Indoors at 18 metres an elite recurve archer averages over nine and a half points per arrow

4 studies · 35 archers measured

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.

Among the few comparable figures, the only one that concerns recurve alone goes against the threshold. Six recurve archers from a national team, all with international competition behind them, average between 8.22 and 8.94 over 90 arrows at 18 m in a laboratory: none reaches nine. Seven elite Indian archers shoot 117 tens, 86 nines and 7 eights over 210 arrows, an average of about 9.5, but four of them shoot compound, which does not score the same way indoors, and the figure for the three recurve archers cannot be worked out. The other two papers do not help: a German study of seven national squad archers gives averages from 9.42 to 10.13, but records each arrow to a tenth of a zone with the exact centre worth 11, so its numbers sit above competition scores by construction; a Danish study of fifteen elite and sub-elite archers shows the averages only in a chart, on a scale from 7.5 to 10. That is why the status is contradicted: the only direct evidence goes against the claim, and it is a single study of six archers, measured in a laboratory with markers on the body rather than in competition.

Also phrased as: "what an elite archer scores indoors"; "average score per arrow at 18 metres"; "high-level indoor score"; "average per arrow on the 40 cm face"

In practice

Indoors, archers hear that a top recurve archer should be averaging over nine and a half per arrow, and that anyone below that is not yet at a high level.

Evidence

2011
Context Archers Published later

15 Danish male elite and sub-elite recurve archers (26.6 ± 9.3 years), 150 arrows at 18 m on an indoor boss: in the chart the averages per arrow sit on a scale from 7.5 to 10.0, with no individual values and no split by level. Conference abstract.

Biomechanical Predictors of Recurve Archery Performance · Martin H. Rose, Niels Dall, Kaare Seidelin, Bente R. Jensen
2012
Context Archers Published later

7 archers from the German national and junior national squads (2 men, 5 women), 30 arrows in ten ends of three with no time limit at 18 m on the 40 cm triple face: averages from 9.42 to 10.13, individual standard deviations from 0.49 to 0.97. Each arrow is recorded to a tenth of a zone with the exact centre worth 11 points, so the averages sit above competition scores and cannot be compared with the threshold.

Evaluation of arrow release in highly skilled archers using an acoustic measurement system · Mario Heller
2018
Against Archers Published later

6 recurve archers from a national team (5 men and one woman, aged 16 to 45), all with at least a year of international competition, 100 arrows at 18 m on a 40 cm face in a laboratory with motion capture markers: over the 90 arrows analysed, averages from 8.22 ± 0.83 to 8.94 ± 0.41, totals from 740 to 805. No archer above nine.

The Uncontrolled Manifold Concept Reveals That the Structure of Postural Control in Recurve Archery Shooting Is Related to Accuracy · Ben Serrien, Elout Witterzeel, Jean-Pierre Baeyens
2020
Context Archers Published later

7 elite Indian male archers (4 compound, 3 recurve), selected for the national team or by the federation, 30 arrows each in ten ends of three at 18 m indoors: over 210 arrows, 117 tens (55.7 per cent), 86 nines (41.0) and 7 eights (3.3), nothing below eight. The resulting average is about 9.5 per arrow, compound and recurve together, and the figure for recurve alone cannot be worked out, so it stays as context. Regional journal.

Heart Rate Values During Shooting is a Field-Side Performance Analysis Tool in Archery-A study of Elite Indian Archers · Chandra Sekara Guru, Anup Krishnan, Uma Mahajan, Deep Sharma

Status history

2011 Not studied The first figure close to the question is a chart: fifteen Danish elite and sub-elite recurve archers, 150 arrows at 18 m, with the averages per arrow plotted on a scale running from 7.5 to 10. The paper, a conference abstract, gives no individual values and does not separate the elite archers from the others, so the nine-and-a-half threshold cannot yet be tested.
2012 Not studied Seven archers from the German national and junior national squads, thirty arrows each at 18 m on the 40 cm triple face, average between 9.42 and 10.13, with standard deviations from 0.49 to 0.97. But each arrow is recorded to a tenth of a zone, with the exact centre worth 11: it is worth a little more than its ring, and the figure cannot be compared with a competition score. There is still no measurement showing whether elite archers sit above nine and a half.
2018 Contradicted The first figure using competition scoring goes against the claim: six recurve archers from a national team, all with at least a year of international competition, shoot 100 arrows at 18 m on a 40 cm face, and over the 90 analysed their averages run from 8.22 to 8.94, with totals from 740 to 805. None reaches nine. The arrows were shot in a laboratory with markers on the body, a condition that may cost something, and it is a single study of six archers: contradicted.
2020 Contradicted Seven elite Indian archers, four compound and three recurve, selected for the national team or by the federation, shoot thirty arrows each at 18 m indoors: over 210 arrows, 117 tens, 86 nines and 7 eights, nothing lower. The average that follows is about 9.5, but it mixes the two bows, and the figure for the three recurve archers cannot be separated out: it stays as context. The only evidence on recurve is still the contrary study of 2018, and the status stays at contradicted.

Indoor vs outdoor archery: key differences and seasonal adaptationsIndoor vs outdoor archery: what changes between 18 and 70 metres, what the only study of the shot at both distances found, and what research says about moving between distances.

Research lines

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Cite

APA

Campagna, M. (2026). Indoors at 18 metres an elite recurve archer averages over nine and a half points per arrow (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/elite-indoor-score-18-metres

BibTeX

@misc{campagna2026_punteggioindoor18metrielite,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {Indoors at 18 metres an elite recurve archer averages over nine and a half points per arrow},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/elite-indoor-score-18-metres},
  note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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