The World Archery Federation (WA, also and formerly known as FITA from the French ''Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc'') is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

of the sport of

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In ...

. It is based in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

, Switzerland. It is composed of 156 national federations and other archery associations, and is recognised by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

History

FITA was founded on 4 September 1931 in Lwow,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(today

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

). Its seven founding member states were France,

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, Sweden, Poland, the United States, Hungary, and Italy. The aim of the organization was to create regular archery championships, and to return archery to the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

(the sport had not been featured since 1920). FITA was finally successful in returning archery to the Olympic program in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...

. To celebrate the organization's 80th anniversary in July 2011, a large majority of the FITA Congress voted to change the name from FITA to the World Archery Federation or WA. In March 2022, in the wake of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, the Federation announced that no athlete, team official, or technical official from Russia or Belarus will be permitted to participate in any international archery event, their flags and anthems are banned, and no archery events would be held in the two countries.

Identity

Flag

The WA flag has a white background, with the organization's logo in the middle.

Member associations

As of April 2019, 159 national federations and other associations are members of World Archery. * Albania * Algeria * Andorra * Argentina *

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

* Australia * Austria * Azerbaijan * Bahamas * Bangladesh * Barbados * Belgium * Benin * Bermuda * Belarus *

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...

* Brazil * British Virgin Islands * Bulgaria * Cameroon * Central African Republic * Cambodia * Canada * Chad * Chile * China * Colombia * Comoros * Costa Rica *

Cote d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

* Cuba * Cyprus * Czech Republic * DR Congo * Denmark * Dominica * Dominican Republic * Ecuador * Egypt * El Salvador * Eritrea * Estonia *

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

* Fiji * Finland * France * Gabon * Georgia * Germany * Ghana *

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

* Greece * Guatemala * Guinea * Haiti * Honduras *

Hong Kong, China Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta ...

* Hungary * Iceland *

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

* Indonesia * Iran * Iraq * Ireland * Israel * Italy * Japan * Kazakhstan * Kenya * Kiribati * Kosovo * Kuwait * Kyrgyzstan * Laos * Latvia * Lebanon * Libya * Liechtenstein * Lithuania * Luxembourg *

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

* Macedonia * Malawi * Malaysia * Malta * Mauritania * Mauritius * Mexico * Moldova * Monaco * Montenegro * Mongolia * Morocco * Myanmar * Namibia * Nepal * Netherlands * New Zealand * Nicaragua * Niger * Nigeria * Norfolk Island * North Korea * Norway * Pakistan * Palau * Panama * Papua New Guinea * Paraguay * Peru *

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

* Poland * Portugal * Puerto Rico * Qatar * Romania * Russia * Rwanda * Saint Kitts and Nevis * Samoa * San Marino * Saudi Arabia * Senegal * Serbia * Sierra Leone * Singapore * Slovakia * Slovenia * Somalia * South Africa * South Korea * Spain * Sri Lanka * Sudan * Suriname * Sweden * Switzerland *

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by the ...

(Taiwan) * Tajikistan * Thailand * Togo * Tonga * Trinidad and Tobago * Tunisia * Turkey * Uganda * Ukraine * United States * Uruguay * Uzbekistan * Vanuatu * Venezuela * Vietnam *

US Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

* Zimbabwe

Rankings

World Archery publishes world rankings for each category of outdoor competitive archery (men / women; recurve / compound; individual / team / mixed team), updated following every official eligible event. Each archer earns a ranking score for each competition. The ranking scores are calculated through a combination of the ranking factor of the tournament (as determined by the quality of competition, the number of competitors, and how recently the competition took place) and points based on the competitor's final position in the competition. The archer's four highest ranking scores are then combined to form their 'Added Ranking Score', which forms the basis of the ranking list.

Current rankings

Current number one ranked archers *''Updated 30 September 2021''

Summary Championships

The following table shows the venue of all World Championships on the current World Archery programme:

Events

Summer Olympics

Archery at the 2012 Summer Paralympics (8237864817)

Archery at the 2012 Summer Paralympics (8238934528)

Archery was first competed at the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

in 1900 and, after a long hiatus from 1924, became a regular event from 1972. Team events were added in 1988. Recurve archery is currently the only discipline competed at the Olympics. Archery is also competed at the

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebra ...

( recurve and compound disciplines), the

Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consiste ...

( recurve only), and the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

( Field archery only).

World Cup

The

Archery World Cup The Archery World Cup is a competition, started in 2006, organized by the World Archery Federation, where the archers compete in four stages in four countries and the best eight archers of each category (from 2010, four archers during 2006-09) ad ...

is an annual event that was inaugurated in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

. It is designed to present archery in 'spectacular' locations. The format consists of 4 rounds competed across the world during a calendar year. The best individual and mixed team performers across these rounds are then invited to compete in the World Cup Final at the end of the year. An indoor World Cup, competed in 3 rounds with a final during the winter season, was inaugurated in the 2010–11 season.

World Championships

* World Target Championships ** World Outdoor Archery Championships ** World Indoor Archery Championships * World Field Archery Championships * World 3D Archery Championships * World Ski Archery Championships * World Para Archery Championships * World Youth Archery Championships *

World University Archery Championships The World University Archery Championships, an international competition in archery, have been held in alternate years from 1996 to 2016, each time in a different host city. There are events using the recurve bow, recurve and compound bow, compound ...

FITA began holding Target World Championships in 1931. They were held every year until 1959, when the Championships became biennial events. 1959 was also the first year that FITA held the World Field Championship. Presently, there are five principal formats of the World Archery Championships: Outdoor, Indoor, Youth, Para-Archery, and Field. Each is held every two years on different rotations. World Championships are also held every two years in 3D archery and University sport. In 2007, a ski archery World Championships was held in Moscow; this is yet to be repeated and is not included in the current rotation.

Other

Archery is an optional sport at the

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

and the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the ex ...

Current champions

The following archers are the current champions of the major World Archery Federation events:

Presidents

References

External links

Official website

History of FITA 1931-1961 by Robert Rhode

Archery Champions by Robert Rhode
{{Authority control Archery organizations Arc

Arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

Sports organizations established in 1931