Matteo Campagna
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Higher-level archers complete the draw more quickly

6 studies · 106 archers measured

ForContextAgainst2000200520102015202020251997, for, n = 302023, context, n = 282024, for, n = 282024, context, n = 282023, against, n = 162010, context, n = 42022, 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 long the draw takes at different levels, in two studies that measure it group by group

For the Chinese study each bar is the group mean and the whiskers are the ± in the table, which the study does not define; the difference is significant only between the second category and the other two levels, and the study comes from a questionable venue. For the Malaysian study the bar is the median over 288 arrows per group, shot at 70 metres: the study gives the interquartile range, 0.86 and 0.64 seconds, which is not drawn here, and the difference between the two groups is not significant (p = 0.174). The two studies do not measure the same phase: the Chinese one runs from the highest point of the bow to the elbow coming to rest, at 30 metres, the Malaysian one from pre-draw to anchor, on video at 30 frames per second. So the bars are compared within each study, not from one study to the other. Left out are the 1997 study, which measures when the shoulders move most rather than how long the draw takes, the study on the Polish national team, which gives only maximum durations and no test, and the one that compares arrows from the same archers rather than archers of different levels. Data from: Zhang and Lin 2024 and Lau et al. 2023.
The numbers in the figure
StudyGroupValue (seconds)Intervaln
Zhang and Lin 2024, 28 Chinese national and provincial team archers, for the claimInternational masters2.1± 0.4 (± as reported by the study)8
Zhang and Lin 2024, 28 Chinese national and provincial team archers, for the claimNational first category2.2± 0.5 (± as reported by the study)12
Zhang and Lin 2024, 28 Chinese national and provincial team archers, for the claimNational second category2.5± 0.8 (± as reported by the study)8
Lau et al. 2023, 16 young Malaysian recurve archers, median of the arrows, against the claimThe eight best, 285 out of 360 or more1.468
Lau et al. 2023, 16 young Malaysian recurve archers, median of the arrows, against the claimThe eight weaker, below 2851.368

It depends on who is being compared. Between experts and beginners the difference is there: in 1997, in fifteen expert archers and fifteen beginners, the peak of shoulder movement in the transition from set-up to draw came at 0.38 s against 0.63, and in 2024, in 28 Chinese archers, the draw took 2.1 s in the international masters and 2.5 in the second category. Among archers who are already competent, though, it disappears: in sixteen young Malaysian recurve archers, the eight best took 1.46 s for the draw against 1.36 for the eight weaker ones, a non-significant difference and if anything in the opposite direction, and in the Chinese study the first category already drew as fast as the masters. The 1997 figure is read off a graph, with no test, and the 2024 one comes from a questionable venue. A different question, which arrow rather than which archer, has a weak answer: in four elite women archers the 10s had a full draw of 4.8 s against 5.6 on the 8s.

Also phrased as: "a decisive draw"; "reaching anchor without hesitating"; "draw speed and skill level"; "a slow draw tires you"; "champions draw faster"

In practice

It is said that a decisive draw without hesitation is the mark of an advanced archer, and that those who take too long to reach anchor tire themselves out and lose the sequence of the shot.

Evidence

  • 1997
    For Archers Published later

    15 expert archers (at least 3 years of practice) and 15 beginners (less than 1 year), aged 20 to 25, shooting barebow, 2D video analysis sampled at 1/30 s with shoulder displacement normalised to shoulder width: the peak displacement, in the transition from set-up to draw, comes at 0.38 s in the experts and at 0.63 s in the beginners. Group averages read off the graph, with no statistical test; the experts also open the angle between shoulder and elbow of the drawing arm wider, 155 degrees against 140.

    The Movement Measurement and Analysis of an Arm in Archery Shooting · Hisaya Tanaka, Hideto Ide, Yuji Nagashima

  • 2010
    Context Archers Published later

    4 Turkish elite women archers, 108 arrows at 18 m indoors: total draw time, from the first activation of the trapezius to the clicker dropping, is 5.6 ± 1.4 s on the 8s, 5.0 ± 1.0 on the 9s and 4.8 ± 0.9 on the 10s (F = 5.0, p < 0.05, r = -0.280), while time at full draw, 2.6, 2.4 and 2.3 s, does not change significantly. It compares arrows from the same archer, not archers of different levels; the same data were also published in 2011.

    Shooting Dynamics in Archery · M. Emre Erkek, Cevdet Tinazci

  • 2022
    Context Review Published later

    Systematic review of 41 studies: on draw duration it finds a single paper, on elite archers, in which the shot with the shorter draw is more accurate, on a very small number of observations. It answers the question of which arrow, not which archer.

    Performance assessment in archery: a systematic review · Eleonora Vendrame, Valeria Belluscio, Luigi Truppa, Lorenzo Rum, Aldo Lazich, Elena Bergamini, Andrea Mannini

  • 2023
    Against Archers Published later

    16 young recurve archers from Malaysian state squads, 576 arrows at 70 m, split into the 8 best and the 8 weaker archers: the phase from pre-draw to anchor takes 1.46 s in the best and 1.36 in the weaker ones (p = 0.174), and its length has no link with arrow score (r = 0.031, p = 0.456). The best archers in fact take slightly longer over the whole shot, 10.46 against 9.74 s.

    Comparison of Shooting Time Characteristics and Shooting Posture Between High- and Low- Performance Archers · Jiun Sien Lau, Rosniwati Ghafar, Erie Zuraidee Zulkifli, Hairul Anuar Hashim, Harsa Amylia Mat Sakim

  • 2023
    Context Archers Published later

    14 Polish national team archers and 14 physical education students who had never shot a sports bow: among the details of the method the authors report that the movement analysed, from set-up to aiming, lasted at most 4.2 s in the professionals and 9.7 s in the beginners. These are maximum durations, not averages, with no test, different bows (36 to 40 lb against 30) and beginners who did not release the arrow.

    Dynamical Analyses Show That Professional Archers Exhibit Tighter, Finer and More Fluid Dynamical Control than Neophytes · Hesam Azadjou, Michalina Błażkiewicz, Andrew Erwin, Francisco J. Valero-Cuevas

  • 2024
    For Archers Published later

    28 Chinese recurve archers from national and provincial squads, 12 valid arrows each at 30 m: the draw takes 2.1 ± 0.4 s in the international masters, 2.2 ± 0.5 s in the first category and 2.5 ± 0.8 s in the second, with a significant difference only against the second category (p < 0.01 in both comparisons). The advantage stops early: the first category draws as fast as the masters. A questionable venue.

    A Comparative Study on the Joint Coordination of Archery Athletes of Different Skill Levels: Based on Functional Data Analysis Questionable venue · Baifa Zhang, Zhi-Cheng Lin

  • 2024
    Context Archers Published later

    In the same sample the overall length of the shot, from draw to release, does not separate the levels: 4.3 ± 1.3 s in the international masters, 4.6 ± 1.7 in the first category and 4.8 ± 1.8 in the second, with no significant differences.

    A Comparative Study on the Joint Coordination of Archery Athletes of Different Skill Levels: Based on Functional Data Analysis Questionable venue · Baifa Zhang, Zhi-Cheng Lin

Status history

  1. 1997 Reported The first study of arm movement in the shot follows on video the shoulders of fifteen expert archers, with at least three years of practice, and fifteen beginners with less than one: the moment the shoulders move most is the transition from set-up to draw, and it comes at 0.38 s in the experts against 0.63 in the beginners. These are averages read off a graph, with no test, in a cross-sectional comparison: there is evidence in favour, and it is limited.
  2. 2010 Reported In four Turkish elite women archers, 108 arrows at 18 m, the full draw takes 5.6 s on the 8s and 4.8 on the 10s, a weak but significant correlation, while time at full draw does not change. It points the same way but answers a different question, which arrow rather than which archer, so it does not enter the count and the status remains reported.
  3. 2023 Contested Sixteen young Malaysian recurve archers, 576 arrows at 70 m with full statistics: between the eight best and the eight weaker archers the draw takes 1.46 against 1.36 s, a non-significant difference and if anything in favour of the slower ones, and it has no link with arrow score. In the same year a study on the Polish national team reports, among the details of its method, that the movement analysed, from set-up to aiming, lasted at most 4.2 s in the professionals and 9.7 in people who had never shot, but with no test. With the first comparison between competent archers finding no difference, the studies point in opposite directions: contested.
  4. 2024 Contested In 28 Chinese recurve archers of three levels the draw takes 2.1 s in the international masters, 2.2 in the first category and 2.5 in the second: the difference is significant only against the second category, and the overall length of the shot does not separate the levels. It confirms the picture, faster than those just starting out and equal among the strongest, but it comes from a questionable venue and decides nothing: the status stays contested.

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Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). Higher-level archers complete the draw more quickly (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/faster-draw-expert-archers

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_trazionerapidaesperti,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {Higher-level archers complete the draw more quickly},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/faster-draw-expert-archers},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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