FightClub Archery Program Tournament Scoring

For many new archers in the FightClub Archery Program, stepping into your first tournament can feel both exciting and a little overwhelming. The range goes quiet, arrows thump into targets, and numbers get called out quickly. If you don’t know the scoring system, it can feel like everyone is speaking a secret language. But once you understand the basics, tournament archery scoring becomes a fun and motivating part of your development. Whether you’re part of our East York archery community or training in Toronto for bigger events, the rules are the same—and surprisingly simple.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know to enter your next tournament with confidence.

Understanding the Target and Scoring Rings

Most indoor and outdoor tournaments use a 10-ring World Archery target face, and each coloured ring has a specific value:

• Gold (yellow): 10 and 9 points

• Red: 8 and 7 points

• Blue: 6 and 5 points

• Black: 4 and 3 points

• White: 2 and 1 point

The scoring is beautifully intuitive—the closer the arrow is to the centre, the higher the score. The small circle in the very middle is the 10-ring, the highest-value shot on the target.

For students in our Toronto archery training program, the 10-ring becomes an important benchmark throughout your development. It rewards not only skill, but also calm breath control, strong posture, and consistent technique.

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What Is the X-Ring?

Inside the 10-ring is a tiny bonus circle known as the X-ring.

• In recurve archery (what most FightClub students shoot), an X is still worth 10 points, but tournaments track X’s separately.

• Why? Because X’s are used for tie-breakers. If two archers finish with the same total score, whoever has more X’s wins.

Think of X’s as proof of precision—your arrow didn’t just hit the bullseye, it hit the true centre. As your accuracy improves, counting your X’s becomes a great way to measure progress.

Number of Arrows Shot in a Tournament

While every event is a little different, most scoring rounds follow these formats:

• Indoor (18 metres): 60 arrows, shot in ends of 3

• Outdoor (70 metres Olympic distance): 72 arrows, shot in ends of 6

• Local club tournaments: often 30 arrows or fun novelty rounds

At FightClub, many students begin with local East York archery events, which are perfect for learning the rhythm of competition without pressure.

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After each end, archers walk to their target with their group. No one touches the arrows before scoring begins. Here’s the order:

1. The highest scoring arrow is called first: “10, 9, 7,” for example.

2. Scores are recorded in that order.

3. If an arrow touches a line—called a line cutter—you get the higher score.

4. Only after all scorers agree are the arrows removed from the target.

This system creates fairness and teaches athletes to observe carefully—an essential part of developing discipline in our youth archery program.

Misses, Bounce-Outs, and Robin Hoods

A few quick rules every archer should know:

• A miss is scored as 0.

• If an arrow bounces out, a judge may assign a value based on the visible mark.

• If you shoot a Robin Hood (one arrow into the back of another), both arrows count, and the second arrow takes the score of the one it struck.

These moments make tournaments memorable—every FightClub archer eventually collects stories like these.

Why Scoring Matters in Your Training Journey

Scoring isn’t just about numbers. It teaches consistency, concentration, and emotional control—skills we emphasize every day in our FightClub Archery Program. When students learn the scoring system, they begin to understand how every arrow reflects their posture, breathing, and mindset.

Whether you’re preparing for your first Toronto archery tournament or levelling up your skills in East York, understanding scoring turns every practice session into a purposeful training opportunity.