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Preparing for Indoor Archery Season

Indoor archery is an easy way to enter the sport’s competitive world. Archers shoot indoor targets at 20 yards, and beginners will find plenty of indoor tournaments nationwide.

To start, choose a tournament from one of the governing bodies’ schedules, such as USA Archery or the National Field Archery Association. Sign up for the event and begin training. The next major indoor tournament is months away, but you’ll find plenty of opportunities to prepare. This early portion of indoor training is an excellent time to build your endurance, and experiment with equipment and shooting techniques.

Building Endurance

Archers shoot 30 to 60 arrows during most indoor tournaments. If you’re not used to taking that many shots, you must improve your strength. To build archery endurance, draw your bow, hold it at full draw as long as possible, and let down slowly. Take a short break and repeat. Several daily repetitions of that exercise quickly build your archery muscles. Other exercises that boost your game are planks and squats. Click here to learn more about archery exercises.

Form Work

Learning new aspects of archery form takes time, and the process usually causes your scores to dip. Therefore, to make major changes, start sooner, not later. You’ll likely need lots of time to adjust to new techniques before competing in tournaments.

Equipment Setup

Small adjustments to your bow or arrows can make a big difference. Photo Credit: ATA

Experimenting with new gear also takes time, but indoor season is a great time to test new gear, or determine ingredients for new arrows. You can also try small tuning adjustments to see how they affect your scores. You just might find your next winning combination!

Competition Practice

Once you find a new technique and settle on equipment that works well in practice, test everything under pressure. Leagues and tournaments are ideal testing grounds for your form and equipment. Local events also provide excellent practice for big events. You’ll get used to scoring, shooting around other people, and handling the nerves and excitement of competitive environments. Contact an archery shop for information on nearby indoor tournaments.

Archery shops also provide equipment and coaching to help you get started in the indoor season. Click here to find a nearby shop.

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