Among children starting archery, boys and girls score alike
7 studies · 323 archers measured
The summary today
The oldest study, and the only one to put the difference to a statistical test, goes against the claim: in 1989, in 96 Kansas pupils aged 12 to 14, most with little experience and shooting school bows, boys score 40.6 points out of 100 and girls 23.8 (F = 27.17, p < 0.01). The studies that came later find similar scores instead, but the similarity comes out of the tables, not out of a test. In 2015, in 160 Indonesian primary school pupils of about 11, boys score 122.5 points and girls 120.1; in 2021, in twenty beginners aged 10 to 12 followed through a circuit training programme, the gain is 59.1 points in boys and 59.2 in girls; in 2025, in 25 Turkish secondary school pupils, the averages for both sexes sit between 15 and 17 points. In the same year another small Turkish group of seventeen pupils has the boys ahead (a correlation between sex and score of 0.44, with no p value), and among adult beginners men score 16.0 points against 9.3. The studies therefore point in opposite directions. Age may explain part of the conflict, since the two Indonesian studies with similar scores involve children aged 10 to 12 and the one with a clear gap involves pupils aged 12 to 14, but the two Turkish secondary school groups, of roughly the same age, split in turn. Whether it comes from strength, from the draw weight of the bows or from experience, nobody has measured.
Also phrased as: "boys and girls shoot the same when young"; "sex differences in beginner archers"; "girls shoot as well as boys"; "mixed groups in junior courses"
In practice
In children's courses the usual line is that boys and girls keep pace at the start and that differences arrive with puberty, when strength and draw weight change.
Evidence
-
1989
Against Archers Published later
96 seventh- and eighth-year pupils from a Kansas school district (about 12 to 14), most with little experience, 20 arrows with school bows from 20 or 30 feet (6 or 9 m), scoring 0 to 5 per arrow: boys score 40.57 ± 18.96 points out of 100 (n = 57) and girls 23.84 ± 12.58 (n = 39), sex effect F = 27.17, p < 0.01, in an analysis of variance with eye colour and school year. Previous experience is not controlled and the bows are not described, so the gap may come from strength or draw weight; the adults in the same study were not compared by sex, because there were only three women.
Effects of Eye Color and Sex on Accuracy in Archery · John Beer, Paula Fleming, William Knorr
-
2015
For Archers Published later
160 primary school pupils in Manokwari (Indonesia) in a youth programme, 80 boys and 80 girls aged 10 to 12, 80 cm face at 20 m: average 122.46 in boys (range 102 to 137) and 120.08 in girls (99 to 136). The paper states 18 arrows, but gives the distance as 20 m in the methods and 10 m in the description of the test; the comparison is not tested; a regional journal.
IDENTIFIKASI BAKAT OLAHRAGA PANAHAN PADA SISWA SEKOLAH DASAR DI KABUPATEN MANOKWARI · Nikanor Asaribab, Siswantoyo
-
2015
Context Archers Published later
Same sample: at 10 to 12 the girls are as tall as the boys, 140.70 ± 7.52 cm against 139.38 ± 8.32, with an average age of 11 in both groups. At that age size cannot explain a difference in score, because there is none.
IDENTIFIKASI BAKAT OLAHRAGA PANAHAN PADA SISWA SEKOLAH DASAR DI KABUPATEN MANOKWARI · Nikanor Asaribab, Siswantoyo
-
2015
Context Archers Published later
Same sample, the talent battery: 45 per cent clear the 'good' threshold in both sexes, but the 'very poor' band covers 15 per cent of the girls and 6.25 per cent of the boys. The bands are built on the sample's own distribution, so they describe how the children rank against each other, not an absolute level.
IDENTIFIKASI BAKAT OLAHRAGA PANAHAN PADA SISWA SEKOLAH DASAR DI KABUPATEN MANOKWARI · Nikanor Asaribab, Siswantoyo
-
2021
For Archers Published later
20 beginners aged 10 to 12, 10 boys and 10 girls, a circuit training programme of unstated length, 36 arrows at 20 m: the boys go from 145.60 to 171.80 and then 204.70 (+59.10), the girls from 155.30 to 187.70 and then 214.50 (+59.20). The study does not compare the sexes statistically and reports only the homogeneity of variances (p = 0.507, 0.154 and 0.831).
The effect of circuit training on physical fitness and archery accuracy in novice athletes · Susanto, Siswantoyo, Yudik Prasetyo, Himawan Putranta
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2023
Context Archers Published later
5 young Turkish archers aged 11 to 16, 3 girls and 2 boys, studied arrow by arrow with a wearable EEG headset: the girls score 5.76 ± 2.45 points per arrow against 4.47 ± 2.64 (t(78) = -2.22, p = 0.029). The test counts the 80 arrows as independent data, and with five archers the difference may come down to a single person; a regional journal.
Okçuluk Sporuyla Uğraşan Sporcuların Nöro-Geribildirim ile Odaklanma ve Sakinlik Analizi · Saygın Aydın, Vedat Ayan, Selami Yüksek
-
2025
For Archers Published later
25 secondary school beginners in Kırıkkale (16 girls and 9 boys), randomly assigned to perturbation or standard training: in the final shooting test the girls score 17 (SD 5) and 15 (SD 5) in the two groups, the boys 15 (SD 11) and 16 (SD 3). The averages match, the spread does not: among the boys in the perturbation group scores run from 3 to 32. The comparison between the sexes is not tested; a regional journal.
Pertürbasyon Eğitiminin Okçuluk Atış Başarısına Etkisi · Emrah Aslan, Doğukan Arıöz
-
2025
Against Archers Published later
17 Turkish secondary school pupils with no experience (11 girls and 6 boys), after a basic course: sex correlates with shooting score at 0.44 and with a target-throwing test at 0.52, in favour of the boys, but the authors give no p value. Six boys are few for a comparison; a regional journal.
Okçuluk Öğretimi ile Propriyosepsiyon Bazı Antropometrik Ölçümler ve Motor Beceri İlişkisi · Emrah Aslan, Zeynep Beyza Taşdemir
-
2025
Context General population Published later
104 Malaysian engineering students with no archery experience: total score 16.02 ± 9.65 in men (n = 42) and 9.31 ± 8.49 in women (n = 62). They are adults, not children, and the spread within each sex is as wide as the gap between them: it suggests the gap appears after puberty, without showing it.
Machine learning methods to classify engineering students’ ability to perform recreational archery activities using biomechanical data · N.R.H. Basri, M.S. Mohktar, W.n.l.w. Mahadi
Status history
- 1980 Not studied No study had yet reported the scores of beginners split by sex.
- 1989 Contradicted The first data go against the claim. In 96 Kansas pupils in their seventh and eighth year, about 12 to 14, most with little experience, shooting 20 arrows with school bows at six or nine metres, boys score 40.6 points out of 100 and girls 23.8, a clear gap (F = 27.17, p < 0.01). The study was actually looking for an effect of eye colour, does not control for experience and does not describe the bows, so the gap may come from strength or draw weight. A single study against: contradicted.
- 2015 Contested The first data in favour come from a talent survey of 160 primary school pupils in Manokwari, Indonesia, 80 boys and 80 girls of about 11 shooting at an 80 cm face: boys average 122.5 points and girls 120.1 over eighteen arrows, with no statistical test; the distance is 20 metres in the methods and 10 in the description of the test. The girls are as tall as the boys (140.7 against 139.4 cm) and the share rated talented by the test battery is the same in both sexes, 45 per cent, although the bottom band is more common among the girls (15 against 6.25 per cent). One study in favour, on younger children and without a test, and one against, with a test: contested.
- 2021 Contested A circuit training programme of unstated length on twenty beginners aged 10 to 12, ten boys and ten girls, produces almost identical gains, +59.1 points in boys and +59.2 in girls over 36 arrows at 20 metres, with the girls slightly ahead at every assessment (from 155.3 to 214.5 against 145.6 to 204.7). Here too the comparison between the sexes is not tested. Two studies in favour on children aged 10 to 12 and one against on pupils aged 12 to 14, the only one with a test: the status stays contested, and the age gap between the samples becomes a possible explanation for the conflict.
- 2023 Contested In five young Turkish archers aged 11 to 16, three girls and two boys, the girls score more points per arrow, 5.76 against 4.47, but with a test that treats each arrow as an independent data point. They are not described as beginners and the group is too small to carry weight: the status does not change.
- 2025 Contested Three studies in the same year, and none settles the question. In 25 Turkish secondary school beginners, girls and boys shoot at the same level on average, between 15 and 17 points, although among the six boys in one of the two groups scores run from 3 to 32. In another Turkish group of seventeen beginners, eleven girls and six boys, the boys score more (a correlation between sex and score of 0.44, with no p value); and among 104 Malaysian university students who had never shot, men score 16.0 points against 9.3, with a wide spread in both sexes. Three studies in favour, none with a test, and two against: contested, with the adult data suggesting a gap that opens with age.
Related
Related articles
- Common beginner mistakes in archery and how to avoid themThe most common beginner mistakes in archery, from posture and release to equipment, and what the measurements made on beginners actually show.
- 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
If this idea shapes your training or your coaching, look at what your own data say before you change anything.
See the work with clubs and federationsCite
Campagna, M. (2026). Among children starting archery, boys and girls score alike (Version 3). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/boys-girls-beginner-scores
@misc{campagna2026_maschifemminepunteggioprincipianti,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Among children starting archery, boys and girls score alike},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/boys-girls-beginner-scores},
note = {Version 3; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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Other claims in this domain
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