Archery GB's own classification and badge scheme, the first two levels of which we administer at club level.

The "Archer Tiers" give beginners a substantial way to mark their progression through the sport. New archers should typically be able to achieve a classification within their first 1-2 years. 

The outdoor classification system consists of 9 different awards that recognise progression through various milestones. The 9 awards are split into three tiers, each with three classifications in it. 

• The Archer Tier is aimed at a wide range of club-level archers starting with 3rd Class, then 2nd Class and finally 1st Class

• The Bowman Tier is aimed at archers who are at the level where they might choose to enter competitions, right the way from club-level events to national level events. 

• The Master Bowman Tier is aimed at archers competing at the highest levels of the sport. 

How to achieve a classification:

• To claim a classification, you need to shoot a number of recognised rounds (imperial or metric) achieving above a certain threshold score.
• The minimum number of arrows required changes as you move up the tiers (12 dozen (144) for Archer, 18 dozen (216) for Bowman)  and threshold scores are adjusted for bow type, gender and age.
• You can mix and match rounds of different lengths in order to make up the total number of scoring arrows required - for example you could shoot a Western 40 (8 dozen arrows) and then, at a later date, a National 40 (6 dozen arrows). This would give you a total of 14 dozen arrows shot, so exceeding the 12 dozen required for Archer tiers.
• Archer and Bowman classifications are administered at club level with Badges presented for achieving these tiers. 

Archery GB have produced tables showing the scores required to achieve each level covering all combinations of bowstyle, gender and age-group.

• Click Here for the RECURVE Classifications Table
• Click Here for the BAREBOW Classifications Table
• Click Here for the LONGBOW Classifications Table
• Click Here for the COMPOUND Classifications Table

Note: Any Classification achieved during a year will be held by that archer for the rest of that season and throughout the duration of the following year. Thereafter it will need to be achieved again.

We encourage our members to participate in this classification scheme, but as the duration of the rounds required for it take longer to shoot than our usual club sessions allow, we organise specific shoots for archers who want to earn their badges!

This is a popular round to shoot at Keynsham Archers as it doesn't take long timewise and suits all experience levels. The aim is to achieve a score of 252 or greater at your chosen distance (and then repeat the feat on another occasion!).

A 252 round consists of:

• Shooting 36 arrows (6 ends) on a 122cm target face using Imperial (5-zone) scoring at your chosen distance

• You can shoot 6 sighter (practice) arrows before scoring starts

• The 36 arrows can be shot as part of a longer round

• You can only shoot one 252 round at any given distance per day (you must declare before starting that you will be shooting a 252 attempt)

• Your score must be witnessed/verified by another club member

• You must repeat a score of 252 or greater at the same distance on a second occasion to qualify for the relevant badge

• 252 is the required score for archers shooting sighted Recurve bows. For Barebow, Longbow etc there are lower scores needed to earn the badge!

Click Here for a printable scoresheet (2 per page) for the 252 Scheme.

FOR WINTER ONLY! (Well, October to March - we generally shoot one Frostbite a month)

A good short round to keep you shooting outdoors in the chillier months.

A Frostbite round consists of:

• Shooting 36 arrows (6 ends) on a 80cm target face at 30m using Metric (10-zone) scoring

• You can shoot 6 sighter (practice) arrows before scoring starts

• Your score must be witnessed/verified by another club member

• A badge is awarded depending on your score achieved

• Badges start from 200 points and go up in roughly 25 point steps to 355. Therefore your score will be rounded down to the nearest available badge to denote which one you are awarded (i.e. a score of 233 will earn you the 225 badge)

• You only need to achieve a score once to earn a badge

• If on the next Frostbite shoot you increase your score to above the next badge threshold, you will be awarded this new badge

• The qualifying score for badges are based on archers shooting sighted Recurve bows. For Barebow, Longbow etc there are lower scores needed to earn the same badge!

Click Here for a printable scoresheet (2 per page) for the Frostbite Scheme.

Aimed at new archers after completion of their beginners' course, this scheme is a great motivator, encouraging archers to go further in the sport while having fun.

It is also open to current archers who wish to boost their skills.

There are five award colours you can receive - white, black, blue, red & gold - with each colour depicting a particular skill level.

• Rounds are shot at different distances depending on your age group and the colour award you are going for and either on an 80cm target face (distances in meters) or 122cm target face (distances in yards)
• You must shoot 3 qualifying scores at a particular level to be awarded that classification
• To gain a qualifying score, you will need to shoot 36 arrows in a single session – no splitting it across multiple sessions
• You can shoot 6 sighter (practice) arrows before scoring starts
• You are permitted to shoot more than one round in the same session

Click Here for the table of qualifying scores for the Archery GB Progress Awards.

Clout is a very different discipline to the normal target archery we practice at the club.

Clout entails shooting arrows at a flag in the ground from a relatively long distance - normally well over 100m away. Points are scored depending on how close each arrow lands to the flag with the scoring zones defined by a rope marked with coloured bands being "swept" around the flag after the arrows have been shot.

Due to the greatly increased risk of "stray" arrows during a clout shoot, any archer taking part must have had instruction/training before they can participate.

A clout round consists of:

• Shooting 36 arrows (6 ends) at a low flag in the ground
• The Archery GB Imperial Round Clout Target is a circle of 24 feet (7.3 metres) diameter
• There are five scoring zones, scoring 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points respectively
• The recognised distances are 180 yards for men, 140 yards for ladies and various distances from 80 to 140 yards for juniors

Click Here for a printable scoresheet (2 per page) for Clout shooting.

Traditionally archers shoot predetermined quantities of arrows at a set distance or combination of distances with the intention of achieving the highest score possible.

These combinations of numbers of arrows and distances are called "rounds" and there are many of them to choose from, depending on the archers ability, if they are trying to achieve a classification or if they are shooting in a competition.

Archery GB uses a set of Imperial rounds where the distances are measured in yards and the target faces are 122cm in diameter. Imperial 5-Zone scoring is used where the gold zone is worth 9 points, red 7 points, blue 5 points, black 3 points and white 1 point.

World Archery has a series of Metric rounds which are shot at distances measured in metres with 122cm and 80cm diameter target faces depending on the round. Metric 10-Zone scoring is used. Each colour section is split into two bands with scores decreasing from the centre outwards of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1 for each band respectively.

Both metric and imperial rounds are listed on the following tables showing the number of dozen arrows to be shot at each distance. i.e. where the table shows 6 under a distance, then this is 6 dozen (72) arrows to be shot.

• Click Here for the list of IMPERIAL Rounds
• Click Here for the list of METRIC Rounds 

What is the Archery GB Handicap Scheme?

The following information has been taken from the Archery GB website

What is an archer's handicap?

At its most simple, a handicap can be viewed as a measure of precision (i.e. group size or consistency) which can indicate your consistency over time across different rounds. The smaller the handicap, the smaller the group and the better the score. 

A perfect archer can shoot an identical shot every time to hit the spider or ‘x’ at the centre of the target. However, in reality, no archer is perfect, and our rounds have imperfections due to variation in technique from shot to shot, the point of release as the sight floats, etc. Each arrow follows a slightly different path to the target. The spread of the arrows as they leave the bow translates directly to the size of the group down range and hence the score. The more skilled an archer is, the smaller the variation from the perfect shot and the smaller the group.

We assign a number to measure the amount of variation as the arrows leave the bow - this is the handicap. By tracking where the arrows land on a particular target face at a given distance, we can then calculate the expected score.

Why are handicaps useful?

The best-known use of handicaps is to compare performance across different rounds. As there are a variety of different rounds each requiring a different number of arrows shot, it can be difficult to know how a score on one distance compares to a score on another.

Since handicaps represent an absolute measure of precision, all the scores corresponding to a single handicap represent a consistent level of performance. The Archery GB classification scheme uses this approach. Each bowstyle and classification level is assigned a specific handicap, and qualifying scores for each round are calculated from this.

Handicaps can help you track your progress. Whilst the classifications and other badge schemes provide a number of milestones on your archery journey, it can take some time to progress between each one. Handicaps are closer together so you can continue seeing progress, even if you don’t get any new badges.

How do we calculate your handicap?

Using the approach just described, tables have been produced that show each handicap and corresponding score for many different rounds. If you shoot a certain score on a certain round you can look up the handicap that corresponds to that score. Once you have shot three scores your handicaps are averaged to provide a starting value.

Each time you shoot a better score, the corresponding handicap is calculated. The reason we don’t use scores that are worse is to maintain a true representation of your ability and avoid adverse effects such as bad weather impacting the value.

At the end of the season (31 December for outdoors), your three best handicaps from scores made during that season are averaged together. This provides the starting handicap for you for the following season. 

Calculating your outdoor handicap and classification

Click Here for the official Archery GB Handicap Tables (July 2023).

Many people also make use of score tracking apps on their smartphones or third-party online tables & calculators for calculating their handicaps and classifications.