How Scoring Works: FITA Scoring @ Vegas

We know that not everyone shoots archery. It can be a bit confusing looking at all of our equipment and trying to figure out how we score our tournaments. There are several different targets and different kinds of tournaments, so we'll stick to explaining the scoring on a "FITA" target for now. This is the target we will be shooting at most of our tournaments, and it is used at the tournament in Las Vegas that we are competing in on February 6-8.

A Standard FITA Archery Target

The FITA target (also called a "rainbow" target by archers) is a multicolored target consisting of 10 scoring zones. This target is colored as follows: the 1 and 2 rings are white, the 3 and 4 rings are black, the 5 and 6 rings are blue, the 7 and 8 rings are red, and the 9 and 10 rings in the center are yellow, or "gold". Inside the 10 ring, there is a smaller ring with an X marked in the center, often called the "X" ring. It is scored at a value of 10, and serves as a tiebreaker with the archer with the most Xs winning. These Xs are added up throughout the tournament and are presented with the final score.

In a Vegas indoor round, there are 10 "ends" shot at 20 yards. The term end is used to describe each phase of scoring. During each end, the archers all straddle the same line on the floor, called the shooting line.  Each archer shoots 3 arrows. After everyone is done shooting, the archers and judges walk down to their targets to score the arrows. The archers then collect their arrows, and return to the shooting line. After 10 ends have been completed, each archer has shot 30 arrows, with a maximum possible score of 300 points.

At the competition in Las Vegas, there will be 3 days of shooting. Archers shoot a full score on days 1 and 2, then their scores are added together, with a maximum of 600 points possible. Based on those scores, the archers are then put into flights on day 3, and shoot one more score against the archers at their skill level. At the end of day 3, each archer will have shot 90 arrows over the course of the entire tournament, with a total score out of 900 points possible.

For those pledging for an archer at Vegas, remember that we shoot 3 full scores, shooting 90 arrows!

The FITA target is  a wonderful target to get familiar with and, once you get more comfortable with the scoring process, keeping track of what is going on at a tournament is pretty easy.  We hope that you follow along with our blog and Facebook page come February 6-8th and support our archers at the Vegas International Indoor Shoot!  You can make a pledge by clicking the link below and filling out the form to support your chosen archer and organization!

~The AFC Team