EXPLAINED: What is the difference between compound archery and recurve archery?

Archery as a sport has existed right from the ancient times and is practiced with a wide variety of bows and arrows. The World Archery uses two different forms of the sport in all its standard competitions, compound and recurve. Both events derive their name from the type of bows used.

Recurve is a traditional bowstyle being used since the inception of World Archery in 1932. Compound is more modern with it being invented in the 1960's. The biggest difference between the two forms is the type of bow used.

For a recurve bow, its ends at both the upper and lower limb curve away from the archers after curving inwards. This form of archery relies on the use of a pin or a window for the archers to adjust sight and take an aim. It thus needs great technique and muscle strength.

Alternatively, a compound bow comes with a lot more add-ons. It features cables, pulleys, a magnifying lens and a release switch. These extra features do make the compound bow a lot heavier but also make aiming easier bringing more precision and power.

While using a compound bow, the archers do not need to hold the full draw weight and can use the release switch. Whereas in recurve, the archers need to pull the bow string for a shot and then release the arrow manually by relaxing their fingers.

---

The difference in format and scoring between compound and recurve archery

The first difference between the two forms lies in the target. In recurve, the target is at a distance of 70m from the archer. Whereas in compound, the target is set at 50m. The archers then aim at the five-color target, consisting of 10 scoring zones in both events.

For recurve archers, the target face is 122cm in diameter, with a 10-ring measuring 12.2cm. On the other hand, it is 80cm in diameter with the innermost 10-point ring being 8cm for the compound archers.

Another difference between the two lies in the scoring. Matches are decided through a set system in recurve events unlike cumulative scores in compound. In both forms, the tiebreaker format is the same.