The FITA round refers to a classic target archery competition format named after the former governing body of World Archery.

The traditional FITA round for outdoor men’s recurve competition consisted of the following distances:

• 90 m
• 70 m
• 50 m
• 30 m

At each distance, 36 arrows were shot, for a total of 144 arrows.

For women, slightly shorter distances were traditionally used.

Today, the classic FITA round is usually referred to as a WA round, since World Archery was renamed from FITA.

The Flemish splice is a traditional method of making bowstrings. In this design, the strands of the string are braided together at the ends to form the loops, instead of being wrapped as with an endless loop string.

Characteristics include:

• Braided end loops
• A classic, handcrafted appearance
• Commonly used on traditional bows
• Slightly more elastic than endless loop strings

This results in several advantages, for example:

• The length can be adjusted easily by twisting the string
• Quieter when shooting
• A look that matches traditional bows well

Fletching consists of natural feathers or plastic vanes attached to the rear of an arrow. Its purpose is to stabilize the arrow after it leaves the bow.

For indoor shooting, larger fletchings are usually chosen because the arrow must stabilize quickly over short distances. Outdoors, wind resistance becomes more important, so smaller fletchings are generally preferred.

Fully assembled arrows without feathers or vanes are called bare shafts. These are used for tuning tests in order to analyze the arrow’s flight behavior without the correcting effect of the fletching.

A fletching jig is a tool used by arrow builders to attach feathers or vanes to an arrow shaft. The arrow is clamped into the device, and the feather or vane is pressed onto the shaft using a clamp that is usually held in place by magnets.

There are different fletching styles:

• Straight
• Offset
• Helical

Offset or helical fletching is intended to improve stabilization by increasing the arrow’s natural rotation during flight.

Flu-Flu fletchings are special, heavily enlarged or spirally wrapped feathers on an arrow that create extremely high air resistance. As a result, the arrow slows down significantly after a short distance and quickly loses speed.

They are mainly used for historical or hunting-style practice, shooting into the air (e.g. clout shooting or flight exercises), shooting at moving targets (including small game hunting), or in situations where the arrow should not travel very far.

The technique of the “flying anchor” is mainly used by mounted archers. In this technique, the anchor point is not held in a fixed position but is instead “felt,” with the string being released just before it reaches the anchor point on the face.

This technique requires a great deal of practice, because the anchor has to be correct immediately. The archer does not take time to check or correct the position. For this reason, the flying anchor is only recommended for experienced archers.

Front of Center (FOC) describes how far the center of mass of an arrow is located in front of its geometric center. It is expressed as a percentage and indicates how much of the arrow’s weight is shifted toward the tip.

FOC plays an important role in arrow tuning and significantly affects the stabilization characteristics of the system:

• Higher FOC → more stable flight, better penetration
• Lower FOC → often faster, flatter trajectory

It influences flight behavior and overall tuning. FOC is affected by point weight, insert weight, and shaft selection.

Follow-through refers to the conscious maintenance of the body and bow position after releasing the arrow. The archer remains calm and steady on target, keeps tension in the back, and lets the shot “flow out,” rather than collapsing immediately or taking their eyes off the target.

Why is follow-through important?

• Prevents unconscious jerking of the shot
• Supports clean arrow flight
• Ensures consistent technique
• Promotes mental calmness

Typical characteristics:

• Eyes remain on the target
• Drawing hand moves controlled backward
• Bow tips (in recurve) relaxed forward

The force triangle describes the interaction of forces between the bow hand, the draw hand, and the back at full draw. Ideally, the bow arm, the draw arm, and the connection through the shoulders and back form a stable “triangle.”

Significance: When the force triangle is correct, the holding effort is supported not only by the arms but by the entire shoulder and back area.

Feet per Second (FPS): A measurement of the arrow’s speed after leaving the bow. A value in FPS can be roughly converted to km/h by adding about 10%. For example, 100 FPS ≈ 110 km/h.

Front of Center (FOC) describes how far the center of mass of an arrow is located in front of its geometric center. It is expressed as a percentage and indicates how much of the arrow’s weight is shifted toward the tip.

FOC plays an important role in arrow tuning and significantly affects the stabilization characteristics of the system:

• Higher FOC → more stable flight, better penetration
• Lower FOC → often faster, flatter trajectory

It influences flight behavior and overall tuning. FOC is affected by point weight, insert weight, and shaft selection.

Freestyle Unlimited: One of the bow classes in the IFAA. This class allows shooting with either a recurve bow (FU-R) or a compound bow (FU-C). The German Field Archery Association (DFBV) largely adopts these classes, so they apply to competitions and tournaments conducted under DFBV/IFAA rules.

Phase of the shooting sequence in which the archer has reached full draw and can move into the anchor position.