3. Playing Area
Distances and Faces
- Recurve shoots 70 m outdoors at the 122 cm face, 72 arrows in the Qualification Round (Book 2, 4.5.1.1)
- Barebow shoots 50 m at the 122 cm face; Compound shoots 50 m at the 80 cm face (Book 2, 4.5.1.1)
- Recurve U18 and 50+ shoot 60 m; Recurve U15 shoots 40 m; Barebow U15 shoots 30 m (Book 2, 4.5.1.1)
- Indoor competition is at 18 m over 60 arrows, on 40 cm triple faces (Book 2, 4.5.1.1)
- At International Events the 40 cm triple faces are mandatory for the Qualification Round; elsewhere single or triple faces are the organiser's choice (Book 2, 4.5.1.1)
Field Layout
- The field of play is established with 90-degree corners, each distance measured accurately from a point vertically beneath the gold of each face to the shooting line (Book 2, 7.1.1.2)
- It is positioned so athletes are not facing directly into the sun — North ±20 degrees in the Northern Hemisphere, South ±20 degrees in the Southern (Book 2, 7.1.1.2)
- Distance tolerances are 30 cm at 90, 70 and 60 m; 15 cm at 50, 40 and 30 m; and 10 cm at 25 and 18 m (Book 2, 7.1.1.2)
- Venue altitude may not exceed 1800 m above sea level without the Technical Delegate's authorisation (Book 2, 7.1.1.1)
The Lines
- A line 3 m in front of the shooting line is provided, its width falling inside the 3 m area (Book 2, 7.1.1.3)
- For Team Rounds a clearly visible line is marked 1 m behind the shooting line, at least 3 cm wide (Book 2, 7.1.1.3)
- The athletes' waiting line is at least 3 m behind the shooting line, or 4 m if there is a media lane (Book 2, 7.1.1.3)
- A media lane line, if provided, sits between the shooting and waiting lines, at least 3 m from the shooting line (Book 2, 7.1.1.3)
- The equipment line is at least 4 m behind the waiting line, so 7 or 8 m behind the shooting line depending on the media lane (Book 2, 7.1.1.3)
- While shooting is in progress, coaches must remain behind the equipment line (Book 2, 7.1.1.3)
Butts and Assignment
- The butt front must be large enough that an arrow just missing the outermost scoring zone still stays in the butt (Book 2, 7.2.1)
- Butts are firmly attached to supports secured to the ground so they cannot be blown or pulled over (Book 2, 7.2.1.1)
- Butts at long distances (30–70 m) are set at 10 to 15 degrees from vertical, and at short distances 0 to 10 degrees — but a whole line of butts is set at the same angle (Book 2, 7.1.1.4)
- Target numbers are at least 30 cm tall for long distances and 15 cm for short (Book 2, 7.2.1.2)
- All athletes in a category are assigned to one field of play (Book 2, 7.1.1.6)
- Wherever possible three athletes are assigned per butt, four if space does not permit (Book 2, 7.1.1.7)