Matteo Campagna
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On days of period pain women archers' average score does not drop significantly

5 studies · 175 archers measured

ForContextAgainst2010201220142016201820202022202420262020, context, n = 1422011, context, n = 1202021, for, n = 202021, context, n = 202019, context, n = 102024, context, n = 3
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.

There are two measurements, both small, and neither finds a significant drop in the average. In 2019 ten Turkish compound archers, measured on the third day of menstruation and on a day outside it, score 8.79 points per arrow against 9.04, a difference that is not significant, but the study appears in a journal with questionable editorial standards and in this registry it does not decide the status. What does decide it arrives in 2021: twenty archers from a Jakarta university club shoot 36 arrows without pain and 36 on a day of period pain: 283.5 points against 272.1, eleven points down out of 360, too few to stand out from chance with twenty athletes. The same study does show something else, though: the average changes little, the spread rather more. The group's best score stays almost the same, 335 against 330, while the worst falls from 213 to 176. Women archers, when asked, see it differently: in a questionnaire given to 142 Turkish archers eight in ten say that on the days of menstruation competition and training are always or sometimes affected, but this is a reported impression, in a questionable venue, and it concerns the cycle more than pain. Neither study used a hormone test to define the comparison day outside menstruation (the first measures some hormones but does not use them to place the phase), measured how severe the pain was or asked about painkillers, and with a single series per condition a difference of ten or so points cannot be detected. That is why the fair reading is that no drop in the average has emerged, not that period pain does not matter.

Also phrased as: "menstrual cycle and archery"; "period pain and score"; "dysmenorrhoea in women archers"; "shooting worse on your period"; "menstrual phase and performance"

In practice

It is taken for granted that a woman archer shoots worse during her period, above all when it is painful, and it is not unusual to be advised against scheduling key tests on those days.

Evidence

  • 2011
    Context Other sport Published later

    120 athletes at a Korean sports high school, women archers included: about 80 per cent report moderate or severe period pain. Score is not measured; the figure shows how much the question concerns young athletes.

    CONSTRUCTION OF DELAYED MENARCHE EVALUATION IN KOREAN FEMALE ATHLETES · Katsunori Fujii, Kwang-SOO KOO, UN-HYO Baek, YE-JU Hong

  • 2019
    Context Archers Published later

    10 Turkish compound archers aged 18 to 30, at 50 metres, measured on the third day of menstruation and on a day outside it: 8.79 ± 0.64 points per arrow against 9.04 ± 0.29, z = -1.07, p = 0.285. The phase outside menstruation is not defined and the journal has questionable editorial standards: it would point the way of the claim, but it stays as context and does not decide the status.

    Investigation factors that effect shooting performance in the menstrual period of female archery athletes Questionable venue · Sevinc Serin, Yakup Akif Afyon

  • 2019
    Context Archers Published later

    In the same study the time from draw to release is 6.60 ± 1.5 seconds during menstruation and 5.93 ± 1.3 outside it, a difference that is not significant (p = 0.139).

    Investigation factors that effect shooting performance in the menstrual period of female archery athletes Questionable venue · Sevinc Serin, Yakup Akif Afyon

  • 2020
    Context Archers Published later

    142 women archers at the 2019 Turkish championship, average age 25, with a questionnaire on the menstrual cycle: for the days of menstruation 25.4% report an always negative effect on competition and training and 54.9% a sometimes negative one; asked directly whether the cycle affects their shooting, 43% say yes, 32.4% no and 24.6% do not know, and only 5.6% name the days of menstruation as the time they perform best. These are impressions, not scores, the question is about the cycle rather than pain, some of the figures in the tables do not agree with each other, and the journal has questionable editorial standards: context.

    Effect of Menstrual Cycle on Sport Performance in Archers Questionable venue · Pelin Akyol

  • 2021
    For Archers Published later

    20 archers from a Jakarta university club, 36 arrows on a normal day and 36 on a day of period pain: mean 283.5 against 272.1 (-11.4 out of 360), median 286.5 against 275; t = 0.874 against a critical value of 2.025, not significant.

    The Dysmenorrhea Effect of Archers Performance on Archery Sports · Fatah Nurdin, Yuliasih, Sudradjat Wiradihardja

  • 2021
    Context Archers Published later

    With period pain the scores spread out: variance from 1,403.6 to 2,150.4, lowest score from 213 to 176 (-37), highest from 335 to 330 (-5). The ceiling holds, the bottom end gets worse.

    The Dysmenorrhea Effect of Archers Performance on Archery Sports · Fatah Nurdin, Yuliasih, Sudradjat Wiradihardja

  • 2024
    Context Kyudo archers Published later

    Among the university kyudo archers followed, the three women with regular cycles: 18 ± 9 days since the last period on the days with more hits against 21 ± 8 on those with fewer (P = 0.18). None was menstruating on the test days.

    Relationship between mood and sleep status with performance accuracy in university kyudo athletes · Masaki Yoshioka, Misato Takada, Makinori Matsuo, Seiji Maeda, Keisei Kosaki

Status history

  1. 2011 Not studied At a Korean sports high school about eighty per cent of the athletes, women archers included, report moderate or severe period pain. The question therefore concerns many girls, but nobody has yet measured a woman archer's score during her period.
  2. 2019 Not studied The first measurement on women archers: ten Turkish compound archers on the third day of menstruation score 8.79 points per arrow against 9.04 outside it, a difference that is not significant. They are ten people, the comparison day outside menstruation is not defined and the weather differs between the two days; above all, the study appears in a journal with questionable editorial standards, which in this registry does not decide a status. The result stays as context, and the question still has no measurement that counts: not studied.
  3. 2020 Not studied What women archers say about themselves is added: in a questionnaire given to 142 archers at the Turkish championship, eight in ten report that on the days of menstruation competition and training are always or sometimes affected, and only 5.6% name those days as the time they perform best. It is an impression rather than a measured score, it concerns the cycle rather than pain, and the study appears in a journal with questionable editorial standards: it shows that the question matters to archers, but there is still no measurement that counts. Not studied.
  4. 2021 Reported Twenty archers from an Indonesian university club compare a day with period pain and a day without: the average drops by eleven points out of 360, too little to stand out from chance with twenty athletes. What changes is the spread: the best score stays almost the same, the worst collapses by 37 points. It is the first study in a venue without reservations, and it points the same way as the Turkish study of 2019; but it is descriptive, with a single series per condition and no measure of pain: reported.
  5. 2024 Reported Inside a kyudo study comes a tiny comparison pointing the same way: in three women with regular cycles the time since the last period does not separate the days with more hits from those with fewer. Three people, none menstruating on the test days: the status holds.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). On days of period pain women archers' average score does not drop significantly (Version 3). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/period-pain-and-score

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_dismenorreapunteggio,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {On days of period pain women archers' average score does not drop significantly},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/period-pain-and-score},
  note = {Version 3; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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