Match crossbow is a target

shooting sport Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

using

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

s. Unlike field crossbow, match crossbow is quite similar to the Olympic rifle. The International Crossbow Shooting Union (Internationale Armbrustschutzen Union-IAU) is the world governing body of crossbow target shooting. Founded 24. June 1956 in

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the IAU supervises World and Continental crossbow championships in the two disciplines 10 m and 30 m Match. World Championships take place every two years, with Continental Championships on intervening years. Other International and IAU-Cup events take place annually.

Equipment

The bolts are designed to have the same diameter as the air rifle pellet (.177) and Small bore caliber rifle cartridge (.22). The end of the bolt is a screw with a blunt end, with the screw swirling pattern helping the shooter to extract the bolt easily by unscrewing the bolt from the target board. To load the bolt, a lever is used. The lever can either be a separate item, or is a built-in mechanism of the crossbow. Match crossbow is not hand drawn. Since the early 1980s the match crossbow commonly use an electronic trigger that can provide dry fire mechanism, along with an electronic lighted level. The entire stock of the match crossbow is similar, if not the same, as an Olympic air rifle or small bore rifle, which is usually made of laminated wood stock.

Disciplines

30 meter Match

30 meter Match-crossbow shooting is the IAU's premier discipline and championships entry lists regularly include many Olympic-class small bore and air rifle athletes. Shooting takes place on enclosed outdoor ranges which are equipped with electrically driven match-crossbow target transport systems. Existing small bore ranges can be adapted for 30 m crossbow shooting. In the absence of permanent facilities, shooting can take place on temporary tented ranges using portable target systems. Athletes shoot from the two positions "standing" and "kneeling". Crossbows are loaded and the bolt is shot at a black and white target card (one shot per card, the same bolt shot repeatedly). The bolt end is .22 in diameter. At IAU World and Continental championships national federations can enter teams of three (3) competitors (of either gender) in two Categories; Open Class and U-21 Juniors. And by taking part at IAU Cup matches, a nation can win two (2) additional Quota-Spots thereby increasing to five (5) the number of competitors that the federation concerned can register for the next years World or Continental Match-crossbow championships. 30 m competition is a mixed event. The competition program consists of 60 shots from 30 meters—30 shots "standing" plus 30 shots "kneeling". The Team competitions (60 shots) take place on the first day of championships. On the following day, the highest scoring competitors in the team events (Open Class and U-21 Juniors) will qualify to take part in the Individual championships. The numbers of competitors to qualify will depend on the number of targets available (usually 28). After 60 shots the top eight (8) competitors in each category will go forward to the Championships Finals (standing position, 10 shots on voice command). The winners of the gold, silver, and bronze medals are the three competitors with the highest combined scores (60 shot Qualification plus 10 shot Final). If scores are tied after 10 Final shots the competitors concerned continue shot-by-shot until a winner is declared.

10 meter Match

10 meter Match, which was introduced into the IAU program in 1977, has attracted many new nations to the sport. It’s a highly technical event which is appreciated by top-flight air rifle athletes and match-crossbow specialists alike. Shooting takes place on indoor ranges equipped with electric target trolley system. Existing 10 m air rifle ranges can often be adapted, but in the absence of permanent facilities, a temporary shooting range can be set up in large Sports Hall using portable equipment. The Bolt end is .177 in diameter. Competitors shoot from the standing position, as in ISSF air rifle. The bolt is shot at a black and white target card—one shot per card, the same bolt shot repeatedly. The size of the target is the same as the Olympic air-rifle target; 0.5 mm diameter 10-ring. The 10 meter competition program is run in separate relays for each category; Men shoot 60 bolts, Women and U-21 Juniors each shoot 40 bolts. Team (3 shooters per team) and Individual competitions are run concurrently. The Team results are decided after 60 and 40 bolts respectively. In the Individual events the eight (8) top scoring competitors in each category qualify for Olympic-style 10-shot finals to decide the medal winners.

International Crossbow Shooting Union

The ''International Crossbow Shooting Union'' (''International Armbrustschützen Union'' (''IAU'') is an international

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

organization devoted to

shooting. Established in 1956, it is headquartered in Columbier,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Consisting of 24 nations, its current (as of 2017) president is Charles Méchin.

IAU Championships Timeline

* 1958 1st European Match-crossbow Championships,

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

* 1979 1st World Match-crossbow Championships,

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

* 1982 1st World Field-crossbow Championships,

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

* 1989 1st European Field-crossbow Championships

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

* 1992 1st Asian Field-crossbow Championships,

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

The five prominent crossbows brands used in competition are Wacker (Switzerland), Lothar Walther (Germany), Scherrer (Switzerland), Winzeler (Switzerland), and Hafen (Switzerland). Wacker is no longer in business. Lothar Walther no longer produces match crossbows. Scherrer, then known as Gustav Schmid, was the first company to produce a proper match crossbow back in 1951. Winzeler pioneered the electronic trigger and laminated wood and had been the dominant manufacturer since the mid 1980s. Hafen produced customized crossbows using Winzeler parts.

Other Sanctioning Bodies

The sport of field crossbow is governed by both the IAU and the

World Crossbow Shooting Association The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

(WCSA). Field crossbow bolts are

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

s, which are different from the match crossbow bolts. The target is

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

type. Ausbow (Australia), Wolfszeit (Sweden), Pirineos (France) and LBG (France) are the field crossbow manufacturer specialists for this discipline. Target Crossbow is a shorter distance, competition that is similar to field crossbow, frequently held indoors. Again, the target is archery type and the bolts are arrows type. It is exclusively governed by the WCSA. All crossbows from these events must be hand drawn, unless the competitor is handicapped.

References

External links

{{Wiktionary
International Crossbow Shooting Union (IAU)

World Crossbow Shooting Association (WCSA)
Crossbows Shooting sports