Welcome

Archery Geekery is an occasional blog about topics related to the mathematical, statistical aspects of archery, Everything from handicaps and classifications, to records and visualisation. This site was originally created as the development environment for the offcial ArcheryGB Handicap and Classification tables, and now hosts some tools for creating of handicap and classification tables, and a quick calculator, but more content and tools will appear all the time.

Recent Posts

Recent Articles

  • Analysing the point gain from thicker arrows

    Analysing the point gain from thicker arrows

    (If you’re just looking for the tool to explore arrow diameter analysis, rather than my very interesting discussion of it just click here) Without fail, at the start of every indoor season, someone on social medial asks the following question “Why do people shoot thicker arrows indoors?” to which someone else replies “Because the thicker…

  • 720 vs 660 round comparison

    720 vs 660 round comparison

    At the Antalya World Cup stage in June 2025, a modified ranking round was trialled. This round is basically the same as a normal 720 round but the number of arrows shot drops from 72 to 60, and the X-ring now scores 11 points, giving a maximum possible score of 660. This may seem like…

  • Handicap System Maths

    Handicap System Maths

    Since the new UK handicap and classification systems were released last year, I’ve had a steady stream of enquiries from fellow archery geeks wanting to understand a bit more about the maths of how the system works. So, this will be the first article in a series that will explain all of this. The UK…

  • How Does the Olympic Archery Quota System Work?

    How Does the Olympic Archery Quota System Work?

    (I’m going to keep this article updated over the next 2 months as the quotas finalise) Lots of people have been requesting some explanation about how the quota system works for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The official policy, if you want to read it is here, but it’s a little bit tricky to digest,…

  • Modelling Archery Awards Ceremony Structures

    Modelling Archery Awards Ceremony Structures

    I have been to a lot of competitions, and sat through a lot of awards ceremonies. On one hand, those awards ceremonies are a great celebration of the achievements of the day, but on the other hand can be a tedious and time-consuming barrier between the end of the competition and an often long journey…

  • UK Indoor Archery Rounds – The Finer Details

    UK Indoor Archery Rounds – The Finer Details

    A while ago, I wrote a post about all about rounds – what they are, how they’re structured, all the different familys and formats. That covered the basics, but after seeing lots of lively discussions on social media recently, I thought I’d drill down into some of the finer details of the indoor rounds, which…

  • Overview of the New Indoor Handicap and Classification Systems

    Overview of the New Indoor Handicap and Classification Systems

    (Quick links – Full indoor tables here, mobile-friendly tables here, and custom tables here) The indoor classification has been in need of some serious changes for a very long time, and finally, going into the 2023-24 indoor season those changes have been made. The old system was not very inclusive at all. The only categories…

  • Master Bowman Tier Classification Claim Validator

    Master Bowman Tier Classification Claim Validator

    This is just a very short post to announce the release of a new tool on the website to validate claims for Master Bowman, Grand Master Bowman, and Elite Master Bowman classifications. These awards require 36 dozen arrows to be shot at appropriate qualifying levels, depending on your category. This simple tool lets you enter…

  • Beginner’s Series: Part 3 – Outdoor Classifications

    Beginner’s Series: Part 3 – Outdoor Classifications

    (This article is aimed at novice archers. If you’re a club records officer who has to administer the system, there’s a more appropriate article here) Just like the coloured belts in karate, the classification system in UK Archery represents a set of 9 milestones on an archer’s journey for beginner to master. Instead of belts,…

  • Beginner’s Series: Part 2 – Handicaps

    Beginner’s Series: Part 2 – Handicaps

    Handicaps are an important concept used in UK archery, and some other countries too. They are not as well-used as they were in the past, but it’s a really useful idea to know about that can help you in numerous ways. What is a handicap? Just like in other sports, most notably in golf, a…