Competitions

One of the most fun aspects of any sport is competition. The Company takes part in many tournaments throughout the year – both indoors and outdoors. Most tournaments have a separate novice tournament, so if you started archery this year you'll only be competing against other people with similar amounts of experience. We are just as keen to have novices come to tournaments as experienced archers. Even if you think you are rubbish at archery, you are still more than welcome to come along to as many tournaments as you can. Information on how to sign up for tournaments is sent via the mailing list.

The Varsity Match

2024 marks the 75th year of the Varsity Match against the Cambridge University Bowmen (cubowmen.com).

This is the highlight of the year and takes place outdoors in early Trinity Term.

The TOUCAN League

The TOUCAN League (www.buttsleague.com), previously known as The B.U.T.T.S League, consists of Oxford, Warwick, Birmingham, Cambridge, Nottingham, Loughborough, Nottingham Trent, Derby, and De Montfort archery clubs. There are three league legs throughout the year, two in Michaelmas and one in Trinity, each leg hosted by a different university. There is also an Indoor Championship at the end of the season followed by a Ball.

Most years the league hosts an Outdoor Championship as well. Other TOUCAN events include the Team Championship, the Non-Recurve Championship and the Field Championship.

BUCS Indoor Championship

This is the biggest student archery event of the year, taking place in Hilary Term. The first stage is the qualifying shoot (Portsmouth round), split into the Northern and Southern Qualifiers. Oxford attends the Southern Qualifier. Those who are successful get to participate in the Finals, where they shoot a FITA 18 m round followed by head-to-head matches. This is the one not to miss.

Frostbite Grudge Match vs Cambridge

Near the start of each Hilary term, we have the annual grudge match against our arch-rivals, Cambridge. The round is called a ‘Frostbite’ because it is an outdoor round when the weather is cold. You won't actually get frostbite, in case you are worried. It’s a fun shoot with rather relaxed rules, meaning you can try to distract your opponents as they are shooting.

British University Team Championship

This event does not have a separate category for novices, everybody is treated the same. After a ranking round, at BUTC you shoot in teams of three at "hit/miss" targets which have little yellow plastic discs that go BANG and disappear into the target if you hit them. It makes it a great tournament to watch, and even more fun to take part in. Takes place in Hilary Term and usually involves a selection shoot.

BUCS Outdoor Championship

It is the highlight of the outdoor season. This massive outdoor shoot takes place at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre over two days, usually the weekend of 8th week, Trinity Term.

County events

OUCofA maintains strong relationships with other local archery clubs and participates in county events, such as the Indoor and Outdoor Championships.