Even in elite archers the time between the clicker and the release changes from arrow to arrow

The summary today

A single study says so, and it is small. Seven archers from the German national and junior squads shoot thirty arrows at eighteen metres, and a microphone behind them records the clicker and the release: the time between the two averages between 144 and 176 milliseconds, and from one arrow to the next it varies with a coefficient of variation between 3.94 and 7.25 per cent, about 6 to 12 milliseconds either way. None of the seven repeats the same time on every arrow, and the least consistent varies almost twice as much as the most consistent. The same study finds that this spread, and not the mean time, is related to the mean score: those who vary less score higher, with 66 per cent of the variance explained. With seven people one more archer is enough to change the picture, and the author says so. A later study of 39 elite archers measures the same interval, 163 milliseconds with a standard deviation of 17, but calculates the spread over all the shots together, without separating the differences between archers from those between the arrows of the same archer.

Also phrased as: "release rhythm"; "clicker reaction time"; "release consistency"; "clicker-to-release timing"

Evidence

• 2012
  For Archers Published later

  7 archers from the German national and junior squads, 2 men and 5 women, 30 arrows at 18 metres indoors with the times picked up by a microphone: the time between clicker and release averages from 144.40 to 175.96 milliseconds, and its coefficient of variation from arrow to arrow ranges from 3.94 to 7.25 per cent, a standard deviation of roughly 6 to 12 milliseconds.

  Evaluation of arrow release in highly skilled archers using an acoustic measurement system · Mario Heller

• 2012
  Context Archers Published later

  In the same study the spread of that time, not its mean value, explains 66 per cent of the variance in mean score (adjusted R squared 0.66, p=0.02): those who vary less score higher. Leaving out one archer at a time the link holds, with R squared between 0.66 and 0.75 and p below 0.03, but it is still a regression on seven people.

  Evaluation of arrow release in highly skilled archers using an acoustic measurement system · Mario Heller

• 2017
  Context Archers Published later

  39 elite recurve archers from four nations, 23 men and 16 women, measured at 70 metres before a World Cup event with a microphone near the archer: between clicker and release there are on average 0.163 seconds, with a standard deviation of 0.017, or 10.4 per cent, and a shorter time predicts the higher-scoring arrows, together with draw force and sway speed after the release (R squared 0.42). The spread is calculated over all the shots together and does not separate the variation within the same archer from the variation between archers.

  Postural stability, clicker reaction time and bow draw force predict performance in elite recurve archery · Wayne Spratford, Rhiannon Campbell

Status history

1. 2012 Reported The first study to measure how much this time changes from one arrow to the next does it with a microphone. Seven archers from the German national and junior squads, thirty arrows at eighteen metres indoors: the time between clicker and release averages between 144 and 176 milliseconds, with a coefficient of variation between 3.94 and 7.25 per cent, so none of the seven repeats it exactly, and the least consistent varies almost twice as much as the most consistent. Those who vary less also have the higher mean score. A single study of seven archers: reported.
2. 2017 Reported Thirty-nine elite recurve archers from four nations, measured at seventy metres before a World Cup event, again with a microphone: between clicker and release there are on average 163 milliseconds, with a standard deviation of 17, or 10.4 per cent, and a shorter time goes with the higher-scoring arrows. The sample is five times larger, but the spread is calculated over all the shots together and does not say how much the time varies within the same archer. The figure the claim needs is still the 2012 one: reported.

Related

Related articles

• The clicker: the science of a tenth of a secondWhat research measures about the clicker: reaction time, the muscles of the release, its weight on the score and what happens to draw length without it.
• The final pull: what happens in the last millimetres before the clickerHow many millimetres and seconds the final pull takes, how it differs between better and worse arrows, and what the aim and the muscles do as the clicker drops.
• Pre-shot routine in archery: how to build one on evidenceWhat to put in a pre-shot routine, how long it should last and what the data say: consistent timing, breathing, target panic and relaxing before the shot.

Research lines

• 24 studiesThe passive release: fifty years to take an idea apart
• 48 studiesWhat predicts the score, and how talent selection tried to use it

Other claims in this domain

• CorroboratedBetween one and a half and two tenths of a second pass between the clicker sounding and the arrow leaving7 studies · 94 archers measuredStatus since 1990
• ReportedA camera diagonally behind the archer measures the vertical sway of the aim well, but not the horizontal1 study · 3 archers measuredStatus since 2010
• ReportedA continuous final pull through the clicker leads to better shots9 studies · 56 archers measuredStatus since 1993
• ReportedA sound or light cue about the angle of the bow arm tightens beginners' groups2 studies · 1 archers measuredStatus since 2012
• ReportedA thumb grip on the string is less tiring than a finger grip3 studies · 9 archers measuredStatus since 1990

See all claims on technique and biomechanics