The time allowed for each shot does not trouble experienced archers
2 studies · 37 archers measured
The summary today
There is only one direct measurement. In 2009, in Japan, thirty-six experienced archers, high school pupils, university students and adults, shot six-arrow trials at 50 metres with forty seconds per arrow, the time the Japanese federation's rules then allowed for each shot, and in a second experiment twelve more university archers did the same: all forty-eight completed every shot within the time, and some had time to spare. Before that there was only a single case, an archer from Taiwan's Olympic squad whose aiming time followed the same pattern at a national competition and at the Asian championship, with the worst arrows standing apart from the rest in both. Neither study tests the case that matters, the archer who struggles with the clicker or who takes longer under pressure; and the Japanese study appeared in a regional journal, on short trials shot at a training ground. Riportato.
Also phrased as: "forty seconds per arrow"; "time limit in competition"; "racing the clock on the shooting line"; "shooting as time runs out"
In practice
It is said that the time is always enough for an archer with a solid routine, and that whoever ends up racing the clock has a problem with technique or the clicker, not with the rules.
Evidence
-
2008
Context Archers Published later
One archer from Taiwan's Olympic squad: the aiming time, on an axis from 0 to 8 seconds for arrows scoring 10 down to 5, follows the same pattern at a national competition and at the Asian championship, and the worst arrows stand apart in both. The data were used to work on the pre-shot routine.
Provision of sport psychology services to Taiwan archery team for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games · Tsung‐Min Hung, Tse‐Chuan Lin, Chia‐Ling Lee, Ling‐Chun Chen
-
2009
For Archers Published later
36 experienced Japanese archers (27 men, 9 women; aged 16 to 24) in 6-arrow trials at 50 m, with 40 seconds per arrow under the federation's rules of the time: all released every arrow within the limit, and some had time to spare. The same in the second experiment, 12 university archers out of 12.
Physiological and Psychological Changes Caused by Archery Athletes Monitoring Their Own Heartbeat in Shooting Situation, and the Effects on Performance · Hideaki Takai, Osamitu Saijyo, Yasuhisa Kusumoto
Status history
- 2008 Not studied The first data are a single case: in an archer from Taiwan's Olympic squad the aiming time follows the same pattern at a national competition and at the Asian championship, and the worst arrows stand apart from the rest in both. It says that this archer's rhythm holds under pressure, but it does not measure the time allowed or whether it is enough: the question stays open.
- 2009 Reported Thirty-six experienced Japanese archers, plus twelve in a second experiment, all release within the forty seconds per arrow, and some have time to spare. For them the limit is no constraint, but it is a single study, in a regional journal, on six-arrow trials outside competition: reported.
Related
Related articles
- The first arrow of the end: does it score more than the others, and should you shoot it straight away?Does the first arrow of an end score more than the others? Two studies disagree, and on shooting out of breath the evidence gives no answer yet.
- Aiming time: how long to hold, when to releaseHow long the aim lasts in research, whether holding longer costs points, what happens in the final seconds before release and whether the time limit is enough.
Research lines
Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.
See the full assessmentCite
Campagna, M. (2026). The time allowed for each shot does not trouble experienced archers (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/time-limit-experienced-archers
@misc{campagna2026_tempoditirononlimita,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {The time allowed for each shot does not trouble experienced archers},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/competition/time-limit-experienced-archers},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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