Matteo Campagna
ITEN
Menu
Menu

In archery the scoring gap between men and women is small

12 studies · 3,881 archers measured

ForContextAgainst200520102015202020252020, for, n = 36452025, context, n = 1042026, context, n = 802021, for, n = 422026, for, n = 352025, for, n = 252005, context, n = 202025, against, n = 172023, against, n = 102025, context, n = 72021, for2021, context2024, for2024, context
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.

How far women score below or above men, sample by sample

Each row is a sample. The dot is the women's gap relative to the men, calculated by us from the means the study reports, with the same calculation Hamilton uses for the records: women minus men, divided by men. To the left of zero the men score more, to the right the women. Only for Hamilton is the value the study's own: the mean of the 13 records, with the light bar running from the lowest to the highest; its table gives a standard deviation of 1.38, its text writes 0.86. The calculated gaps are rounded to one decimal place and have no whiskers, because no study reports an interval for the difference. Bucciol counts only matches decided by a shoot-off, recurve and compound together, and his n is the number of competition observations for men and women, not archers. The matches and the mean of the records stay within 3%; among the 13 records two go beyond it, barebow at minus 4.21 and the Olympic recurve record at minus 3.86. In the smaller samples the gap changes sign from one study to the next. These are all cross-sectional comparisons, over rounds of different length and distance: in Oktafiranda and Bhutia the males had more years of practice, Ertan is a team selected on score, Ahmad Ghazali measures seven archers, and Bhutia appears in a journal of doubtful standing. Four studies are left out. Basri, in 104 students who had never shot, gives the men 16.02 points and the women 9.31, that is minus 41.9%, and on this scale it would squash every other row. Li 2024 shows the means by sex only in a chart, and in the text gives only the gaps under pressure, of 2.4 and 3.5%. The two Aslan studies of 2025 give no mean by sex: one splits it between the two training groups, the other reports only a correlation. Data from: Hamilton et al. 2021, Bucciol and Castagnetti 2020, Ertan et al. 2005, Bhutia et al. 2026, Nuradila et al. 2026, Ahmad Ghazali et al. 2025, Bostanci et al. 2021, Oktafiranda et al. 2023, Li and Zhao 2024 and Basri et al. 2025.
The numbers in the figure
Study or groupValue (women's gap, per cent of the men's score)IntervalnStance
Hamilton 2021, 13 world and Olympic records−1.46−4.21 to 0.86 (reported range, minimum to maximum)for
Bucciol 2020, World Archery matches, first set−2.73,645for
Bucciol 2020, shoot-off arrow−23,645for
Ertan 2005, Turkish national team0.520context
Bhutia 2026, Indian juniors, 70 m−6.980context
Nuradila 2026, university club6.435for
Ahmad Ghazali 2025, university recurve archers, 10 m7.47context
Bostanci 2021, aged 9 to 12, 18 m9.242for
Oktafiranda 2023, students−18.810against

At the top the gap exists and it is small. In international matches decided by a shoot-off from 2013 to 2019 men shoot the first set at 9.25 points per arrow and women at 9.00, and across world and Olympic records the mean female shortfall is 1.46%, against 11-13% in running, rowing and swimming. The gap is not stable, though: it ranges from 4.21% in barebow to a women's record higher than the men's in the 144-arrow compound round, and in elite recurve head-to-head matches there is no difference on the third arrow of the set, while one appears when the pressure rises: 2.4% when losing the set means leaving the tournament, 3.5% after two arrows of the set have missed the centre. In youth and club groups the comparisons are small and almost all show no difference: girls and boys aged 9-12 at 242 against 222 points over 30 arrows, 19 women and 16 men in a university club at 271 against 255 over 36, each at the distance of their own category. Two tiny groups put the males ahead: ten students in which the men had almost twice the years of practice, and seventeen children just out of a basic course, for whom no p value is reported. The reading holds on the direction and stays weak on everything else: these are all cross-sectional comparisons, and none of them matches men and women for experience, draw weight and training.

Also phrased as: "in archery men and women are on equal terms"; "archery is a sport where sex matters little"; "score difference between male and female archers"; "women shoot as well as men"

In practice

It is often said that archery is one of the sports where men and women are closest, because precision counts for more than strength, and some conclude that separate categories make little sense.

Evidence

  • 2005
    Context Archers Published later

    Turkish national team and candidates, 10 men and 10 women: mean FITA score 1,235 ± 67 for men and 1,241 ± 72 for women, with 6.5 and 7 years of training. A descriptive background figure, not tested, in a team selected on score.

    Reliability and validity testing of an archery chronometer · Hayri Ertan, Behzat B. Kentel, S. Turgut Tümer, Feza Korkusuz

  • 2020
    For Archers Published later

    World Archery matches from 2013 to 2019 decided by a shoot-off, 2,095 men's and 1,550 women's observations: in the first set 9.25 points per arrow for men and 9.002 for women, on the shoot-off arrow 9.167 and 8.982. Men score more, but the gap is under 3%.

    Choking under pressure in archery · Alessandro Bucciol, Alessandro Castagnetti

  • 2021
    For Review Published later

    Review of World Archery world and Olympic records, 13 events compared: the mean shortfall of women's records is 1.46% (standard deviation 1.38), from minus 4.21 to plus 0.86. In archery the male advantage is about 1.5%, against 11-13% in running, rowing and swimming and from 16% to over 50% in strength and power sports.

    Integrating transwomen athletes into elite competition: The case of elite archery and shooting · Blair R. Hamilton, Fergus M. Guppy, James Barrett, Leighton Seal, Yannis Pitsiladis

  • 2021
    Context Review Published later

    The gap changes with the division and even with the round within the same division: barebow at 50 m 665 against 637 (minus 4.21%), recurve at 70 m 662 against 657 (minus 0.76), compound over 144 arrows 1,394 against 1,406 in the women's favour (plus 0.86), compound at 50 m over 72 arrows 707 against 695 (minus 1.70).

    Integrating transwomen athletes into elite competition: The case of elite archery and shooting · Blair R. Hamilton, Fergus M. Guppy, James Barrett, Leighton Seal, Yannis Pitsiladis

  • 2021
    Context Review Published later

    In shooting the mean gap is smaller, minus 0.84%, but far less predictable, from minus 8.11 to plus 5.26, and it is concentrated in moving-target events; on static targets it is practically nil. The comparison comes from another sport and serves only as a yardstick.

    Integrating transwomen athletes into elite competition: The case of elite archery and shooting · Blair R. Hamilton, Fergus M. Guppy, James Barrett, Leighton Seal, Yannis Pitsiladis

  • 2021
    For Archers Published later

    42 recurve archers aged 9 to 12 with at least one year of licence, 30 arrows at 18 m: girls 242.0 ± 30.5, boys 221.7 ± 56.4, p = 0.265, d = -0.45. The means are close, and the boys' standard deviation is almost twice the girls'.

    The relationship between shooting performance and respiratory muscle strength in archers aged 9-12 · Ozgur Bostanci, Menderes Kabadayi, Muhammet Hakan Mayda, Ali Kerim Yilmaz, Coskun Yilmaz

  • 2023
    Against Archers Published later

    10 students in Jakarta, 6 men and 4 women, simulated competition with alternating shooting over 15 arrows: mean score per arrow 7.97 ± 0.76 for men and 6.47 ± 1.21 for women, p = 0.042. The men had 6.2 years of practice, the women 3.5.

    Analysis of heart rate and scores in student archery athletes · Nadya Dwi Oktafiranda, Sri Indah Ihsani, Kuswahyudi Kuswahyudi

  • 2024
    For Archers Published later

    International elite recurve head-to-head matches, 3,380 men's and 2,994 women's sets, regression on the third arrow of the set: the difference between men and women is not significant (t = 1.214, p = 0.225).

    Gender differences in skilled performance under failure competitive environments: evidence from elite archers · Chunhua Li, Yangqing Zhao

  • 2024
    Context Archers Published later

    In the same analysis the gap grows by 2.4% only when losing the set means elimination and winning it does not close the match (p < 0.05); when winning the set closes the match, whether or not losing it eliminates, the interaction is not significant. After two arrows of the set have missed the centre, men do 3.5% better than women on the third (p < 0.001). A gap that appears under pressure, but stays at a few percentage points.

    Gender differences in skilled performance under failure competitive environments: evidence from elite archers · Chunhua Li, Yangqing Zhao

  • 2025
    For Archers Published later

    25 middle-school beginners in Turkey, 16 girls and 9 boys: shooting test means of 17 and 15 for the girls in the two groups, 15 and 16 for the boys, but with the boys far more erratic (standard deviation 11 against 5 and scores from 3 to 32 in the perturbation training group). A descriptive comparison, without a test.

    Pertürbasyon Eğitiminin Okçuluk Atış Başarısına Etkisi · Emrah Aslan, Doğukan Arıöz

  • 2025
    Context Archers Published later

    7 Malaysian university recurve archers with at least two years of experience, 122 cm face at 10 m: comparison between men and women on total score t = -2.33 with 5 degrees of freedom, p = 0.066. Not significant at the 0.05 threshold, but with seven people and that p value it cannot be read as no difference.

    A case study on biomechanical parameters related to archery performance among UiTM Seremban 3 student archers · Uzma Qisthina Ahmad Ghazali, Muhamad Noor Mohamed, Muhamad Safiq Saiful Annur

  • 2025
    Against Archers Published later

    17 middle-school pupils with no experience, 11 girls and 6 boys, after a basic course: correlation between sex and the shooting test r = 0.44 in the boys' favour, and r = 0.52 for throwing a ball at a target. The authors do not report the p value.

    Okçuluk Öğretimi ile Propriyosepsiyon Bazı Antropometrik Ölçümler ve Motor Beceri İlişkisi · Emrah Aslan, Zeynep Beyza Taşdemir

  • 2025
    Context General population Published later

    104 Malaysian engineering students with no archery experience at all: total score 16.02 ± 9.65 for men (42) and 9.31 ± 8.49 for women (62). The 6.7-point difference between the means is large in proportion but of the same order as the standard deviations within each sex; in people who have never shot it says little about archery as practised.

    Machine learning methods to classify engineering students&rsquo; ability to perform recreational archery activities using biomechanical data · N.R.H. Basri, M.S. Mohktar, W.n.l.w. Mahadi

  • 2026
    For Archers Published later

    35 archers in an Indonesian university club with at least three months of practice, 19 women and 16 men, 36 arrows at distances between 10 and 40 m depending on category: women 271 ± 50.8, men 254.6 ± 54.4, t(33) = -0.92, p = 0.364, d = 0.31. Individual scores run from 116 to 327 for the men and from 145 to 335 for the women: the variability within each sex is many times larger than the difference between the means.

    Comparative analysis of archers’ shooting performance scores by gender · Muh Batistuta Fitoni Nuradila, Yudik Prasetyo, Heru Prasetyo, Okky Indera Pamungkas S, Hary Widodo, Oviesta Tasha Retyananda, Septian Resi Wibowo

  • 2026
    Context Archers Published later

    80 Indian junior recurve archers aged 13 to 21, 50 boys and 30 girls, 72-arrow qualification round at 70 m at a national championship: 641 ± 30.2 against 597 ± 33.5 out of 720 (p < 0.001), but the boys were older (18.8 against 17.5 years) and more experienced (5.8 against 4.6 years of practice). The journal is flagged as a questionable venue.

    Exploring Gender Differences in Competitive Anxiety and Performance in Junior Recurve Archers Questionable venue · Namchan Norbu Bhutia, Atanu Ghosh, Snehunsu Adhikari

Status history

  1. 2005 Not studied The first comparison in the bibliography is a background figure, in a study of a shooting chronometer: in the Turkish national team ten men and ten women have the same mean FITA score, 1,235 and 1,241, and the same years of training. It is not a test, and in a team selected on score the similarity is to be expected, so the question still has no study addressing it.
  2. 2020 Reported World competition data give the first measurement on large numbers: in elimination matches from 2013 to 2019 men shoot the first set at 9.25 points per arrow and women at 9.00, and the shoot-off arrow at 9.17 against 8.98. The gap exists and it is under 3%. It is a cross-sectional comparison between different athletes, so reported.
  3. 2021 Reported Two independent lines point the same way. Across world and Olympic records the mean female shortfall is 1.46%, from 4.21% in barebow to a women's record 0.86% higher in the 144-arrow compound round, while in endurance sports the male advantage lies between 11 and 13%. Between the ages of 9 and 12 girls and boys score similarly, 242 against 222 over 30 arrows at 18 m (p = 0.265). These are still cross-sectional comparisons and records, so the status goes no further than reported.
  4. 2023 Reported The first contrary result arrives: in ten students in Jakarta in a simulated competition the men score about a point and a half more per arrow, 7.97 against 6.47. The group is tiny and the men have almost twice the years of practice, 6.2 against 3.5, so it is a weak contrary result and does not overturn the evidence in favour.
  5. 2024 Reported The largest elite sample points in favour: in international recurve head-to-head matches, across 3,380 men's sets and 2,994 women's sets, men and women shoot the third arrow of the set with the same average score (p = 0.225). A gap appears only under pressure: 2.4% when losing the set means leaving the tournament, 3.5% after two arrows of the set have missed the centre. The status stays reported because the analysis concerns a single arrow of the set.
  6. 2025 Reported Four small samples, nearly all of beginners, are split. Among twenty-five middle-school beginners girls and boys have the same means, with the boys far more erratic, and in seven Malaysian university recurve archers the difference is not significant, though with p = 0.066 in seven people this cannot be read as no difference. In seventeen children after a basic course the boys score higher, and among 104 students who had never stood on a shooting line the men score 16 points against 9, a large gap in proportion but of the same order as the difference between two people of the same sex. The year's only contrary result is small, on people who have only just started and without a p value, so the status holds.
  7. 2026 Reported The first comparison designed for this question in a non-elite group arrives: in an Indonesian university club 19 women and 16 men over 36 arrows cannot be told apart, 271 against 255 points (p = 0.364), with the women's mean even slightly higher. The number that matters is a different one: the standard deviations of around 51 and 54 points, with individual scores from 116 to 335, are many times larger than the sixteen points between the two means. In the same year, in a journal of doubtful standing, 80 Indian juniors put the boys 44 points ahead out of 720, but they were older and more experienced. The evidence widens, remains cross-sectional, and the status holds.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). In archery the scoring gap between men and women is small (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/scoring-gap-between-men-and-women

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_divariouominidonnepunteggio,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {In archery the scoring gap between men and women is small},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/scoring-gap-between-men-and-women},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Other claims in this domain

See all claims on competition and scoring