Matteo Campagna
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A spell of reduced training makes the score drop

1 study · 9 archers measured

There is a single study, and its design is fragile. Nine young sub-elite archers from a training centre in East Java, measured before and during the pandemic restrictions, go from 302.4 to 280.7 points over 36 arrows, an average drop of 21.7 points (p = 0.013). The drop is not the same for everyone, though: the group's standard deviation rises from 33.6 to 44.1, and in one-minute push-ups the average does not move (32.3 to 31.1) while the spread more than doubles, from 4.6 to 10.6, a sign that some kept their level and some lost a great deal. Three things limit the reading. There are nine archers and no group that went on training as before. The reduction in training is not measured: the study takes it for granted during the pandemic, which changed habits, shooting venues and motivation all at once. And nobody followed how long it takes to get back to the previous score.

Also phrased as: "if you stop you lose points"; "training break and score"; "training less lowers the score"; "drop after a lay-off"; "score after the pandemic"

In practice

Archers say a few weeks away from the range is enough to lose points, and that after a break it takes time to get back to the previous score.

Evidence

  • 2021
    For Archers Published later

    9 sub-elite adolescent archers from a training centre in East Java (6 girls and 3 boys; 4 recurve, 4 compound, 1 standard bow), 36 arrows in 6 ends of 6 before and during the pandemic restrictions: score from 302.4 ± 33.6 to 280.7 ± 44.1, an average drop of 21.7 points (95% confidence interval 6.0 to 37.3; t = 3.198, p = 0.013). One-minute push-ups unchanged on average (32.3 against 31.1, p = 0.662), with the standard deviation rising from 4.6 to 10.6. Training volume in the two periods is not measured; conference proceedings.

    The Training Performance Of Sub Elit Adolescent Archery Athletes Before And During Covid-19 Pandemic · Fani Ravena, Ajeng Tirtasari, Irmantara Subagio, Azizati Rochmania, Kunjung Ashadi

Status history

  1. 2021 Reported The first and only study on the question: nine sub-elite adolescent archers go from 302.4 to 280.7 points over 36 arrows between the period before the pandemic and the period of restrictions, an average drop of 21.7 points. The drop differs a great deal from one archer to the next, as the standard deviation rises from 33.6 to 44.1. Nine people, no comparison group and a period that changed many other things along with training: reported.

Related

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Research lines

Studies describe groups of archers, and your own numbers show how far the finding applies to your shooting.

See the programme
Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). A spell of reduced training makes the score drop (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/reduced-training-score-drop

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_allenamentoridottopunteggio,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {A spell of reduced training makes the score drop},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/physical-training/reduced-training-score-drop},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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