Among elite youth archers, girls and boys shoot similar draw weights
1 study · 200 archers measured
The summary today
No usable data answers the question. The only study that reports draw weight by sex is a questionnaire on injuries given to 200 archers aged 13 to 20 at the European Youth Championships, 96 girls and 104 boys from 34 nations, and its figures do not hold up. The declared draw weight is 15.44 lb for the girls and 16.99 for the boys, with no significant difference (p = 0.33): beginner's bow values, converted in the text to 7 and 7.7 kilograms, for archers who at that age compete internationally. In the same table, moreover, the boys' 16.99 with a standard deviation of 1.57 is identical to their mean age, the girls' 15.44 recurs as their weekly training hours and the p = 0.33 is the same as for training hours, so the draw weight row looks copied from other rows rather than measured. The sample also mixes recurve and compound, about three in four and one in four in both sexes. Until a measured draw weight arrives, the question remains open.
Also phrased as: "draw weight for girls and boys"; "youth draw weight by sex"; "draw weight difference between males and females"; "junior draw weights"
In practice
It is taken for granted that at the same age and level boys shoot heavier draw weights than girls, and draw weights for young archers are often recommended separately by sex.
Evidence
-
2024
Context Archers Published later
A questionnaire on injuries given to 200 archers aged 13 to 20 at the European Youth Championships, 96 girls and 104 boys from 34 nations, about three in four of them recurve in both sexes: declared draw weight 15.44 ± 8.01 lb for girls and 16.99 ± 1.57 for boys, p = 0.33, converted in the text to 7 and 7.7 kg. In the table 16.99 ± 1.57 is also the boys' mean age, 15.44 recurs as the girls' weekly training hours and p = 0.33 is the value for training hours; the overall mean draw weight, 16.89, is the same as the overall mean age.
Injuries and Persistent Pain in Elite Adolescent Archery Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Study · Nikolaos Vasilis, Athanasios Kyriakides, George Vasilopoulos, Maria Chatzitimotheou, Grigorios Gonidakis, Athanasios Kotsakis, et al.
Status history
- 2024 Not studied A questionnaire on injuries given to 200 archers aged 13 to 20 at the European Youth Championships reports a declared draw weight of 15.44 lb for girls and 16.99 for boys, with no difference (p = 0.33). These values are too low for that level, and in the table the boys' figure matches their mean age, the girls' figure their weekly training hours and the p that of training hours: it looks more like a copying error than a measurement. The sample also mixes recurve and compound. A figure like this holds up neither for nor against, and the question remains unstudied.
Related
Related articles
- Draw weight and score in the research: how much do the pounds matter?What studies have measured on draw weight and score: a small effect tied to skill level, top archers' draw weights over time, speed and control.
- At what age can you start archery? A child is not a small adultWhen children can start archery, which bow young competitors choose, how much draw weight matters and what the data say about pain in young archers.
- Women and archery: score, strength, the menstrual cycle and competition anxietyScore, strength, the menstrual cycle and competition anxiety: what studies have measured in male and female archers, and how much the results weigh.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Among elite youth archers, girls and boys shoot similar draw weights (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/equipment/draw-weight-girls-boys
@misc{campagna2026_libbraggiogiovanisesso,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Among elite youth archers, girls and boys shoot similar draw weights},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/equipment/draw-weight-girls-boys},
note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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