Ground Archery

We are currently updating our tournament roster for the 2020 festival – we will be publishing the unique ground events shortly!

The following rules are our overall range rules – and will give an idea of what equipment is required for the various events.

Overall Ground Archery Competition Rules

  • The following are general rules for all archery related events taking place at TXIAF.
  • The courses are “free form” – in that, you may complete your event anytime during the day, but must complete the course in a single session – present yourself to the range master to begin your scoring; there is no warmup round.
  • The practice range will be open throughout the day but may close if we are short staffed.
  • Range Master will give pull/clear/hold commands for retrieving arrows and ready to fire respectively.
  • During a hold/cease fire or if there is anyone on the field – all arrows must be pointed towards the ground.
  • Archers must fire with one foot over the line; exceptions will be made for those persons with disabilities and must be as close to, or on the line if possible.
  • Do not remove or touch arrows until scoring of the entire target is over and range master/line judge gives the OK.
  • Any arrow that breaks the scoring line will be counted as the higher number.
  • A judge may be called for any reason to settle scoring disputes.
  • For arrows that do not “stick” – “bounce outs” do not count.
  • There are no re-shoots for any reason; the only exceptions are dropping an arrow (if they can be safely picked up they may be shot as long as time remains) or a target falling over – in the event of a fallen target the range master will call a hold and make a decision on a case by case basis.
  • PLEASE NOTE – If any archer acts in an unsafe manner, they may be removed from the range by TXIAF personnel at any time and without recourse or refund; if after a warning they persist in the unsafe activity they will be removed from the festival grounds.
  • TXIAF has a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY for drugs and alcohol during live fire events; if a competitor is found to be drinking, suspected of being intoxicated or under the influence of drugs they will be pulled from their events for the day, and potentially banned from future competitions.

 

Traditional Class (Ground Events) Rules

All bows and arrows must be inspected by registration staff before competing for both safety reasons (flaws, issues, safety risks) and for adherence to the following rules:

  • For the Traditional Class – wood/bamboo arrows are required; no carbon fiber, aluminum or fiberglass arrows allowed.
  • No plastic or unnatural material vanes – only traditional feather fletching allowed.
  • Self nocks, horn nocks and plastic nocks are acceptable.
  • Competitor name must be written on each arrow used in the competition.
  • Tabs, gloves, bare fingers and thumb rings are all acceptable releases; no mechanical releases allowed.
  • Target points only – no broadheads, medieval points or bodkins.
  • No modern compound bows, take down recurves with risers or barebows allowed.
  • No sighting devices of any kind allowed – which includes peep sights, mechanical sights as well as string walking utilizing a marked tab, marks on the bow, string or hand – only one warning will be given before being removed from the course.
  • Shelves, contoured/pistol grips not allowed, arrows must be shot “off the hand”.
  • Overdraw devices are not allowed – including but not limited to cipers, majra, etc.
  • Bows must be traditional in form, material construction/laminations do not matter.
  • Grips may be wrapped with leather or cord, but may not be layered to create an impromptu shelf – if this is the case, removal may be required at judges discretion.

 

Open Class (Ground Events) Rules

All bows and arrows must be inspected by registration staff before competing for both safety reasons (flaws, issues, safety risks) and for adherence to the following rules:

  • For the Open Class – all arrow types allowed, including wood/bamboo, carbon fiber and aluminum.
  • Competitor name must be written on each arrow used in the competition.
  • Tabs, gloves, bare fingers and thumb rings are all acceptable releases; no mechanical releases allowed.
  • Target points only – no broadheads, medieval points or bodkins.
  • Shelves and contoured/pistol grips are allowed.
  • No modern compound, “barebow” or Olympic-style bows allowed, however take-down recurves and modern construction longbows/flatbows are acceptable.
  • Overdraw devices of any kind are not allowed.
  • No accessories allowed on bows (even if they have the ability to accept them), including weights, stabilizers or fish finders.
  • No sighting devices of any kind allowed – which includes peep sights, mechanical sights as well as string walking utilizing a marked tab, marks on the bow, string or hand – only one warning will be given before being removed from the course.
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