An archer falls apart when they feel they have to win, not when the competition is hard
2 studies · 156 archers measured
The summary today
The only direct evidence is a single case: a 44-year-old archer with a national ranking who fell apart precisely in the competitions she considered easiest, indoors, at short distances, in perfect conditions and against less experienced opponents, while outdoors, at long distances and against stronger archers she shot better. After seven sessions of rational emotive behaviour therapy on her rigid beliefs, her competition average rose from 75.6% to 84.9% of the maximum score. It is, however, the story of one person, reconstructed largely from her own account and with no baseline period against which to compare what came after. A questionnaire of 155 athletes, 69 of them archers, adds a sideways clue: those who report at least one episode of choking also report more expectations from their parents. Those are other people's expectations rather than the sense of having to win, and the cross-sectional design cannot say which comes first.
Also phrased as: "the match you must win is the hardest"; "collapsing against a weaker opponent"; "pressure of expectations and choking"; "the burden of being the favourite"
In practice
It is said that the most dangerous match is the one you are supposed to win, and that against a weaker opponent or in an easy competition archers often shoot worse.
Evidence
-
2017
For Archers Published later
A 44-year-old archer with a national ranking and competition anxiety: her drops in performance were documented in indoor competitions, which she considered the easiest format (shorter distance, fewer external variables, more margin for error), against less experienced opponents and in perfect conditions; with low expectations, outdoors, at long distances and against stronger opponents, she shot better. At the initial assessment her irrational beliefs were high and her rational beliefs low.
Developing Performance Using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): A Case Study with an Elite Archer · Andrew G. Wood, Jamie B. Barker, Martin J. Turner
-
2017
Context Archers Published later
After seven individual sessions of rational emotive behaviour therapy over three months, her competition average as a percentage of the maximum score rises from 75.64% over nine competitions before to 84.88% over nine competitions after, and her rigid beliefs stay lower at three and six months. Without a stable baseline the improvement cannot be attributed to the intervention.
Developing Performance Using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): A Case Study with an Elite Archer · Andrew G. Wood, Jamie B. Barker, Martin J. Turner
-
2020
Context Archers Published later
155 competitive athletes, 69 archers and 86 golfers, online questionnaire: those who report having choked score higher on parental expectations, 2.35 (SD 0.96) against 1.80 (SD 0.83), F = 9.9, p < 0.01, partial eta squared 0.06; among archers 2.32 against 1.86. For the yips the difference is not significant (2.39 against 2.03).
Personality Predictors of Yips and Choking Susceptibility · Philip Clarke, David Sheffield, Sally Akehurst
Status history
- 2017 Reported A single case arrives: a national-level archer followed over nine competitions before and nine after a course of seven sessions of rational emotive behaviour therapy. Her drops in performance came in the competitions she considered easiest, indoors, at short distances, in perfect conditions and against less experienced opponents, while outdoors, at long distances and against stronger archers she shot better. One case, reconstructed largely from her own account: the evidence in favour is there and it is limited.
- 2020 Reported An online questionnaire of 155 experienced athletes, 69 archers and 86 golfers, finds that those who report at least one episode of choking also report more expectations from their parents, 2.35 against 1.80, and among archers 2.32 against 1.86. It is a sideways clue: it concerns other people's expectations rather than the sense of having to win, it does not compare easy and hard competitions and it cannot say which comes first. The status stays where the 2017 case left it.
Related
Related articles
- Choking in archery: how common it is, who it happens to and what goes with itHow many archers say they fall apart in competition, what those who choke most often have in common, and how much pressure costs on measured scores.
- The shoot-off in archery: what one arrow decidesHow the shoot-off works after a five-all, how often it picks the more precise archer (55 to 57 times in 100) and what that arrow is worth in competition.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). An archer falls apart when they feel they have to win, not when the competition is hard (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/choking-high-expectations
@misc{campagna2026_chokingaspettativealte,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {An archer falls apart when they feel they have to win, not when the competition is hard},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/choking-high-expectations},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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