Give back to the sport you love by becoming an Archery GB registered judge. Archery GB invites any of our members over the age of 16 to train as an archery judge.
Becoming an Archery GB judge is an excellent way for our members to take an active part in the archery community, whether you are still shooting, taking a break from shooting, or are no longer shooting. Many of our archers become judges when they find themselves with less time to practice, but still want to stay a part of the archery world. You can still compete as an archer and be a judge, just not at the same event. When you judge is up to you, as is how many competitions you volunteer at. Most judges participate at a minimum of 12 events a year, though it is possible to judge more often.
All Archery GB judges are volunteers. Our judges are an integral part of the archery community, keeping our sport fair, safe, and fun for everyone who participates. In order to ensure this, we offer an excellent initial training, with ongoing training seminars available at every tier of judging. While there is no pay for judging, tournament organisers reimburse judges for their travel expenses and provide meals and refreshments at the event.
Our training programme and your fellow judges will support you throughout your entire journey as a GB Archery judge, from your first event as a Youth or Candidate judge to whichever tier of judging you aspire to. Every judge is a valued member of our community, whether you volunteer as a county judge or you choose to progress to international judging. Being an Archery GB judge can take you all over the world.
To begin training, you must be at least 16 years old and a member of Archery GB. We offer training workshops, though the majority of your training will take place while you judge at competitions under the supervision of experienced Archery GB judges. Before being eligible to become a County judge, Youth and Candidate judges must judge at 12 Archery GB competitions. The initial training process typically takes at least 12 months to complete. Throughout your initial training, you will have a mentor and at each competition you will be well supported by your supervising judge. By the time you take your assessment to become a County judge, you will have gained the skills and experience to progress with confidence.
The practical training is free, though you will be responsible for the cost of your uniform and equipment. There is a bursary available for training as a Youth Candidate judge, to help cover some of the costs involved in becoming a judge.
Archery GB offers a training pathway that allows our members to become judges at every tier with confidence. There are six tiers of judging archery, with two starting points, depending on your age. Whether you start as a Youth or a Candidate Judge, you first progress to be a County Judge. You can decide to remain a County Judge, or you can follow the training pathway all the way to becoming an international judge–maybe even judging at the Olympics one day!
The tiers are:
At each tier, you will be supported by training programmes that keep you up to date with current rules in archery, improve your judging skills, and provide you with the opportunities to progress to the next tier. Each tier has different responsibilities, with Regional judges eligible to be the senior official at British National Record Status events and National Judges eligible to be the senior official at events in the UK in which world records can be broken.
As you progress through the tiers, you can become a mentor, passing your skills and experience on to new judges.
How far along the pathway you go is up to you. Whether you remain a County judge or you progress all the way to being an International judge, your time, skills, and experience will be valued by all the members of the Archery GB community.
Each year, Archery GB offers workshops in basic judging skills to its Youth and Candidate judges. The Youth Candidate training workshop is open to Archery GB members who are between 16 and 25 years old. There is a £200 bursary available to help Youth Candidates with training costs. The Candidate training workshop is open to all other adult Archery GB members who wish to become judges. This workshop has a cost of £40.
Both workshops have a single course day, which runs from 9am to 5pm. There are required learning tasks prior to attending the course day, as well as follow up requirements once you have completed the course day.
Before your course you will have access to online guidebooks that cover the roles of the judge, procedures, and basic Archery GB and WA (World Association) rules.
On the day you will be taught judging philosophy, practical application of the rules (both Archery GB and WA), and disability awareness; and procedures and rules will be explained. The course day finishes with a 45 minute written assessment of all that you will be taught.
After your course, a mentor will be assigned to you. Your mentor will ensure that you get any ongoing help you need and that you get access to events you need to gain your practical judging experience. At these shoots you will get to work with teams of established judges. You must also keep up to date with the World Archery and Archery GB rules.
There are annual regional and national judging conferences that you can attend to maintain your on-going development.
For information on Archery GB judge taster sessions, please see the link below:
