The History of Target Archery: from the Olympics to your Hometown

When thinking of archery, we tend to drift to movie heroes fighting for good with their bow and arrows or maybe ancient people on the hunt, but the most popular activity is actually target shooting. Target archery is the world’s most popular archery game, and this Olympic sport has hundreds of thousands of members across more than 140 countries! Now you can get a taste of why this game is so popular right here in Toronto at Archers Arena. In celebration of the addition of this game to our program, here is a little lesson about the sport, how it works, and why it is so awesome!

A brief history

Archery is one of the world’s oldest activities, and is by far one of the oldest sports still practiced today. When you pull back that string and let the arrow fly, just think that you are playing the same game that ancient people played thousands of years ago. Now that’s real staying power.

Ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and other noble kingdoms held tournaments full of prestige and honour, and even into the middle ages skill with a bow was held in high esteem. While battle and hunting were certainly the major uses of the bow and arrow, as the world began to settle down, shooting at targets became the game of choice. By the late 19th century, it became so widespread that an association was founded in nearly all major nations. At the turn of the century, it joined the Olympics, and by the 1930’s a set of international rules had been made.

Today it holds its place as one of the most prestigious events in the world, and with the explosion in popularity in recent years, people of all ages are beginning to get involved in the fun.

The rules

The rules may vary depending on whether you are indoors or outdoors, and since we use only safe, foam-tipped arrows, we don’t have quite the same precautions as those who use real arrows. Still, there are some things that you should know:

• Standard indoor distance is 18-25 meters depending on difficulty
• Standard indoor competition is played in “ends” of 3-6 arrows. After you shoot, you go to the board to score your round.
• The standard rule is two minutes to shoot three arrows, but we might be lenient for beginners.
• Archer’s score their own rounds. If an arrow is touching a boundary on the target, they are awarded the higher score.
• You can’t touch the arrows during or before scoring!
• You need to have fun and try to beat all of your friends.

Archers Arena Toronto

We have a wide selection of games to fit any and all personalities. If you want to play a fast paced game full of running, jumping, diving, and strategizing, then we’ve got something for you. However, if you enjoy something a little more focused that makes you really concentrate on hitting a target, then we’ve got that too.

We are Toronto’s premier destination for all things archery related. Our state-of-the-art facility is equipped with multiple arenas for playing and all of the targets and equipment you could possibly need.

If you want to get in on the game that is sweeping the world, there is no better place than Archers Arena. Target archery is fast becoming popular of people of all ages around the world, and especially here in Toronto. Come down to Archers Arena and give it a shot. We are sure that you’ll come back.