Badges for All
Everyone loves a badge! There are several award schemes you can work your way through and collect badges, whether you are a novice or a county-level archer. It’s been said that archery is a sport where you spend hundreds of pounds on equipment just to earn badges worth pennies!
If you want to know more about awards, ask the coaching team or the records officer on a Wednesday club evening (in the summer) or a Saturday morning.
Tip: Get yourself set up on Golden Records.
252s
The 252 award is an unofficial scheme which rewards your accuracy at increasing distances.
In detail, our club rules for 252 awards are:
- Badges for distances of 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, and 100 yards.
- Differing scores for differing bow types (see below).
- 36 arrows at a 122cm target face using five-zone scoring.
- Average required for recurve is 7 points per arrow.
- Scores must be written down by someone else, and signed for.
- Six sighters permitted, but then all six ends must be scored.
- Unlimited attempts.
- Give your score to the records officer.
- Badges are free of charge.
These are the badges:
These are the required scores: if you shoot compound you need to score 280, whilst for barebow and longbow, the required scores are lower. Please see the table below to find the score required for your bow type.
| Distance (yds) | Award | Recurve | Compound | Longbow | Barebow |
| 20 | White | 252 | 280 | 164 | 189 |
| 30 | Black | 252 | 280 | 164 | 189 |
| 40 | Blue | 252 | 280 | 164 | 189 |
| 50 | Red | 252 | 280 | 164 | 189 |
| 60 | Bronze | 252 | 280 | 164 | 189 |
| 80 | Silver | 252 | 280 | 126 | 164 |
| 100 | Gold | 252 | 280 | 101 | 139 |
Progress Awards
These are an official AGB award scheme. The club administers it through the coaches, who make the award. See more on the AGB website here. There are five indoor and five outdoor awards which use target scores for different age groups.
The rules for Progress Awards are:
- White, Black, Blue, Red and Gold badges for increasing distance and scores.
- Outdoor (with two shooting options) or indoor awards.
- Outdoor is mix-and-match 80cm face with 10-zone or 122cm face with 5-zone.
- Indoor is 60cm face with 10-zone.
- Three ends required for each award.
- Scores cannot be used for more than one award.
- Scores must be written down by someone else, and signed for.
- Six sighters permitted, but then all ends must be scored.
- Unlimited attempts.
- Give your score to the coaching team.
- Badges are £5 each.
Using this sheet, pick your age group, then your award level, and see your target scores. Afterwards the coaching team can give you not just the badge but also a certificate.
These are the badges:
Classifications
These are another official AGB award scheme. The club administers it through the records officer, who will make the award. There are numerous award levels from Archer to Master Bowman, which use target scores for different age groups.
The types of outdoor classification are:
- Archer 1, 2 or 3 are club-based, require 12 dozen arrows shot at any event.
- Bowman 1, 2 or 3 are club-based, require 18 dozen arrows shot at any competitive event.
- Master Bowman (Master, Grand and Elite) are AGB administered, require 36 dozen arrows shot on long-distance rounds at record status events.
The types of indoor classification are:
- Archer 1, 2 or 3 are club-based, require 10 dozen arrows shot at any event.
- Bowman 1, 2 or 3 are club-based, require 15 dozen arrows shot at any competitive event.
- Master Bowman (Master or Grand) are club-based, require 15 dozen arrows shot at record status events.
You can download indoor requirements.
The rules for shooting for classifications are:
- Rounds are as per the tables. Some are preferred for certain age groups.
- You can mix and match rounds.
- Scores cannot be used for more than one award.
- Scores must be written down by someone else, and signed for.
- Six sighters permitted, but then all ends must be scored.
- Unlimited attempts.
- Give your score to the records officer.
- Badges are free of charge.
FITA Awards
The FITA “arrow” badges are official World Archery awards. There are five arrow badges, which you can use to track your progress from a beginner to an intermediate archer. The white arrow checks that you are still doing what you learnt on your beginners course. The others test your improving technique, increasing knowledge and improving accuracy at increasing distances. A coach will tick off the technique and knowledge, whilst the results are measured on a FITA scoresheet.
In detail, the rules for FITA awards are:
- After the White badge there are black, blue, red and gold.
- Can be done indoors or outdoors.
- Shooting at distances of 10, 14, 18, 22 and 26 metres.
- 15 arrows at an 80cm target face using ten-zone scoring.
- Ends of six, six and three.
- Score required is 115 (average of 7.7 points per arrow).
- Three scores required for adults, two for juniors.
- Scores must be written down by someone else, and signed for.
- Three sighters permitted, but then all ends must be scored.
- Unlimited attempts.
- Give your score to the coaching team.
- Badges are £4 each.
Advanced Awards
There are other awards you can earn from World Archery. Details can be found here.
Portsmouth Badges
This is a regular AGB/WA round. You can earn badges for improving your scores for the popular indoor Portsmouth round. Portsmouth score badges are available for scores of 325, 350, 400, 425, 450, 475, 500, 525, 550, 575, 580, 585, and 590!
Rules for a Portsmouth are:
- Badges for scores of 300, then every 25 points more.
- 60 arrows on a 60cm target at 20 yards (no X).
- Ends of three if also for a classification, otherwise ends of six allowed.
- Only one score required for the badge.
- Scores must be written down by someone else, and signed for.
- Six sighters permitted, but then all ends must be scored.
- Unlimited attempts.
- Submit your score sheet or tournament results to the records officer.
- Badges are free of charge.
These are the badges:
The Frostbite
This is an unofficial round. It is shot outdoors in the winter season – as a way of keeping the club camaraderie going. Juniors or novices can shoot a shorter “snowflake” round.
Our club rules for a Frostbite are:
- Badges are available for scores from 200 to 355.
- 36 arrows on an 80cm target at 30 metres (includes the X).
- Must be during the official and bonus frostbite shooting meetings.
- Ends of six.
- All bow types are eligible
- Only one score required for the badge.
- Scores must be written down by someone else, and signed for.
- Six sighters permitted, but then all ends must be scored.
- Submit your score sheet to the year’s Frostbite organiser.
- Badges are free of charge.
Overall awards are given at the end of the season based on handicap.
These are the badges:
Note: This page is based on an original post by Leon Venediktou, but which like all posts will fade from view in time.