In competition the longest phase of the shot is the wait before the bow goes up
1 study · 16 archers measured
The summary today
Only one study has timed the phases of the shot in competition, from video of the 2007 World Outdoor Championships: the two recurve world champions and their opponents, seven matches each of 12 arrows. The stretch between the signal and raising the bow lasts 6.7 to 21.8 seconds in the men's matches and 4.0 to 25.5 in the women's, and it is the longest phase in 27 of the 28 series measured; the exception is the women's champion in the final, with 4.01 seconds of waiting against 4.07 of raise and draw. It is also the one that changes most from round to round: averaged over each match it goes from 6.7 to 17.9 seconds for the men's champion and from 4.0 to 15.3 for the women's, while the aim keeps the same length in both. The data come from a single tournament and from head-to-head matches, with the timing of that format, and the study does not say whether a longer wait helps or costs points.
Also phrased as: "preparation before raising the bow"; "time before the bow goes up"; "pre-shot routine"; "waiting on the shooting line"; "how long shot preparation takes"
In practice
It is said that in competition the shot starts before the bow goes up, and that the time spent on the shooting line preparing the arrow is part of the shot rather than dead time.
Evidence
-
2009
For Archers Published later
Video of the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Leipzig, the men's and women's individual recurve gold medallists and all their opponents from the round of 64 to the final, seven matches each of 12 arrows: 6.73 to 21.83 seconds pass from the signal to raising the bow in the men's matches and 4.01 to 25.50 in the women's, longer than any other phase in 27 series out of 28. The exception is the women's champion in the final, 4.01 seconds against 4.07 from the raise to the anchor. The differences between phases are significant in every match (F from 20.15 to 191.76, p < 0.001).
Characteristics of time spent on each phase during archery shooting: A study of the men's and women's individual gold medalists from the World Outdoor Archery Championships · Hideaki Takai, Yoko Kubo, Masanobu Araki
-
2009
Context Archers Published later
In the same matches the coefficient of variation of the preparation before the raise ranges from 20.8 to 121.7 per cent, against 2.3 to 26.1 for the follow-through. It is the most variable phase in 11 of the 14 men's series but in only 4 of the 14 women's: in the women's champion and many of her opponents the aim varies more, and in the champion it is very short. From one round to the next the aim is the only phase whose length stays the same in both champions, while the preparation changes.
Characteristics of time spent on each phase during archery shooting: A study of the men's and women's individual gold medalists from the World Outdoor Archery Championships · Hideaki Takai, Yoko Kubo, Masanobu Araki
Status history
- 2009 Reported The first timing in competition, of the two 2007 world champions and their opponents, finds that 4 to 25 seconds pass from the signal to raising the bow, longer than any other phase in 27 series out of 28, and that its average length changes a great deal from round to round. It is a single study, of one tournament and of head-to-head matches: the evidence is there and it is limited.
Related
Related articles
- Pre-shot routine in archery: how to build one on evidenceWhat to put in a pre-shot routine, how long it should last and what the data say: consistent timing, breathing, target panic and relaxing before the shot.
- How long an archery shot lasts: the timing of each phase and the scoreHow long the wait, the draw, the aim and the follow-through last in an archery shot, and what their timing says about the score of each arrow.
Research lines
Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.
See the full assessmentCite
Campagna, M. (2026). In competition the longest phase of the shot is the wait before the bow goes up (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/time-before-raising-the-bow
@misc{campagna2026_tempoprimadialzarearco,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {In competition the longest phase of the shot is the wait before the bow goes up},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/technique/time-before-raising-the-bow},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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