Visual acuity is not related to an archer's score
1 study · 102 archers measured
The summary today
There is a single study on the question, and it dates from 1986: a hundred and two recurve archers tested in the United States, from beginners to an Olympic champion, put through a screening instrument that measured near and far acuity, phorias and colour vision. None of the eleven measures is related to the archer's average score for the season: far acuity sits between 0.12 and minus 0.12 depending on the eye, near acuity and the phorias between minus 0.08 and 0.04, and colour vision reaches 0.25, right on the threshold the authors had set without passing it. In the same panel the only visual measure that stands out is depth perception, which is a different ability. The result has to be read with its limits: these are screening tests run in one go, inside a battery of sixty-two variables given in two and a half hours to a sample aged 12 to 74; the paper does not say whether the archers took the tests wearing the glasses or lenses they normally shoot with, and nobody has ever checked whether correcting a sight defect changes the score.
Also phrased as: "does eyesight matter in archery"; "do you need perfect vision for archery"; "visual acuity and archery score"; "good eyes for archery"
In practice
Two opposite ideas go round the field: that good shooting takes a hawk's eyes, and that eyesight matters little because at seventy metres the centre is a patch of colour for everyone and the rest comes from repeating the shot.
Evidence
-
1986
For Archers Published later
102 recurve archers of mixed level, with eyesight measured on a screening instrument (Bausch and Lomb Ortho-rater): none of the eleven measures of acuity, phoria and colour vision is related to the score, taken as the average of the archer's official scores for the year. Far acuity r = 0.12 for the left eye and r = -0.12 for the right, colour vision r = 0.25, all the others between -0.08 and 0.04 (Table 4). The authors only kept variables beyond ±0.25 with p below 0.005.
A Psychobiological Study of Archery Performance · Daniel M. Landers, Stephen H. Boutcher, Min Q. Wang
-
1986
Context Archers Published later
In the same table the only visual measure related to the score is depth perception, r = -0.36, which enters the final regression model on 79 archers and adds 8 per cent of explained variance. It is a different ability from acuity and has to be read separately.
A Psychobiological Study of Archery Performance · Daniel M. Landers, Stephen H. Boutcher, Min Q. Wang
Status history
- 1986 Reported The only measurement on archers arrives, and the result is null: across a hundred and two recurve archers of mixed level, eleven different visual tests, from near and far acuity to horizontal and vertical phorias and colour vision, are not related to the score. The highest value is 0.25 for colour vision, far acuity sits between 0.12 and minus 0.12 and the rest between minus 0.08 and 0.04. In the same panel only depth perception is related to the score. It is a single cross-sectional study using screening tests, and the claim is written in the direction of its result: reported.
Related
Related articles
- Eyesight and archery: how much acuity, depth perception and glasses matter for your scoreDoes eyesight limit your score? What studies on archers have measured about acuity, depth perception, uncorrected sight defects and how big the target looks.
- Quiet Eye and Visual Training: the Science of Stable AimingQuiet eye in archery: what studies on archers have measured, why there is no right duration to chase, and how to work on the gaze before the release.
- How to improve your archery score: where to start and what to work onHow to measure your level, what sets better archers apart and the levers on your score, from release to mind and load, and how well the evidence holds.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Visual acuity is not related to an archer's score (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/visual-acuity-and-score
@misc{campagna2026_acuitavisivapunteggio,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Visual acuity is not related to an archer's score},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/visual-acuity-and-score},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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