WTA CHAMPIONSHIP SHOOT RULES AND PROCEDURES 

Anyone who intends to shoot in the Men’s, Women’s, Primitive Division of the WTA Championship Shoot on Sunday must be a WTA member, register and qualify in Saturday’s qualifying round.  Archers 17 years old and younger shooting in the Cub, Cadet or Junior Divisions do not need to qualify on Saturday.  The Men’s Division has up to 32 archers, Women’s, and Primitive Divisions each have up to 16 archers.  Registration for the WTA Championship Shoot means you have registered and paid for the Saturday shoot and paid an additional fee to be considered for the WTA Championship Shoot.  Payment of both fees must take place before you commence the Saturday shoot.   

The Saturday qualifying round is subject to the same restrictions regarding equipment, shooting methods, optical devices, and rangefinders as the Sunday round.  The deadline for submitting scorecards is 5 p.m. Saturday. 

Scoring for the qualifying Saturday shoot is 10, 8, 5 one arrow. In order to qualify for the Sunday shoot off, shooters must turn in a completed scorecard from the Saturday qualifier round, having shot at all targets.  Returned score cards will be reviewed by shoot officials, final score written at the top of the card, and then arranged in order of score.  The top (highest score) 60% of the field, not to exceed 32 men 0r 16 women or primitive shooters, will go on to the shoot off.   Qualifiers for the WTA Championship Shoot round will be posted Saturday evening. It is the shooter’s responsibility to review the qualifying roster to determine if they qualified.  If a telephone number is provided by WTA, then it is the shooter’s responsibility to call to determine if they have qualified. 

There are 6 championship divisions.   

Cub……. ages 7 and under.  

Cadet…. ages 8-12 years old,  

Juniors…. ages 13-17 years old,  

Women’s…. ages 18 and older 

Men’s…. ages 18 and older   

Primitive.  Both men and women primitive archers shoot together in the Primitive Division.  Unless there is enough participation to have a men’s and a women’s Primitive Division 

A Junior may move up in division by checking the Men’s or Women’s or Primitive Division box on their score card prior to turning in the card on Saturday.  Submitting the card to move up in class means they have waived their right to participate in Sunday’s junior championship round.   

Archers may not participate in more than one division with the same bow, e.g., an archer may not use the same bow to participate in both the Men’s and Primitive Division. However, an archer could participate in both divisions by using two different bows. They must shoot both the qualifying rounds on Saturday and pay for both divisions.  

A viable class must have at least three archers shooting (not just registered) in order for a champion to be named. Top (or two, or three) scoring archer(s) in each class wins a trophy / plaque.  

Primitive Rules-Primitive bows…… shall be generally considered a hunting set up without the use of shooting aides of any type.  String walking or face walking is not allowed. One finger must touch the nocked arrow.  Bow slings and bow quivers are not considered aids and will be allowed. A primitive bow is defined as a one- or two-piece bow (joined in the handle) constructed from a single piece of wood with or without allowed backing materials. Allowed backing materials are sinew, rawhide, fiber, and horn.  Bamboo and wood are not allowed as backing materials.  The arrow must be shot off the shelf or the hand. Elevated rests are not allowed. No soft materials that will assist or affect the paradox of the arrow may be used to build up the shelf or strike plate of the riser.  Archers may use a hard material on the shelf or on the side of the riser under a hair or leather strip that does not exceed 1/8” thickness.  Arrows will be constructed of natural shaft materials such as wood or cane. Archers in this division shall have enough arrows at the start of the Championship Shoot to complete the shoot and cover loss of arrows.  The Shoot Chairperson is responsible for resolving any questions or disputes regarding equipment or shooting method. 

Recurve and Longbow Rules-This division includes both recurves and longbows. Bows shall be generally considered as a hunting set up without the use of shooting aides of any type.  String walking or face walking is not allowed. One finger must touch the nocked arrow.  Elevated rests, bow slings and bow quivers are not considered aids and will be allowed, so long as they don’t contain any mechanical moving parts. Clickers and stabilizers are considered shooting aids and are prohibited. Fall away rests, rests aided by spring plunger or prongs, string/cord activated rests, etc. are prohibited. Simple flipper or springy rests, consisting of a single piece of coiled or uncoiled metallic and nonmetallic material to hold the arrow will be allowed.  Archers in this division shall have enough arrows at the start of the Championship Shoot to complete the shoot and cover loss of arrows.  The Shoot Chairperson is responsible for resolving any questions or disputes regarding equipment or shooting method.  Archers shall have enough arrows at the start of the Championship Shoot to complete the shoot and cover loss of arrows.  The Shoot Chairperson is responsible for resolving any questions or disputes regarding equipment or shooting method. 

The roll call for the shoot off will be at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning.  The bracket board will be prepared in advance of the 9 a.m. meeting and may be modified at the meeting by the Shoot Chairperson.  Shooters or shooter’s parents must be present at the meeting to indicate their intention to shoot.  If the shooter or parent fails to appear, the Shoot Chairperson will assume the shooter will not be participating.  If there are no shows in the Men’s Division, then the Shoot Chairperson will call the names of the 10 qualified shooters with the next highest scores.  The shoot will proceed when qualified participating shooters have been identified, or the Shoot Chairperson has announced all the 10 names.  If there are less than 32 shooters, then byes will be granted to shooters in unoccupied brackets.  

The scoring system is 10 points for heart, 8 points for vitals, 5 points for body and 0 points for a miss or an arrow that does not stick into the target. If the arrow touches the line of a higher scoring area, the higher score will apply.  

The shooter with lower seed will shoot first at station #1, 3, 5 and the higher seed will shoot first at station 2, 4.  A mistake in shooting order is not grounds for disqualification or penalization.  Shooters will continue shooting in an alternating manner. 

Ties will be broken by a sudden death shoot off starting at the first target with the lower seeded shooter shooting first.  

Each shooter must have both feet in the shooting area before shooting.   

Shooters will be allowed to visit the shooting area, but no shooters will be allowed to advance to the target area. ONLY score keepers or their designees may proceed to the target.   All arrows will be scored and retrieved by score keepers ONLY. 

Each shooter is expected to shoot in a timely manner. Shooters may not use rangefinders or a monocular or binocular or cell phone.  No pets are allowed on the shooting line.  Shooters are allowed and encouraged to study targets in advance of their placement on the range.   Shooters may not use sketches or images during the shoot.   

The Championship rounds will begin with the first 2 shooters on station #1 and with 2 shooters on deck. Each pair of shooters will advance to the next station with a new pair of shooters on deck.   

When handing back the arrows the scorer shall announce and write down the score and show the scorecard to the archers.  This allows the archers to make sure that the correct score is given to the appropriate archer. Upon hearing the scores, but before shooting the next target, an archer may question one or both scores.  If a question arises, then the scorekeeper has the authority to make the decision or to seek assistance from another scorekeeper and/or the Shoot Chairperson. A decision shall be made prior to shooting the next target.  

Score cards will have the shooter's name and other information deemed necessary by the Shoot Chairperson.  

The Shoot Chairperson and/or designee(s) will manage the bracket board and announce shooters. 

Efforts will be made to have 2 scorekeepers per pair of shooters; however, shooting can proceed with 1 score keeper.  

Scorekeepers are encouraged to request assistance from another scorekeeper in cases of questionable arrow location /score.  If they do not agree, then the Shoot Chairperson shall make the final call.  

Scorekeepers have the authority to immediately issue a verbal warning if a shooter attempts to move a hoop.  If the shooter gets a verbal warning for another attempted hoop move by the same or another scorekeeper, then the shooter is disqualified.  

It is the responsibility of the shooter to be familiar with the Shoot Rules and Procedures and equipment restrictions and to ask equipment related questions in advance of the Saturday qualifying and the Sunday shoot off. Participation in the WTA Championship Shoot constitutes a presumption to abide by the decisions of the Shoot Chairperson.   

The Shoot Chairperson is responsible for the administration and interpretation of the Shoot Rules and Procedures and his or her decision is final and not subject to appeal.  The Shoot Chairperson may disqualify a shooter at any time during the shoot.