World Archery (WA, formerly ''Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc'' (FITA)) is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

of the sport of

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 ...

. It is based in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, Switzerland. It is composed of 156 national federations and other archery associations, and is recognised by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

History

FITA was founded on 4 September 1931 in Lwow,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

(today

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). Its seven founding member states were France,

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, Sweden, Poland, the United States, Hungary, and Italy. The aim of the organization was to create regular archery championships, and to return archery to the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

(the sport had not been featured since 1920). FITA was finally successful in returning archery to the Olympic program in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

. To celebrate the organization's 80th anniversary in July 2011, a large majority of the FITA Congress voted to change the name from FITA to the World Archery or WA. In March 2022, in the wake of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, the federation announced that no athlete, team official, or technical official from Russia or Belarus will be permitted to participate in any international archery event, their flags and anthems are banned, and no archery events would be held in the two countries. In July 2023, on the question that whether or not to re-allow athletics with Russian and/or Belarusian passports to participant international archery competitions under neutral identities, World Archery asked both national archery federations to submit personal data for investigations, as both federations denied to complete such requirements, WA said that it's unlikely to allow neutral athletes unless once procedure can be completely followed. In December 2023, World Archery launched its own OTT Service with a subscription video on demand model and live streaming of main events.

Identity

Flag

The WA flag has a white background, with the organization's logo in the middle.

Member associations

As of April 2019, 159 national federations and other associations are members of World Archery. * Albania * Algeria * Andorra * Argentina *

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

* Australia * Austria * Azerbaijan * Bahamas * Bangladesh * Barbados * Belgium * Benin * Bermuda * Belarus *

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...

* Brazil * British Virgin Islands * Bulgaria * Cameroon * Central African Republic * Cambodia * Canada * Chad * Chile *

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

* Colombia * Comoros * Costa Rica *

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

* Cuba * Cyprus * Czech Republic * DR Congo * Denmark * Dominica * Dominican Republic * Ecuador * Egypt * El Salvador * Eritrea * Estonia *

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

* Fiji * Finland * France * Gabon * Georgia * Germany * Ghana *

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

* Greece * Guatemala * Guinea * Haiti * Honduras * Hong Kong, China * Hungary * Iceland *

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

* Indonesia * Iran * Iraq * Ireland * Israel * Italy * Japan * Kazakhstan * Kenya * Kiribati * Kosovo * Kuwait * Kyrgyzstan * Laos * Latvia * Lebanon * Libya * Liechtenstein * Lithuania * Luxembourg *

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

* Macedonia * Malawi * Malaysia * Malta * Mauritania * Mauritius * Mexico * Moldova * Monaco * Montenegro * Mongolia * Morocco * Myanmar * Namibia * Nepal * Netherlands * New Zealand * Nicaragua * Niger * Nigeria * Norfolk Island * North Korea * Norway * Pakistan * Palau * Panama * Papua New Guinea * Paraguay * Peru *

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

* Poland * Portugal * Puerto Rico * Qatar * Romania * Russia * Rwanda * Saint Kitts and Nevis * Samoa * San Marino * Saudi Arabia * Senegal * Serbia * Sierra Leone * Singapore * Slovakia * Slovenia * Somalia * South Africa * South Korea * Spain * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Suriname * Sweden * Switzerland *

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

(Taiwan) * Tajikistan * Thailand * Togo * Tonga * Trinidad and Tobago * Tunisia * Turkey * Uganda * Ukraine * United States * Uruguay * Uzbekistan * Vanuatu * Venezuela * Vietnam *

US Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a Territories of the United States, territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Isl ...

* Zimbabwe

Rankings

World Archery publishes world rankings for each category of outdoor competitive archery (men / women; recurve / compound; individual / team / mixed team), updated following every official eligible event. Each archer earns a ranking score for each competition. The ranking scores are calculated through a combination of the ranking factor of the tournament (as determined by the quality of competition, the number of competitors, and how recently the competition took place) and points based on the competitor's final position in the competition. The archer's four highest ranking scores are then combined to form their 'Added Ranking Score', which forms the basis of the ranking list.

Current rankings

Editions

The following table shows the venue of all World Championships on the current World Archery programme:

Tournaments

Summer Olympics

Archery was first competed at the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

in 1900 and, after a long hiatus from 1924, became a regular event from

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. Team events were added in 1988.

Recurve archery In archery, a recurve bow is one of the main Bow shape, shapes a bow (weapon), bow can take, with limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. A recurve bow stores more energy and delivers energy more efficiently than the equivalent strai ...

is currently the only discipline competed at the Olympics. Archery is also competed at the

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebr ...

( recurve and compound disciplines), the

Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...

( recurve only), and the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

( Field archery only).

World Championships

* World Target Championships ** World Outdoor Archery Championships ** World Indoor Archery Championships * World Field Archery Championships * World 3D Archery Championships * World Ski Archery Championships * World Para Archery Championships * World Youth Archery Championships * World University Archery Championships FITA began holding Target World Championships in 1931. They were held every year until 1959, when the Championships became biennial events. 1959 was also the first year that FITA held the World Field Championship. Presently, there are five principal formats of the

World Archery Championships The World Archery Championships are a series of competitions in Archery organised by the World Archery Federation. The first competition held under that title took place in 1931. Competition archery takes a wide variety of formats, but the titl ...

: Outdoor, Indoor, Youth, Para-Archery, and Field. Each is held every two years on different rotations. World Championships are also held every two years in

3D archery Modern competitive archery involves shooting arrows at a target for accuracy and precision from a set distance or distances. This is the most popular form of competitive archery worldwide and is called target archery. A form particularly popular ...

and University sport. In 2007, a ski archery World Championships was held in Moscow; this is yet to be repeated and is not included in the current rotation.

World Cup

The

Archery World Cup The Archery World Cup is a competition organized by World Archery, where the archers compete in four stages in four countries and the best eight archers of each category (from 2010, four archers during 2006–09) advance to an additional stage to ...

is an annual event that was inaugurated in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. It is designed to present archery in 'spectacular' locations. The format consists of 4 rounds competed across the world during a calendar year. The best individual and mixed team performers across these rounds are then invited to compete in the World Cup Final at the end of the year.
An indoor World Cup, competed in 3 rounds with a final during the winter season, was inaugurated in the 2010–11 season.

Other

Archery is an optional sport at the Universiade sports, Universiade and the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

Current champions

The following archers are the current champions of the major World Archery Federation events:

Presidents

References

External links

*
Archery.tv
(Official Streaming Service)
History of FITA 1931–1961 by Robert Rhode
(archived)
Archery Champions by Robert Rhode
(archived) {{Authority control Archery governing bodies Arc

Arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

Sports organizations established in 1931