cOMpeTiTiOns

The road to London : qualifications of 64 men and 64 women

Two teams of three athletes from the host country. The top 8 teams of three archers and eight individual archers per gender qualified based on 2011 World Championships. Thirteen athletes from various Continental Qualifications Tournaments held in 2011-12. Three teams of three archers from a Final Team Qualification Tournament (during World Cup Stage 3 in Ogden, USA, 18-24 June 2012). At least four individuals from a Final Individual Qualification Tournament (during World Cup Stage 3 in Ogden, USA, 18-24 June 2012). Three invitation places. Any NOC that qualified three archers will present a team at the Olympic Games. All qualification places are earned by the NOC. All archers must meet Minimum Qualifications Standards (MQS) : they are of 1230 points for men and women in a FITA Round and 625 points for men and 600 points for women at a 70m Round. Not more than two teams of three archers from one NOC team can compete. The NOCs could qualify either a team of three athletes or one archer per gender, so a maximum of six participants.

changes from last Games

Individual will play matches out of 5 sets of 3 arrows. Tie-breaks are played out of one arrow closest to centre for individuals. For teams, each team member will shoot a single extra arrow in a shoot-off. The team with the highest score will win. If the score is still tied, the team that has the arrow closest to the centre wins ! Womens and mens matches will alternate during the 1/32 and 1/16 elimination rounds.

scoring
The target face has 10 concentric scoring rings (two per colour), scoring from 1 to 10 points. Hence the outside scoring ring is worth 1 point and the inside ring is worth 10 points. For all details please consult the Equipment section.

competition format
Athletes shoot a 70m Round in qualifications, 12 ends of 6 arrows. The maximum number of points is 720. Archers are ranked based on the number of points. The top 64 archers are paired for the up-coming match-play (called the Olympic Round) the No. 1 qualifier against No. 64, No. 2 against No. 63, etc. Out of the 12 teams participating, the top 4 in qualifications receive a bye for the 1/8 elimination round. The No. 5 will play against No. 12, No. 6 against No. 11, etc.

competitions

competitions 15

individual Matches
Athletes play matches out of 5 sets of 3 arrows. The winner of each setthe athlete who gets the highest cumulative score with his three arrowsgets 2 set points. If the set is tied each athlete gets 1 set point. The winner of the match is determined by the number of set points won, not the score of the arrows. The match winner is the first to reach 6 set points. The match will finish once the 6 set points is reached within the 5 sets. If the match is tied, a one-arrow (only!) shoot-off will be used to break the tie. The archer whose arrow is closest to the centre (if needed it will be measured) gets 1 extra point and wins. Athletes alternate to shoot each arrow and have 20 seconds per arrow.

Team Matches
Each nation with 3 athletes of the same gender in the same division can also compete in team competition. In the team matches, each team shoots 24 arrows4 ends of 6 arrows. They only have 2 minutes to shoot 6 arrows. Each team member shoots 2 arrows per end, shooting only one arrow at a time. Teams alternate shooting after every 3 arrows. The team with the highest score at the end wins the match. In case the two teams have a tied score, each team member will shoot a single extra arrow in a shoot-off. The team with the highest score will win. If the score is still tied, the team that has the arrow closest to the centre wins !

elimination and final Matches are like an intense tennis tournament, sometimes in one day ! The head-to-head competition combines simplicity, excitement and suspense.

here is an example of a recurve individual match

First set Athlete A shoots : 10, 10, 9 = 29 Athlete B shoots : 10, 9, 10 = 29 Both athlete A and B earn 1 set point. The score is tied at 1-1. Second set Athlete A shoots : 10, 10, 10 = 30 Athlete B shoots : 10, 5, 7 = 22 Athlete A earns the two points. He leads 3-1. Third set Athlete A shoots : 10, 10, 8, = 28 Athlete B shoots : 10, 10, 10 = 30 Athlete B earns the two points. He tied the match at 3-3. Fourth set Athlete A shoots : 10, 9, 8, = 27 Athlete B shoots : 10, 10, 10 = 30 Athlete B takes the lead 5-3. Fifth set Athlete A shoots : 10, 10, 9, = 29 Athlete B shoots : 10, 10, 8 = 28 Athlete A earns the two points and ties the match at 5-5. A one-arrow shoot-off is required to break the tie (to earn the extra set point). Shoot-off Athlete A shoots : 10 Athlete B shoots : 10* Lets measure that the arrow of the athlete B is the closest to centre and wins ! On the match chart results, the score would be shown as : Athlete A: 5 (29, 30, 28, 27, 29; T10) Athlete B: 6 (29, 22, 30, 30, 28; T10*) *Closest to centre

ranking
There will be a gold medal and a bronze medal match (only one bronze medal is awarded). The quarterfinalists are ranked first based on their set points, and then in their total arrow points. For the other rounds, the retired athletes/ teams are all ranked in the same position, i.e. 9th, 17th and 33rd.

protests/Appeals
A participant can appeal any unfair issue, with the exception of the value of a judged arrow.

differences with World championships and World cup

There are more participants in the World Archery Championships (more than 500 from about 80 countries) and at the World Cup (usually more than 300 from 50 countries) The archers shoot qualifications at 70 metres (70m Round) or over four distances (FITA Round: 90m, 70m, 50m and 30m for men and 70m, 60m, 50m and 30m for women). Other archery disciplines: Indoor, Field, Ski Archery, 3D Archery.

penalties / disqualification rules

There are set penalties for infractions. The most common are: loss of the value of any arrow shot after the allocated time and having to return behind the waiting line in case of an incorrect relay in the team event.

competitions - individual matches format

competitions - Teams 17