Archery for Visually Impaired Worldwide

Category: Information

Here you can find general information on Visually Impaired archery

  • Coaching Visually Impaired Archers: Practical Guidance for Safe, Effective Instruction

    Coaching Visually Impaired Archers: Practical Guidance for Safe, Effective Instruction

    Download the quick reference guide

    Teaching archery to persons who are visually impaired or blind is both rewarding and highly achievable when approached with thoughtful instruction, clear communication, and consistent safety practices. While adaptive equipment plays an important role, successful coaching begins with understanding the archer’s experience and building strong fundamentals from the very first session.

    Starting the Archer on the Line

    Beginning visually impaired archers require one-on-one instruction. Before introducing equipment, it’s important to ask whether the archer has ever shot a bow. Some archers may have prior experience, while others are completely new to the sport.

    If the archer has shot before, explain how the current setup may differ and allow them to feel the equipment so they can understand those differences. If the archer is new, take time to describe each piece of equipment in detail, including the bow, arrows, arrow rest, arm guard, and finger tab or release. Hands-on exploration is encouraged, allowing the archer to feel the equipment or examine it closely as needed.

    Adaptive sighting equipment should also be introduced early, with a clear explanation of how it works. As with any archer, safety rules should be taught thoroughly and consistently, using the same standards applied to sighted archers.

    Teaching Proper Technique

    When teaching form, begin at close range and focus on fundamentals. At this stage, only the foot-locator should be used. The foot-locator helps the archer establish consistent alignment without compromising posture or balance.

    As the archer is aligned with the target, the coach may need to adjust the foot-locator to ensure proper orientation while protecting good shooting form. Once the archer demonstrates consistent form, distance can be increased and the tactile sight introduced.

    Some archers may hesitate to use the tactile sight if they still have partial vision and can see the target. In these cases, encourage experimentation while ensuring the foot-locator remains in use. If an archer can clearly see the target at 20 yards, it may be appropriate to reassess whether they belong in the visually impaired category.

    Safely Retrieving Arrows

    Arrow retrieval is an important part of training and should always be done with safety in mind. Coaches should walk with the archer to the target, offering guidance as needed. The archer may choose to hold the coach’s elbow, place a hand on the coach’s shoulder, or follow independently if they have sufficient vision.

    For safety, guide the archer to the side of the target and have them reach inward toward the center to locate their arrows. Take time to orient the archer to the size of the target and allow them to see or feel where their arrows landed. This reinforces spatial awareness and helps the archer better understand their shot execution.

    Key Technical Considerations

    Because tactile sighting systems can create a pivoting motion, weight distribution plays a critical role in arrow flight. If the archer’s weight shifts too far forward over the toes, arrows will tend to fly left. If the weight shifts too far back over the heels, arrows will fly right. Coaches should watch for these subtle balance changes and correct as needed.

    A closed or square stance often works best for visually impaired archers, as it promotes a straight-line orientation to the target. Coaches should also be aware that beginner archers may not realize when an arrow has fallen off the rest. Regular checks help prevent frustration and unsafe shots.

    Arrow length is another critical safety consideration. Arrows must be long enough to prevent over-drawing, which can cause the arrow to slide behind the rest and potentially injure the archer’s hand.

    Teaching Equipment Setup

    Visually impaired archers should be taught how their equipment works and how to set it up independently. Understanding their own equipment builds confidence and long-term success in the sport.

    Once the archer has set up their equipment, the coach or assistant can position and adjust the foot-locator and tactile sight on the shooting line. This shared responsibility supports independence while maintaining accuracy and safety.

    Building Toward Independence

    As archers demonstrate consistent target contact and reliable adherence to safety rules, they can begin practicing more independently. One effective method involves using a rope system to guide the archer between the shooting line and the target.

    Attach one end of a rope to the tripod and the other to the side of the target butt. Tie knots a few feet away from both the tripod and the target. These knots serve as tactile cues, prompting the archer to slow down and reach out to locate the arrows or equipment safely.

    When the archer encounters the knot near the target, they can find the side of the target butt, locate their arrows by touch, and remove them. By trailing the rope back, the archer can return to the shooting line, slowing again at the knot to locate the tripod and foot-locator.

    Empowering Success Through Consistent Coaching

    Coaching visually impaired archers is about more than adaptive equipment—it’s about patience, communication, and trust. By focusing on fundamentals, prioritizing safety, and gradually building independence, coaches can create an inclusive environment where visually impaired athletes can thrive and develop confidence on and off the shooting line.

    Get the quick reference guide now

  • An Overview of the Rules for Competitive Visually Impaired Archery

    The rules for visually impaired archery can feel overwhelming at first, so this article provides a brief summary of how World Archery competitions work for VI athletes. It’s a quick guide only—official rules and complete details can be found directly on the World Archery website beginning at Para archery Book 5.

    Visually Impaired Categories

    Visually impaired (VI) archery is designed to be inclusive, safe, and fair, while still allowing athletes to compete at a high level. Athletes compete in one of two divisions: VI1, or a combined VI2/VI3 division. VI1 athletes shoot wearing a blindfold, while VI2 and VI3 athletes—classified as IBSA B2 or B3 based on visual acuity—do not. No matter the division, all VI archers use a tactile sight, and no other type of sight is allowed.

    If there aren’t enough athletes to support separate divisions, competitions may combine all VI archers into a single category. When this happens, everyone shoots wearing a blindfold, and teams may enter up to six VI athletes regardless of classification.

    Blindfolds can be simple sleep masks or wraparound goggles, but they are checked by judges and must be worn any time an athlete is on the field of play. That includes equipment setup, practice, and competition. Tactile sights and foot locators must meet specific size and spacing rules so they don’t interfere with other archers, and once set up, the tactile sight can stay in place for the rest of the competition day.

    Bow requirements

    VI athletes can shoot either recurve or compound bows in the same class. Compound bows may be shot with fingers or a release aid, with a maximum draw weight of 45 pounds for both men and women.

    Competition rules

    There are several competition formats, including outdoor, indoor, 30-meter, and Paralympic rounds. These vary in arrow counts and target sizes, but standard World Archery rules apply. Indoors, everyone scores using the full recurve 10-ring—even if they’re shooting a compound bow. Elimination and finals matches are shot in set play, leading up to gold medal matches.

    VI archers are allowed to have a spotter, who sits just behind the shooting line. The spotter calls arrow placement, helps with safety, guides the athlete to and from the target, and handles scoring. They can adjust equipment only between ends, and during individual matches. Athletes and spotters must be easy to identify as a team by wearing the same uniform.

    To keep the field of play consistent at international and World Archery-registered events, support or guide dogs are not permitted during competition.

    I hope this article was helpful. Please use the contact form on this web site for any questions you may still have.

  • Welcome to Vi Archery Worldwide

    Welcome to Vi Archery Worldwide

    Welcome everyone to our new website, Visually Impaired archers Worldwide. A collaborative space where we will share information among all those interested in archery for blind people.

    What motivates this project?

    We believe that with this step we can move forward on several fronts:

    • Be better and better informed: About events we can take part in, major international championships, smaller competitions, or the regulations that apply to us.
    • Bring this discipline closer to beginners: Since I personally started shooting, more than 9 years have passed. In all this time, I still haven’t seen any improvement in the issues we faced at the beginning of our training. We will offer informative articles for coaches, archers and guides, helping beginners build confidence in their first steps approaching this sport.
    • Promoting the achievements of blind archers: This is an individual sport, but I believe we still need to learn and share a lot to become better athletes and be better prepared. We will give visibility to the people participating in blind archery categories and share information through the most used social networks to spread our accomplishments.
    • Paralympic goal: We are well aware that we are not yet part of the Paralympic Games program. Achieving the inclusion of our category in the Games will only be possible by fulfilling the three points mentioned above. By being better athletes, better prepared, spreading our achievements and democratizing the information that affects all of us.

    How can I contribute to achieving these goals?

    Friends, to move forward on all these fronts, we can only do it with everyone’s help.
    I firmly believe that we all have something valuable to contribute, and you should know we need your collaboration to keep this project going.

    These are the most direct ways you can contribute:

    • Writing educational articles: It’s important to provide the blind archery community with a solid repository of informative resources that can help us improve our preparation and equipment. Anyone who wishes to contribute by creating articles on this website is welcome. To do so, you just need to contact us through the contact section found in the site menu or by clicking directly on this link.
    • Writing articles about past, present or future events: It’s important to stay informed about the events taking place around the world in which we can participate. If you’d like to contribute this way, just contact us through the contact area in the site menu or by clicking directly on this link.
    • Gathering updated regulations: All archers who compete must do so under the same rules so that the sport remains fair. So, if you know the regulations and would like to help keep the documentation updated, contact us through the contact area in the site menu or by clicking directly on this link.
    • Writing stories about our athletes: We all have a great story behind us. We must make sure people see it. For that, we need people willing to write interviews with the athletes in our category. To contribute this way, just contact us through the contact area in the site menu or by clicking directly on this link.
    • Financial contribution to support the website: Maintaining this website costs approximately 120€ per year. We have an active GoFundMe campaign where anyone can donate, even the smallest amount. We need this to keep this information platform running. Click this link to access the GoFundMe campaign. All the money donated will be used entirely for maintaining the website and the domain.
    • Contribution of new ideas: We can all contribute new ideas that help us fulfill our mission. If that’s the case, share yours by clicking on this link. There are no crazy or bad ideas; any of them can unlock a whole world of new possibilities.

    With nothing more to add in this first post, I thank you for making it this far. Remember this is a collaborative site made for you, so don’t hesitate to contact us and contribute however you can.