In competition, archers match energy and carbohydrate intake to the day's load
2 studies · 14 archers measured
The summary today
The measurements come from two studies by the same group on the Turkish national team, with meals set by a nutritionist. In the first, six archers over four days of a European Grand Prix take in 3,985 kilocalories and 7.1 grams of carbohydrate per kilo on the longest day and 2,564 kilocalories and 4.0 grams on the lightest, with intake in line with estimated expenditure. In the second, four men and four women at a World Cup stage: energy intake correlates with the day's estimated expenditure at r=0.77 and carbohydrate at r=0.76, expenditure falls from 3,131 to 2,262 kilocalories between the first and fourth days, and during shooting carbohydrate goes from about 20 to about 43 grams an hour between the short and long days. That intake follows load can therefore be seen. What cannot be seen is whether an archer without a nutritionist would do the same, or whether matching intake helps the score: these are two small descriptions of the same team, a month apart, with the men probably partly the same people. And the adjustment concerns energy and carbohydrate, not the rest of the diet: at the first tournament protein stayed between 2.2 and 3.6 grams per kilo a day, above the range recommended for athletes.
Also phrased as: "eating at competitions"; "how much to eat at an archery tournament"; "carbohydrate on competition day"; "diet during a competition"; "calories on a competition day"
In practice
Archers are told not to eat the same way every day of a tournament: more carbohydrate on days with qualification and matches, less on the light ones, and something to eat between ends when the day runs long.
Evidence
-
2024
For Archers Published later
6 Turkish national team archers followed for four days at a European Grand Prix in April 2023, at 14.5 degrees, with a nutritionist-led diet: 3,985 ± 118 kilocalories and 7.1 ± 0.6 grams of carbohydrate per kilo on day one, the longest with about 180 arrows, against 2,564 ± 31 kilocalories and 4.0 ± 0.4 grams on day two, with about 38 arrows (p<0.001), with intake in line with estimated expenditure.
Energy intake, hydration status, and sleep of world-class male archers during competition · Ozcan Esen, Ian Walshe, Stuart Goodall
-
2024
Context Archers Published later
At the same tournament protein stood between 2.2 and 3.6 grams per kilo a day, above the 1.2-2.0 range recommended for athletes, and fat between 24 and 36% of energy: the adjustment to load concerns energy and carbohydrate, not the whole diet.
Energy intake, hydration status, and sleep of world-class male archers during competition · Ozcan Esen, Ian Walshe, Stuart Goodall
-
2025
For Archers Published later
8 top archers from the same national team, 4 men and 4 women, with photographic food diaries over four days of a World Cup: mean energy intake correlates with estimated expenditure at r=0.77 (r²=0.59; p=0.026) and carbohydrate at r=0.76 (r²=0.58; p=0.029). During shooting, carbohydrate intake is about 43 grams an hour on the long days and about 20 on the others.
Sex differences in energy intake, sweat rate, and electrolyte loss among world-class archers during competition · Ozcan Esen, Stuart Goodall
-
2025
Context Archers Published later
In the same study estimated total expenditure falls as the tournament goes on: in the men from 3,406 ± 82 kilocalories on day one to 2,493 ± 105 on day four, in the women from 2,856 ± 128 to 2,031 ± 57, on average from 3,131 ± 296 to 2,262 ± 246.
Sex differences in energy intake, sweat rate, and electrolyte loss among world-class archers during competition · Ozcan Esen, Stuart Goodall
-
2025
Context Archers Published later
The men take in more energy and carbohydrate than the women during the tournament: 2,889 against 2,353 kilocalories a day (p=0.007) and 5.3 against 3.9 grams of carbohydrate per kilo (p=0.046), with 4 people per group.
Sex differences in energy intake, sweat rate, and electrolyte loss among world-class archers during competition · Ozcan Esen, Stuart Goodall
Status history
- 2024 Reported The first observation covers six Turkish national team archers followed by a nutritionist over four days of a European Grand Prix: on the longest day 3,985 kilocalories and 7.1 grams of carbohydrate per kilo, on the lightest 2,564 kilocalories and 4.0 grams, with intake in line with estimated expenditure. Protein, by contrast, stays high every day, between 2.2 and 3.6 grams per kilo. Six athletes, a descriptive study and a professional deciding the meals: reported.
- 2025 Reported The same group measures the relationship at a World Cup stage, with four men and four women: energy intake goes with the day's estimated expenditure (r=0.77) and so does carbohydrate (r=0.76), while expenditure falls from 3,131 to 2,262 kilocalories between the first and fourth days. The men take in more energy and carbohydrate than the women. That makes two supporting studies, but from the same team a month apart, with the men probably partly the same people and meals guided by a nutritionist both times: it is not an independent replication, and the status stays reported.
Related
Related articles
- How competitive archers eat: what shooting costs, how much protein they report, what they weigh and who advises themWhat competitive archers eat, how much protein they report, who advises them and what they weigh: what the studies have measured and where they stop.
- Hydration and nutrition on competition day in archery: a practical guideHow much to drink and what to eat on competition day in archery: what the day costs, what dehydration changes and what studies on archers have measured.
- What happens in the body on competition day: saliva, blood, urine, food and fluidsCortisol, salivary IgA, blood glucose, urinary lactate, food and fluids: what changes in an archer's body on competition day, according to the measurements.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). In competition, archers match energy and carbohydrate intake to the day's load (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/energy-carbohydrate-competition-load
@misc{campagna2026_apportoenergiacaricogara,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {In competition, archers match energy and carbohydrate intake to the day's load},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/energy-carbohydrate-competition-load},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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