Within an end the first arrow scores more than the ones after it
2 studies · 35 archers measured
The summary today
Only one measurement points this way, and it is small: ten experienced adolescent archers, followed during an indoor competition at 18 metres with ends of three arrows in two minutes, score less on the second arrow (p < 0.05) and less again on the third (p < 0.001) than on the first. In the seven novices of the same study no such drop is reported, the thousand or so arrows are treated as independent observations and the absolute scores are not published, so it is not known how many points the drop is worth. In 2025 eighteen elite Bulgarian archers, six arrows at 18 metres, give a less clear picture: the first arrow averages 8.3, the third 8.5 and the others between 7.5 and 8.0, while arrows outside the scoring zone, counted across all eighteen, rise from none on the first to two on each of the last three. It is a descriptive table, with no test and no way of knowing whether those six arrows were a single end, but the first arrow is not the highest and the average stays broadly flat: it is a result on archers that does not go with the claim, and that is why the status is contested. There is also an alternative reading nobody has checked yet: that what archers feel in competition is the hurry of the last arrows rather than an advantage of the first.
Also phrased as: "the first arrow is always the best"; "dropping off on the last arrows of the end"; "the third arrow is the worst"; "arrow order within an end"
In practice
It is said that the first arrow of an end is the cleanest, because it is shot calmly and without the weight of the arrows already in the target, and that the last ones suffer from hurry.
Evidence
-
2011
For Archers Published later
17 adolescent male archers (10 experienced and 7 novices) in an indoor competition under FITA rules, twenty ends of three arrows in two minutes at 18 metres: in the experienced archers the score of the second arrow (p < 0.05) and of the third (p < 0.001) is lower than that of the first. In the novices no such drop is reported; arrows enter the analyses as independent observations and absolute scores are not published.
Autonomic nervous system modulation during an archery competition in novice and experienced adolescent archers · Andres E. Carrillo, Vasilios X. Christodoulou, Yiannis Koutedakis, Andreas D. Flouris
-
2011
Context Archers Published later
Within the end cardiac activity moves differently in the two groups: in the experienced archers high-frequency activity rises between the first arrow (15.7 ± 16.8 normalised units) and the second (21.3 ± 22.3) together with the drop in score, while in the novices low-frequency activity rises from the second (51.0 ± 28.9) to the third arrow (63.3 ± 21.6, p < 0.05). The interactions between group and arrow are significant but small, for low-frequency activity (p = 0.03, partial eta squared 0.008) and for high-frequency activity (p = 0.008, partial eta squared 0.01).
Autonomic nervous system modulation during an archery competition in novice and experienced adolescent archers · Andres E. Carrillo, Vasilios X. Christodoulou, Yiannis Koutedakis, Andreas D. Flouris
-
2025
Against Archers Published later
18 elite Bulgarian archers, six arrows indoors at 18 metres on a 40 centimetre face, in a study of shoulder position: the average score per arrow is 8.3, 7.5, 8.5, 8.0, 7.7 and 7.6 from the first to the sixth, and the arrows scoring zero, summed across the eighteen archers, number 0, 1, 1, 2, 2 and 2. Descriptive statistics only, with no test of order, and the paper does not say whether the six arrows were shot as a single end; the third arrow beats the first and the average stays broadly flat, so it counts as evidence against, and weak evidence. A regional journal.
Study on the stability and positioning of the shoulders on the points and accuracy in archery · Iv. Ivanov
Status history
- 2011 Reported In ten experienced adolescent archers, during an indoor competition at 18 metres with ends of three arrows in two minutes, the score drops on the second arrow (p < 0.05) and drops further on the third (p < 0.001) compared with the first. In the same study, within the end, low-frequency cardiac activity moves in opposite directions in the experienced archers and the novices, and in the novices no drop in score is reported. It is a single study on a small, young sample, with arrows treated as independent: there is evidence in favour, and it is limited.
- 2025 Contested Eighteen elite Bulgarian archers, six arrows indoors at 18 metres on a 40 centimetre face: the first arrow averages 8.3, the second 7.5, the third 8.5, then 8.0, 7.7 and 7.6, while arrows outside the scoring zone, counted across all eighteen, rise from none on the first to two on each of the last three. It is a descriptive table in a study about the shoulders, with no test of arrow order and no statement of whether the six arrows were one end; but the first arrow is not the highest and the average stays broadly flat, and on the more prudent reading it counts as evidence against. With one study in favour and one against, the status becomes contested.
Related
Related articles
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Within an end the first arrow scores more than the ones after it (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/first-arrow-of-the-end-scores-higher
@misc{campagna2026_primafrecciavoleemigliore,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Within an end the first arrow scores more than the ones after it},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/first-arrow-of-the-end-scores-higher},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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