The tension archers report does not build up over the course of a competition
2 studies · 15 archers measured
The summary today
The first study to follow archers' self-reported tension through a competition finds the opposite of what people tend to say. Ten Brazilian archers with competitive experience shot a simulated indoor competition twice, sixty arrows at eighteen metres split into two halves, completing a mood scale before, at halfway and at the end: tension stays low and flat, 3.1 at the start, 2.3 after the waiting period, 2.7 at halfway and 2.2 at the end, while fatigue climbs from 2.3 to 5.1. It is a secondary outcome of a study designed for another question, social media use before shooting, and the values are the average of the two conditions. An older hint, from kyudo, does not show tension rising but does not answer the question either: in five Japanese university archers, somatic anxiety reported after each end was higher in competition than in practice, already high in the first ends for four of them, and stayed high to the finish, peaking in the first end for one and in the last for another. The limits are those of a reconstructed competition: ten people, no ranking at stake, and a mood scale rather than a measure of competitive anxiety.
Also phrased as: "tension rises during a competition"; "the last ends are the hardest"; "nerves during a competition"; "tension end after end"
In practice
People say tension builds arrow after arrow, and that the last ends are the hardest because the score starts to weigh.
Evidence
-
1994
Context Kyudo archers Published later
5 university kyudo archers followed in practice and in competition, somatic anxiety reported after each end on a scale from 5 to 20: it is higher in competition than in practice in the four archers analysed (F(1/22) = 11.76, p < 0.01), 4 archers out of 5 score high from the first ends and two reach the maximum, one in the first end and one in the last. The anxiety stays high throughout the competition.
Changes of Heart Rate, Somatic Anxiety, and Performance of Japanese Archers during Practices and Matches · Masakazu Miyamoto
-
2026
For Archers Published later
10 Brazilian archers with competitive experience, simulated indoor competition of 60 arrows at 18 metres in two halves, BRUMS mood scale: tension is 3.1 ± 2.8 at the start, 2.3 ± 2.4 after the 45-minute waiting period, 2.7 ± 2.5 at halfway and 2.2 ± 2.5 at the end, while fatigue goes from 2.3 to 5.1. These are the average values of the two conditions in a crossover on social media use before shooting.
Efeitos do uso das redes sociais no desempenho do tiro com arco · Willyan Pagliuso Mafra, Otávio Joaquim Barrato de Azevedo, Loiane Cristina de Souza, Guilherme Torres Vilarino, Suzana Matheus Pereira
Status history
- 1994 Not studied There is a single hint, and it is indirect. In five university kyudo archers, somatic anxiety reported after each end is higher in competition than in practice, already high in the first ends for four of them, and stays high to the finish, peaking in the first end for one and in the last for another. It is somatic anxiety rather than reported tension, and the cases point different ways: no study has yet followed tension through a competition to see whether it rises.
- 2026 Reported The first study to measure it finds the opposite of what one would expect: in ten Brazilian archers with competitive experience, reported tension stays flat from start to finish of a simulated indoor competition, 3.1 at the start and 2.2 at the end, while fatigue climbs from 2.3 to 5.1. A single study, ten people, a reconstructed competition and tension measured as a secondary outcome: the claim is written in the direction of the result and stops at reported.
Related
Related articles
- Competition anxiety: what it costs an archer's score, and when it arrivesDoes competition anxiety cost archers points? What the studies measured, when in a competition the tension arrives and where the research stops.
- Does the score drop in the second half of a competition? Fatigue and the scorecard comparedIn the studies that split a round into two halves, reported fatigue rises and the score does not. What they measured, how firm it is and where they stop.
- Repeatability and consistency: measuring the steadiness of your shotHow repeatable an archer's shot is: what studies say about level, good and bad days, arrows outside the 10, and how to measure consistency on the range.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). The tension archers report does not build up over the course of a competition (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/tension-during-competition
@misc{campagna2026_tensionedurantegara,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {The tension archers report does not build up over the course of a competition},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/tension-during-competition},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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