Indoor championship basics: What division do you shoot in?
Kirsten Young
Hello archers! I hope your indoor practice is going well. As soon as I have all the line times and sign up info, I'll send it out to everyone. Meanwhile, make sure you have shot your qualifying score.
Indoor Championship basics: What division do you shoot in? Last year I was AFBHFS. It is based on your age, gender and shooting style. AFBHFS is Adult Female BowHunter FreeStyle.
All age divisions are based on the day you start the tournament. You will complete the tournament in the same class even if you have a birthday on day 2. An archer may only compete in one Division, but can register for multiple shooting styles.
See p34 of the NCFAA Constitution for more details on Divisions. https://www.nfaausa.com/sites/default/files/2014-15%20ConstByLaws.pdf
C is Cub, age under 12*
Y is Youth,
age 12-14*
YA is Young Adult, age 15-17*
A is Adult Amateur
P is Professional, for archers who are registered as professionals with any archery organization
S is Senior, age 50 and up*
SS is Silver Senior, age 60 and up*
MS is Master Senior, age 70 and up*
*archers may choose to shoot in a higher division e.g. Adult Amateur. Junior members need parental consent for this, and may not revert back.
Full definitions for Shooting Styles are on page 28 of the NFAA Constitution. I have done my best to summarize below.
YOUNG ADULT, YOUTH, CUB
Freestyle
Bowhunter Freestyle
Barebow
Freestyle Limited Recurve
ADULT, SENIOR, SILVER SENIOR, MASTER SENIOR
1. Freestyle (FS)– any style of sight; any hand-operated release aid that is only attached to bowstring; front and rear stabilizers allowed (but obviously must not touch body)
2. Bowhunter Freestyle (BHFS) - sight with up to 5 pins; peep sight (lens permitted); kisser button; release aid permitted; front stabilizer up to 12”; rear stabilizers. No clickers, no sight adjustment during the round.
3. Barebow (BB)- front and rear stabilizer and nocking point; Gloves, tabs, finger or chewstrap release. No sights or sighting aids such as marks
4. Traditional (TRAD)- only for recurve or longbow; glove, tab, finger or chewstrap release; one nocking point; one straight stabilizer up to 12”; bow sling. No sight or sighting aids, no clicker
5. Freestyle Limited Recurve (FSLR) - recurve or longbow; any sight without magnification; kisser button; gloves, tabs, finger or chewstrap release. No levels, peep sights, string attachments or electronic devices.
6. Longbow (LB)- similar to Traditional but a 1, 2 or 3 piece straight ended bow of any material and use wooden arrows. No stabilizers, no arrow rest and string may not touch bow anywhere between limb notches
PRO or PRO SENIOR
Freestyle
Freestyle Limited Recurve
Other rarely used shooting styles include
Freestyle Limited - Gloves, tabs, finger or chewstrap release
Bowhunter Freestyle Limited - Gloves, tabs, finger or chewstrap release
Bowhunter - Gloves, tabs, finger or chewstrap release. No sights or sighting aids such as marks
Crossbow (Adult only)
Maximum peak draw weight is 80lb and maximum arrow speed is 300 feet per second. Maximum arrow shaft diameter is 8.33mm or 21/64 inches.
You may hear people talking about Classes when they are describing Divisions. Technically,classes are based on skill level, and we don't divide people up that way in our NC Championships. However 'Class' is a shorter word, and sometimes its easier to use that instead of Division, so forgive us if we sometimes use the 2 interchangeably!
Cheers,
Kirsten