Archery

4-H Rules & Safety at a Glance

Kansas 4-H archery follows the Kansas 4-H Shooting Sports Fall Match Championships General Rules (updated August 2026), the World Archery rulebook for the target round, and the NFAA and IBO rulebooks for the Trail round. The current official rules and each match's bulletin always come first.

Who can compete

• 4-H membership is required. Youth must be officially enrolled in 4-H and fall in the age divisions below, counted as of January 1.
• Divisions. Juniors are 4-H age 9–13 and Seniors are 14–18.
• Bow classes. Barebow Recurve, Olympic Recurve, Compound Bowhunter, and Compound Open — each with its own qualifying score.

Getting to the state match

• Qualifying scores (out of 240, from the target round): Barebow 120, Olympic 140, Bowhunter 200, Open 210. An archer qualifies separately in each class and may shoot two classes at the state match.
• Teams are two archers, Juniors and Seniors may be mixed, and both shoot the same bow class. Team score is the 30 m target score plus the Trail score.

Equipment

• Each bow class has its own equipment rules, and bows are limited to a 60 lb. draw weight. Matches are held outdoors — ask a coach to check your gear against your class before a sanctioned match.

On the range

• Whistle commands: two blasts to the line, one to nock and shoot, three to go score, and four or more means stop immediately — something unsafe has been spotted.
• Nobody stands on the shooting line without the signal, and no arrow is nocked until the Range Officer gives the start signal.
• Shoes must completely cover the feet on the shooting line. No phones, ear buds, or smart watches are allowed near active competition.

Full archery rules →  ·  Kansas 4-H Fall Match Rules (PDF) ↗