Over a shooting session, an isotonic drink instead of water did not change scores
2 studies · 30 archers measured
The summary today
There is a single experiment. Twenty Indonesian university archers, half shooting recurve and half standard bow, shot two sessions of 72 arrows at 30 metres on consecutive days, drinking 1,050 ml in each, 150 every ten minutes, once an isotonic drink and once mineral water, served in dark cups. The score does not change significantly: a median of 560.5 with the isotonic drink and 551.5 with water (p = 0.070), with responses more spread out from one archer to the next on the isotonic drink. The picture for hydration is similar. The archers started out already dehydrated, with a median urine specific gravity of 1.025, which falls significantly only with the isotonic drink, but the direct comparison between the two drinks does not hold up (p = 0.062); on water, two archers finish the session more concentrated than they started it. The limit is that there is one study, in a regional journal, with the order of the drinks set by register number rather than at random, at thirty metres and over ninety minutes: the setting in which a difference is hardest to see.
Also phrased as: "electrolyte drinks in competition"; "isotonic drink and accuracy"; "water or electrolytes while shooting"; "sports drinks in archery"
In practice
Archers are advised to bring a drink with salts and sugars to competitions rather than plain water, on the idea that it keeps them better hydrated and therefore more accurate in the last ends.
Evidence
-
2020
Context Archers Published later
The closest experiment measures something else: ten national-level archers shoot 72 arrows at 70 metres at 36 to 37 degrees, once hydrated and once after 24 hours on 1.25 litres of fluid, and the score does not drop (550 against 562, p = 0.155). It is about how much archers drink, not what.
Effects of Dehydration on Archery Performance, Subjective Feelings and Heart Rate during a Competition Simulation · Alexandros Savvides, Christoforos D. Giannaki, Angelos Vlahoyiannis, Pinelopi S. Stavrinou, George Aphamis
-
2026
For Archers Published later
20 university archers in Surabaya aged 18 to 23, in a crossover design over consecutive days with the order set by register number rather than at random, and the drinks served in dark cups: 72 arrows at 30 metres, drinking 1,050 ml over ninety minutes, 150 ml every ten minutes. Median score 560.5 with the isotonic drink (505 to 663) and 551.5 with water (508 to 647), Wilcoxon p = 0.070.
Comparison Of Isotonic Beverage And Mineral Water Consumption On Archery Score And Hydration Status Of Archery UKM Athletes At State University Of Surabaya · Syifa' Itmi'nanil Qolbi, Satwika Arya Pratama, Cleonara Yanuar Dini, Ratna Candra Dewi
-
2026
Context Archers Published later
The archers started out dehydrated, with a median urine specific gravity of 1.025 in both conditions. With the isotonic drink it falls to 1.020 significantly (p = 0.001, down in 15 archers out of 20), with water it does not (p = 0.088: 11 down, 7 unchanged, 2 up), but the change does not differ between the two drinks (p = 0.062). The largest rise is 0.010 on water and 0.005 on the isotonic drink.
Comparison Of Isotonic Beverage And Mineral Water Consumption On Archery Score And Hydration Status Of Archery UKM Athletes At State University Of Surabaya · Syifa' Itmi'nanil Qolbi, Satwika Arya Pratama, Cleonara Yanuar Dini, Ratna Candra Dewi
-
2026
Context Archers Published later
The individual response is less uniform with the isotonic drink: the interquartile range of the score is 26 against 19 on water, and that of the change in specific gravity 9 against 5, with the same median change. In the discussion the authors write that variation is smaller with the isotonic drink, but their own tables show the opposite.
Comparison Of Isotonic Beverage And Mineral Water Consumption On Archery Score And Hydration Status Of Archery UKM Athletes At State University Of Surabaya · Syifa' Itmi'nanil Qolbi, Satwika Arya Pratama, Cleonara Yanuar Dini, Ratna Candra Dewi
Status history
- 2020 Not studied Nobody has yet compared two drinks on the shooting range. The closest experiment, on ten archers in the heat, shows that arriving dehydrated at a 72-arrow round does not lower the score, but it says nothing about what is best to drink.
- 2026 Reported The only study comparing the two drinks arrives: twenty university archers shoot 72 arrows at 30 metres drinking 1,050 ml of isotonic drink or water, and the median score is 560.5 against 551.5, a difference that is not significant (p = 0.070). Hydration improves significantly only with the isotonic drink, but the direct comparison does not hold up. It is a single study, not randomised and in a regional journal: the claim is written in the direction of the result and stops at reported.
Related
Related articles
- Supplements in archery: what studies have measured on eyesight, anxiety and tremorCarotenoids with omega-3, L-theanine and jatamansi: what studies in archers have measured, and why none has shown a higher score in archers alone.
- 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.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Over a shooting session, an isotonic drink instead of water did not change scores (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/isotonic-drink-or-water-score
@misc{campagna2026_isotonicavsacqua,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Over a shooting session, an isotonic drink instead of water did not change scores},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/isotonic-drink-or-water-score},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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