Got Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need experience to start archery?
How do I get started in archery?
The easiest way to start is:

Find a local archery club
Book a Come and Try session or Beginner Course
Learn the basics with a qualified instructor
After that, you can decide whether to join the club and continue shooting.
Can I try archery before joining a club?
How old do you have to be to start archery?
Do I need to be strong or very fit to do archery?
Can people with disabilities do archery?
Is archery safe?
How long does it take to learn archery?
Is archery an Olympic sport?

Yes. Archery has been part of the Olympic Games since 1972, traditionally featuring recurve bows. From the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, compound archery has also been added, marking a significant expansion of the sport at the Olympic level. Archery is also featured in the Paralympic Games and many international competitions.
Do I need to buy my own equipment?
What types of bows can I shoot?
There are several styles of bows used in modern archery, including:

Recurve bows (used in the Olympic Games)
Compound bows
Barebow
Traditional bows such as longbows
Many beginners start with a recurve bow because it is simple and versatile.
Can I just come down and shoot casually?
Not straight away.

For safety and insurance reasons, you’ll need to either:

complete a beginner course, or
be assessed by a coach
After that, many members shoot purely socially with no interest in competition.
Do I have to compete?
Can I shoot at other clubs?
How much does archery cost?
Costs vary by club, but generally include:

Club membership fee

Archery Victoria fee

Archery Australia fee

Some clubs also charge small shooting fees. You can find more information on costs here.
Why do I need to be a member of Archery Australia and Archery Victoria? Can’t I just be a member of my club?
No you cannot be a member of just your club.

Archery Australia has State Sporting Authorities known as Regional Governing Bodies (RGB’s) managing the sport in each State. Archery Victoria is the RGB for all Victorian clubs.

Every member of an Archery Australia affiliated club needs to be a member of Archery Australia and also your RGB (Archery Victoria). This is a condition of the club’s Archery Australia affiliation.

Archery Australia (AA) affiliated clubs operate under a national system, which includes:

Insurance coverage while shooting
Standardised safety rules
Coaching and accreditation systems
Access to events, programs, and records
That structure is what allows clubs to operate safely and consistently.
I’m not interested in competitions - what do I get out of membership?
Fair question. Even if you never compete, membership gives you:

Insurance cover while shooting
Access to safe, managed facilities
Structured coaching and beginner pathways
The ability to shoot at other clubs
A consistent standard of safety and equipment use
The long answer:

Somewhere to shoot
Unless your club owns its own ground (and very few do) it probably would not exist if it were not part of a national Association with a State body to represent and support it. Most outdoor clubs lease public sporting grounds or reserves. Such leases are almost impossible to obtain for unaffiliated private clubs, especially those engaging in a weapons sport. If your club was not affiliated with Archery Australia and Archery Victoria you would probably not have a place to shoot.

Somewhere else to shoot
Archery Australia membership covers you to shoot at any AA and World Archery club in Australia, and also overseas if you want to shoot on holiday. So if you do want a change of scenery there is no extra cost or need to join other clubs, just turn up with your membership card and pay the shooting fee. And if you like it there and want to stay you do not have to pay again to transfer your membership.

A better place to shoot
There is a range of government grants and services available either via State Sporting Associations (Archery Victoria) or directly to clubs. These go to fund programs supporting coaches, judges and perhaps club facilities. These grants are not available directly to clubs, so must come via your State Association. Archery Victoria directly supports clubs in these loan applications. Archery Victoria monitor and apply for these grants. They can also support or represent individual clubs in applications to local councils when they need to change or expand their facilities or if a dispute arises. Without the support of Archery Victoria, your club would not have access to external funding or assistance. It would have to raise all its own funds for facilities which would increase your club fees, or may simply not be able to make changes to its facilities.

Awards and encouragement
Most archers, particularly new ones, want to measure their performance against something, to have achievable targets to aim for and be rewarded when they meet them. Archery Australia has developed a system of classifications and awards which allow archers to shoot a variety of rounds at different distances and still compare their scores. Badges for “All Gold” and “Perfect” scores are available for all distances and Classification badges are issued when passing certain score levels. This encourages the archer to improve their shooting which ultimately leads to greater enjoyment of the sport, no matter what level they wish to shoot.

State and National records are also kept. As a member of World Archery, members are also able to claim world records at World Archery registered tournaments. This gives archers something to strive for. World records are regularly set at Victorian tournaments. These awards and records are only available to Archery Australia members.

Insurance
Archery Australia provides 5 different insurance policies to support archers and clubs. The most obvious is Public Liability which covers you as an archer if you injure someone or are injured while shooting or have any other mishap on the club grounds, but there are others which protect coaches and club administrators from liability through Professional Indemnity, Management Liability, Errors and Omissions and Product Liability cover. Everyone on an archery field needs to be insured. If you are not insured and something bad happens you could lose your house or your health without compensation.

If your club is not an Archery Australia affiliated club it might not have all of this insurance cover. If you are a non-Archery Australia member of that club you cannot claim on the Archery Australia insurance. If your coach isn’t an Archery Australia coach and you aren’t an Archery Australia member there is no AA insurance coverage to either of you if you are hurt by poor advice given unless the coach has their own Professional Indemnity insurance.

Make sure you know what your club membership covers you for. If you are an Archery Australia member you are fully covered. If not you may not be.
I sometimes shoot at a private archery range that doesn’t require membership. Why is this different?
Private venues operate under a different business model. They typically

charge higher per-visit fees
operate under their own insurance and rules
are more like a casual activity venue
Clubs are member-based communities, focused on ongoing participation, development, and structured shooting.
I have heard that Archery Australia spends a lot of money on sending a few top level archers overseas and hiring expensive international coaches. I am never going to get to that level, so why should my membership fees pay for all that?

They don’t.

The Archery Australia elite program is funded separately by the Sports Commission. Very little money contributed by members goes to support international campaigns.

Every Archery Australia member archer shooting in an international bow class (recurve, compound, barebow recurve) has the potential to represent the country in a national team. While most don’t aspire to this, the existence of these teams and the fact that the members of those teams shoot among us on local club shooting lines is an inspiration to new and up-coming archers. We all need heroes and these are ours.

Many new archers begin with the aspiration of following in Simon Fairweather’s footsteps of winning Gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, or Tim Cuddihy winning Bronze at Atens in 2004, or being part of a team like the Australians who won Bronze in Rio 2016. Without this elite program and the affiliation with international archery that Archery Australia has, this dream would not ever be possible.

Got Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information on Archery Australia member benefits click here to access the Archery Australia web site.

Become a part of something bigger,
find your local Archery Victoria club today!

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Archery Victoria acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and work. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Archery Victoria Inc., P.O. Box 41, Warburton VIC 3799 info@archeryvic.org.au 0418 308 804 Contact

© 2026 Archery Victoria. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy. Terms of use.

Website designed & developed in Melbourne by ADPUTTY

Got Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information on Archery Australia member benefits click here to access the Archery Australia web site.

Become a part of something bigger, find your local Archery Victoria club today!

CONNECT WITH US

Text content

MENU 1

LINK 1

LINK 2

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LINK 4

LINK 5

MENU 2

LINK 1

LINK 2

LINK 3

LINK 4

LINK 5

MENU 3

LINK 1

LINK 2

LINK 3

LINK 4

LINK 5

MENU 4

LINK 1

LINK 2

LINK 3

LINK 4

LINK 5

Archery Victoria acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and work. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Archery Victoria Inc., P.O. Box 41, Warburton VIC 3799 info@archeryvic.org.au 0418 308 804 Contact

© 2026 Archery Victoria. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy. Terms of use.

Website designed & developed in Melbourne by ADPUTTY

Become a part of something bigger,
find your local Archery Victoria club today!