Field Archery Tournaments

Welcome to Field Archery!

Participating in any Field Archery Tournament is exciting, challenging, but above all else – should be fun!

OK, so you’ve decided to take part in Field Archery – what now?

This guide has been compiled making use of SANIFAA specific documents, and is aimed at helping you familiarize yourself with field archery.

Let’s start with the basics – What is Field Archery? 

According to Wikipedia, Field archery involves shooting at targets of varying distances, often in woodland and rough terrain.

One goal of field archery is to improve the techniques and abilities required for bowhunting in a more realistic outdoor setting. As with golf, fatigue can be an issue as the athlete walks the distance between targets across sometimes rough terrain. Field Archery is usually shot according to IFAA (International Field Archery Association) rules.  In South Africa, SANIFAA rules govern Field Tournaments, with the IFAA rules underpinning our constitution.  Field rounds consist of 28 targets, which have marked distances depending on the specific type of round.

Three common types of the SANIFAA Field round are the field, hunter, and animal. A round consists of 28 targets in two units of 14. The information in the following sections is taken from the SANIFAA Book of Rules.

Field

Field rounds are at 'even' distances up to 80 yards (some of the shortest are measured in feet instead), using targets with a black bullseye (5 points), a white center (4) ring, and black outer (3) ring.

Hunter

Hunter rounds use 'uneven' distances up to 70 yards, and although scoring is identical to a field round, the target has an all-black face with a white bullseye. Child and youth positions for these two rounds are closer, no more than 30 and 50 yards, respectively.

Animal

Animal rounds use life-size 2D animal targets with 'uneven' distances reminiscent of the hunter round. The rules and scoring are also significantly different. The archer begins at the first station of the target and shoots his first arrow. If it hits, he does not have to shoot again. If it misses, he advances to station two and shoots a second arrow, then to station three for a third if needed. Scoring areas are vital (20, 16, or 12) and nonvital (18, 14, or 10) with points awarded depending on which arrow scored first. Again, children and youth shoot from reduced range.