An expert's judgement of an archer's technique predicts their score

The summary today

Two studies of archers find a link between rated technique and score, and both have limitations that matter. In 62 male recurve archers from the Indonesian national championship, technical quality is the factor most closely linked to the FITA round score among those measured, with a direct coefficient of 0.50, but the paper does not describe how technique was rated and some of its figures are not compatible with each other. In 31 Thai archers with international experience, a ten-item technique sheet is moderately linked to score (r = 0.38 before a programme with video and experts, 0.41 after), in a journal with questionable editorial standards and with an unreliable form for recording performance (alpha 0.56 to 0.66). On the side of the judges there is firmer ground: in 1999 four Swedish national coaches rated the skill of twenty young archers with close agreement (R = 0.90), and in the groups formed from that rating the least skilled shot worse than the other two; it was, however, a rating of overall skill rather than technique, and the study does not say it was made without knowing the archers' results. What is missing is a judgement made by someone who does not know the scores, using a published rating grid.

Also phrased as: "the coach can see who shoots well"; "technique assessment"; "the coach's eye"; "technique rating sheet"; "technique and score"

Evidence

• 1999
  Context Archers Published later

  In a study of flotation sensory deprivation with 20 young Swedish archers, four national coaches rate their skill to form the groups, and their ratings agree closely (multiple correlation R = 0.90, p < 0.001). It shows that the rating can be repeated across different judges, not that it predicts score.

  Primary process in competitive archery performance: Effects of flotation REST · Torsten Norlander, Henrik Bergman, Trevor Archer

• 1999
  Context Archers Published later

  In the same study the three groups formed from the coaches' rating shoot differently (F(2,17) = 9.92, p = 0.002): in the control condition the least skilled average 91.3 points, against 105.6 for the intermediates and 105.5 for the elite, and only the least skilled differ from the others. The rating is of overall skill rather than technique, and the study does not say it was made without knowing the archers' results: that is why it stays as context.

  Primary process in competitive archery performance: Effects of flotation REST · Torsten Norlander, Henrik Bergman, Trevor Archer

• 2014
  For Archers Published later

  62 male recurve archers chosen from the 200 at the 2010 Indonesian national championship, path analysis on arm strength, draw length, rated technique and FITA round score: technique has the largest direct effect on score (0.50, that is 25 per cent of the variance), and the three factors together explain 91 per cent of it. The method used to rate technique is not described, the measures are standard scores with standard deviations hardly compatible with the means, and such a high share of explained variance is unusual.

  Influence of Arm Muscle Strength, Draw Length and Archery Technique on Archery Achievement · Hidayat Humaid

• 2021
  For Archers Published later

  31 Thai archers with international experience, rated on a ten-item technique sheet before and after a programme with video and experts: the correlation between sheet and shooting score is 0.375 before and 0.413 after, with p values (below 0.001) hard to reconcile with 31 people. Taken together, the ten items would explain 51 per cent of the variation before and 69 after, shares inflated by ten predictors on 31 archers. Journal with questionable editorial standards.

  Efficient Archery Posture Training Analysis of Archery Performances for the Talent Development and Excellence Achievements Questionable venue · Chaturong Hemara, Pravet Ketkan, Juthamas Singchainara, Toansakul Tony Santiboon

• 2021
  Context Archers Published later

  In the same paper the 50-item technique sheet is reasonably consistent internally (Cronbach's alpha 0.67 to 0.88 across the ten scales), while the form used to record performance is not (0.56 before, 0.66 after): the weakest part is precisely the measure set against the rating. In the skills profile the lowest item is aiming accuracy (16.42 out of 25), the only one without significant differences.

  Efficient Archery Posture Training Analysis of Archery Performances for the Talent Development and Excellence Achievements Questionable venue · Chaturong Hemara, Pravet Ketkan, Juthamas Singchainara, Toansakul Tony Santiboon

Status history

1. 1999 Not studied The first finding concerns the judges: four Swedish national coaches rating the skill of twenty young archers agree closely with one another (R = 0.90), and in the groups formed from that rating the least skilled shoot worse than the others, while the intermediate and elite groups are level. But the rating is of overall skill rather than technique, it comes from coaches who know the archers, and it serves only to form the groups of an experiment on flotation tanks: it does not test the question, which remains unstudied.
2. 2014 Reported The first association in archers arrives: in 62 national-level recurve archers, rated technical quality is the factor most closely linked to score among those measured (direct coefficient 0.50, a quarter of the variance). The rating method, however, is not described and some of the paper's figures are not compatible with each other: it is a cross-sectional association, and the status stops at reported.
3. 2021 Reported A second study, of 31 Thai archers rated on a written technique sheet, finds a moderate link with score (r around 0.4), but it appeared in a journal with questionable editorial standards and records performance with an unreliable form. Two weak associations in the same direction: the status remains reported.

Related

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• Talent identification: tests and assessment batteriesWhat talent tests in archery actually measure: coaches' ratings, physical tests, attention, years of practice and predictive models, and where their limits lie.
• Repeatability and consistency: measuring the steadiness of your shotHow repeatable an archer's shot is: what studies say about level, good and bad days, arrows outside the 10, and how to measure consistency on the range.

Research lines

• 48 studiesWhat predicts the score, and how talent selection tried to use it
• 63 studiesThe archer's physical profile: strength, endurance and size

Other claims in this domain

• CorroboratedBetween one and a half and two tenths of a second pass between the clicker sounding and the arrow leaving7 studies · 94 archers measuredStatus since 1990
• ReportedA camera diagonally behind the archer measures the vertical sway of the aim well, but not the horizontal1 study · 3 archers measuredStatus since 2010
• ReportedA continuous final pull through the clicker leads to better shots9 studies · 56 archers measuredStatus since 1993
• ReportedA sound or light cue about the angle of the bow arm tightens beginners' groups2 studies · 1 archers measuredStatus since 2012
• ReportedA thumb grip on the string is less tiring than a finger grip3 studies · 9 archers measuredStatus since 1990

See all claims on technique and biomechanics