Jul 01, 2026 - Nov 30, 2026

NFAA Target Sectional Championships 2026

Join us for the 2026 nfaa target sectionals!!

Archers compete against others in their section to become the Sectional Champion! Review a current list of locations in each section via the Registration tab. Watch for more locations and dates to be announced as they are approved.

find sectional dates and locations near you

event Registration

Click each of the corresponding section links below to view the host location(s) and register. Event listings and registrations will be added as host locations are approved. Be sure to note the type of sectional event in the event title (i.e., target, field, or indoor)!

Great Lakes Sectionals

Mid-Atlantic Sectionals

Midwest Sectionals

New England: NOT hosting 2026 Target Sectionals

The Early Registration Deadline is three calendar days prior to each event. A $15 late registration fee applies after this deadline.

All NFAA divisions are eligible to participate. Participants must be a NFAA member in good standing and can register in up to three shooting styles within the same age division. Registration is required online through Sport:80. Onsite registration may not be available.

Archers may only register and compete at ONE location for the Sectional Championships unless the registrations are in the same age division. If an archer chooses to compete at multiple locations within the same age division and shooting style, only the score from their first location will be counted toward the final results.

click to view sections & corresponding states

Adult & Senior Divisions

$55 early registration ($70 after early registration deadline)

Adult (18+ years)
Senior (50+ years)
Silver Senior (60+ years)
Master Senior (70+ years)

Barebow Compound
Barebow Recurve
Bowhunter Freestyle
Modern Bowhunter Freestyle
Freestyle
Freestyle Limited
Freestyle Limited Recurve
Traditional
Longbow (Adult Division Only)

Junior Divisions

$45 early registration ($60 after early registration deadline)

Cub (11 years and under)
Youth (12-14 years)
Young Adult (15-17 years)

Barebow Compound
Barebow Recurve
Bowhunter Freestyle
Modern Bowhunter Freestyle
Freestyle
Freestyle Limited Recurve

Pro Divisions

$105 early registration ($120 after early registration deadline)

Professional Adult Freestyle (18+ years)
Professional Senior Freestyle (50+ years)
Professional Silver Senior Freestyle (60+ years)

Collegiate add-on

free add-on to registration

Bowhunter
Barebow Recurve
Freestyle
Recurve

Collegiate archers will compete in their regular division and scores will also count toward their collegiate placement.

IMPORTANT! To be eligible for the collegiate competition, the archer must first hold a valid NFAA Collegiate Membership or NFAA Collegiate Add-On Membership (for Professional/Life members). Learn more on the NFAA Collegiate Program page.

PROOF OF MEMBERSHIP
All archers must have proof of NFAA membership at the tournament site. All memberships are subject to verification at any time during the tournament.

LOCATION TRANSFER POLICY
Each registrant is responsible for re-registering for the sectional location to which he/she is transferring. Refunds will be issued for the original registration less 4% for credit card processing fees after the archer notifies info@nfaausa.com that re-registration has been completed. The refund request must be received prior to the Early Registration Deadline of the original event. Late registration fees will apply if the re-registration takes place after the event's Early Registration Deadline.

CANCELLATION POLICY
All cancellation requests must be received in writing to info@nfaausa.com prior to the event's Early Registration Deadline. All cancellations will be charged a $15 administration fee. After the Early Registration Deadline, no refunds will be issued due to scheduling conflicts, illness, or other personal issues.

sectional round format

The 2026 Target Sectionals are held at the discretion of each section. The format may consist of either a single 900 Round OR a Classic 600 Round conducted over one day. Final format details are outlined on each event registration form.

900 Target Round

Archers will shoot 5 ends of 6 arrows at 3 distances, beginning with the furthest distance.
Cub distances will be 30-20-10 yards, Youth distances will be 50-40-30 yards, and Young Adult/Adult/Senior distances will be 60-50-40 yards.
5 minutes will be permitted for each end.
The target for all archers will be the 122cm multicolor face with gold-red-blue, etc. (10 through 1) scoring areas.

Classic 600 Round

Archers will shoot 4 ends of 5 arrows at 3 distances, beginning with the closest distance.
Cub distances will be 10-20-30 yards, Youth distances will be 30-40-50 yards and Young Adult/Adult/Senior distances will be 40-50-60 yards.
4 minutes will be permitted for each end.
The target will be the 92cm NFAA multicolor target face with gold-red-blue, etc. Either the full target (1 through 10 scoring areas) or the center spot (6 through 10 scoring areas) may be chosen by each individual archer.

tournament rules

general

All participants, regardless of skill level, are required to follow NFAA competition rules. The rules presented in this document are a condensed version and do not represent the full set of NFAA regulations. Additional rules may apply to specific situations. It is each participant’s responsibility to be familiar with the complete NFAA Rules of Competition.

You, the archer, are responsible for your equipment to comply with NFAA rules and to verify you are in the correct Division and Style of Shooting prior to the beginning of competition. If you are registered in the wrong division or style, this must be corrected prior to shooting your first arrow for score.
Archers may register in ONE division and up to THREE shooting styles. A registration fee applies for each shooting style.
The Pro Division Dress Code applies to all NFAA Pro Sanctioned Events, including Sectional Championships.
An archer’s age division will be determined by their physical age as of the first day of competition.

Safety

A few simple safety rules need to be observed:

Make sure all your equipment is in safe working order. You are responsible for the damage your equipment may cause should a “malfunction” occur.
Never exceed the manufacturer’s recommendation matching arrow spine to bow weight.
No archer shall draw a bow in any manner that if accidentally released could fly beyond a safety zone or a safety arrangement over shoot area, backstop, etc. A warning will be given on the first instance. Second instance will require removal of archer from event.

EQUIPMENT

It is your responsibility to ensure that your equipment complies with NFAA competition rules. If you are uncertain about the legality of your equipment, consult a tournament official. Any equipment found to be non-compliant with NFAA standards at any point during the competition may result in disqualification.

Special note: The maximum peak draw weight allowed in NFAA competition is 80 pounds. The maximum arrow speed is 300 FPS with a variance of 3%.

NFAA Equipment & Shooting Style Rules

GENERAL rules for 900 Round

distances

There are 5 ends of 6 arrows at each distance; total of 30 arrows per distance. All divisions will start at the furthest distance and progress to the shortest distance.

Cubs: 10 yards - 20 yards - 30 yards
Youth: 30 yards - 40 yards - 50 yards
Young Adults/Adults/Seniors: 40 yards - 50 yards - 60 yards

shooting rules

The shooting area is an area starting at the waiting line and which runs parallel to and adjacent to the target line, and extending to a safe distance behind the target butts.
An archer shall stand so that there’s one foot on each side of the shooting line.
When two shooting line groups are used, archers will alternate first up to shoot on the target. An AB, BA system will be used alternating end by end so that each archer will have an equal time shooting at a target without arrows in it.
An END consists of six arrows shot for score.
There will be a 5-minute time limit to shoot 6 arrows. An archer shooting before the whistle signaling the start of the end or after the time has lapsed will lose their highest scoring arrow or arrows equaling the number of errant arrows shot.
NFAA shooting divisions and styles shall be used for award presentation.
Any kind of arrow may be used provided they do not damage the target face or target butt unreasonably.
Any type of spotting aid may be used provided it does not cause an obstruction or interference to other shooters.
Initial target assignments may be made according to any system designated by the tournament officials. There shall not be less than three nor more than five archers assigned to each target in use. Four is customary.
There shall be two practice ends or 45 minutes of open practice before the first scoring end in the competition.
There shall be no practice permitted after a break or delay unless such postponement exceeds forty-five (45) minutes. In such cases the amount of practice shall be one practice end at the present scoring distance.
A whistle system shall be used to control the archers shooting line, rotation and timing for scoring per end shot: Two (2) blasts to come to the shooting line, one (1) blast to start timing of shooting for score, three (3) blasts to go forward to score, and four (4) or more for emergency stop of all shooting.
Equipment failures must be recognized by an official and 45 minutes will be allowed for repair. There will be one practice end, at the distance that the equipment failure occurred.
A mis-shot arrow may be re-shot if the archer can touch the arrow with their bow without moving their feet at the shooting line.
An arrow that has passed through the scoring face so that it is not visible from the front shall be pushed back through for scoring. If a complete pass–through goes unnoticed until scoring at the target, it shall be re-shot. Arrows passing completely through the target, if witnessed, may be re-shot.
An arrow that rebounds from the target butt shall be re-shot.
If an arrow should hang from the target face, shooting shall be interrupted and a judge shall immediately reinsert the arrow in its proper place in the scoring face.
Coaching an archer on the shooting line is permitted, provided that such coaching is not distracting to other contestants. Audible coaching of archers on the shooting line is not permitted.

scoring rules

Arrows in the standard 122 cm target face shall be scored as follows: Inner Gold – 10, Outer Gold-9, Inner Red – 8, Outer Red-7, Inner Blue – 6, Outer Blue-5, Inner Black – 4, Outer Black-3, Inner White – 2, Outer White-1; all others shall be scored as an “M” (miss).
An arrow shaft need only touch the scoring line to be counted in the next higher value. Doubtful arrows must be determined for each end before the arrows or target face have been touched, otherwise the lower value must be taken.
In the event the scoring ring has become distorted due to torn or missing paper, the scorer shall visually reconstruct the natural arc of the scoring ring to determine the value of the arrow(s).
An arrow embedded in another arrow in the scoring face shall be scored the same as the arrow in which it is embedded.
Hits on the wrong target face shall score as misses.
If an archer shoots more than the prescribed number of arrows in an end, the excess arrow or arrows of higher value will not be scored. A penalty of one scoring ring (1 point and 1 X if applicable) will be assessed for each arrow shot over the prescribed number of arrows.
The archer chosen to pull the arrows from the target, normally the first in order of assignment, shall be the Target Captain and shall rule all questions on their target subject to appeal to the Line Judge.
The Target Captain shall call the value of each arrow so it can be recorded by two score keepers. Scorers should keep a running score and check results after each end to avoid errors. Any archer on a target may request a judge to determine final score of any arrow before any arrows or the target butt are touched.
Archers are individually responsible for seeing that their arrows are called correctly and are properly entered on the scorecards, and that their scorecards are signed and turned in to the proper officials.
Double scoring will be used for all paper scorecards. Ideally, there should be one colored version and one white version. Two archers are designated as paper scorekeepers on each target bale. One scorekeeper will complete all of the colored scorecards and the other scorekeeper will complete all of the white scorecards.
Scorecards must be signed as correct by the scorekeeper and the archer. Once submitted, a scorecard cannot be retrieved for purposes of changing totals. An archer who has signed and submitted a scorecard as correct which has incorrect total(s) may be disqualified.
Scorecards should be turned in to the tournament host within 30 minutes of the end of the assigned round. All scoring on the official scorecards must be completed in INK. Any changes on the official scorecard must be agreed upon and initialed by all archers in the scoring group. Any archer turning in an incorrect scorecard will be subject to disqualification.
Ties shall be resolved in favor of the archer with the most hits. Then the greatest number of X’s, 10’s and 9’s etc. If still tied, the tie shall be so recorded.

Review Important Scoring Instructions

GENERAL RULES for Classic 600 Round

Same rules as the 900 Round with the exception of the following:

20 arrows will be shot at each distance in 4 ends of 5 arrows for score.
Time limit shall be 4 minutes per end.
The round is shot starting at the closest distance and progressing to the longest distance.
The NFAA Archery Classic 92 cm Target Face shall be used. Either the full target (1 through 10 scoring areas) or the center spot (6 through 10 scoring areas) may be chosen by each individual archer.

protests

A protest committee shall be assigned at each sectional site, consisting of three NFAA members, one of which shall be a Councilman, or Director or Director designee. In the case of multiple sectional sites, the ruling shall be forwarded to the Sectional Councilman if not present at the site.
Any individual wishing to file a protest against another archer must inform that individual in the presence of a tournament official that a protest will be filed. Both individuals have the right to be present during the meeting of the protest committee.
All protests must be in writing and turned in to the Tournament Chairman within one hour after the finish of the shooting line on which the alleged offense occurred. The protest must be accompanied by $50 cash, which will be refunded if the protest is upheld.

electronic scoring

Electronic scoring will be utilized for all sectional archers and is considered an official form of scoring. Failure to input an electronic score may result in disqualification of that day’s scores.
All electronic scores are considered unofficial until they are verified by NFAA staff against the Official Colored Scorecard.
Each official scorecard has a unique QR code to be scanned with the scoring app. Once scanned, the app brings up the electronic scorecard for all archers on the target. Archers on the same target may use the same device with one person designated to record the electronic scores.
Scoring groups can input their electronic scores during or immediately following the round.
Internet connection or cellular date service is only required when scanning the QR code and at the end of the competition to upload scores. Service is not required during the scoring input.
In the event that a scoring group does not have a device or if Wi-Fi or cellular data service is not available onsite, it is the archer’s responsibility to input their electronic score offsite no later than the Monday following their event weekend. Failure to do so may result in disqualification of that day's scores.

view the electronic scoring guide and download the Ianseo Scorekeeper NG app

registration & collegiate eligibility

Eligible Collegiate archers can compete in the NFAA Sectional Championships to earn special collegiate awards. Registration in the NFAA Sectional Championships and the FREE Collegiate Add-On registration is required. Archers must hold a NFAA Collegiate Membership and meet all collegiate eligibility requirements.

Review Collegiate Eligibility & Membership Requirements

rules

Collegiate archers follow the same round format and rules as the NFAA Sectional Championships. No additional rounds are required.

collegiate awards

Collegiate archers are eligible for the NFAA Sectional Championship awards AND special collegiate awards.

Tournament Results

When all scores have been validated, final results for each section will be posted on the NFAA Results page. Interactive results will be viewable on the NFAA App.

host requirements

Sectional hosts are required to complete the Sectional Host Contract. Each host will be approved by the respective Sectional Councilman. Hosts must have a current NFAA club charter or shop license AND a valid NFAA Target Range Certificate through the duration of their event. Registration will open for each event upon approval of the Host Contract and validation of the host's charter/license and Target Range Certificate.

Click to Complete the Sectional Host Contract

promotion

Hosts can download this fillable flyer to advertise their NFAA Target Sectional Championships event.

download fillable flyer

Scoring

Electronic scoring shall be used at all sectional events. Wi-Fi or cellular data access is required onsite for archers to use the electronic scoring platform. Archers shall use their own electronic devices to enter scores or the Host can provide one or more electronic devices as a courtesy. If it is not possible to enter scores during shooting, the Host or archers may do so after shooting has completed, but no later than the day following the event. The NFAA will send detailed instructions for electronic scoring to the Host in advance of the event.

The NFAA will email all scorecards for the Host to print or grant the host access to the IANSEO scoring platform to print themselves. The scorecards provided are the official sectional scorecards, and their use is required. The Host agrees to return the completed scorecards within 3 days following the event. Scorecards can either be scanned and emailed or the physical copies can be mailed to NFAA Headquarters. The Host is not required to compile scores or submit a scoring report.

targets

Each host is responsible for purchasing target faces. Hosts will be reimbursed $1 per archer registered at their location to assist in covering target expenses. Reimbursement will be provided on the proceeds check to be mailed following completion of the event.

Purchase Targets

Archers can reserve discounted hotel accommodations through the NFAA's partnership with Lucid Travel. Click the link below to find your event. Sectional locations will be added as they are approved.

reserve discounted hotel accommodations