result alongside those in favour, the status moves to contested.
  3. 2025 Contested The same squeeze appears below the top. In 37 pre-elite Taiwanese archers the qualification score goes from 550 to 624 between high school and university in recurve, and only from 663 to 670 in compound, where the room to improve seems almost used up already. It is a descriptive figure, gathered for a different question, that widens the picture without settling the 2014 disagreement, and the status remains contested.

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Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). At the top of compound, scores sit so close to the maximum that differences between archers nearly vanish (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/compound-scores-near-the-maximum

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_compoundpunteggicompressi,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {At the top of compound, scores sit so close to the maximum that differences between archers nearly vanish},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/compound-scores-near-the-maximum},
  note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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