Beginners guide to the Tlaxcala 2024 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final

The champions of the 2024 Hyundai Archery World Cup – the sport’s annual international competition circuit – will be crowned at the season’s grand finale on 19-20 October in Mexico.

Only 32 archers, eight in each of the four championship categories, have made it to the 18th Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Tlaxcala.

Athletes qualified either by winning a stage – in Shanghai (China), Yecheon (Korea) and Antalya (Türkiye) – or by accruing enough ranking points with high finishes to be selected as points qualifiers from the Hyundai Archery World Cup Ranking. The two Olympic Champions from Paris 2024, Kim Woojin and Lim Sihyeon, also booked spots as Olympic wildcards, and Mexico received one spot in each category as host nation.

Nine of the 16 recurve archers competing in Tlaxcala climbed the podium at Paris 2024 – but noticeably absent from the roster is men’s runner-up Brady Ellison, who has failed to qualify for the World Cup Final for the first time since his debut at the event in 2010.

Defending circuit champions Marcus D’Almeida, Mathias Fullerton and Sara Lopez return to defend their titles. The current recurve women’s trophy holder, Kang Chae Young, did not make the Korean team in 2023.

The competition format is simple. It’s a bracket, starting from the quarterfinals. The four archers who win in Tlaxcala will secure the title of Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion and a 30,000 CHF cash prize.

The Mexican city already hosted the Hyundai World Cup Final two years ago, and it’s the fifth time the country has staged the circuit’s flagship event – after Merida 2006, Mexico City 2015, Tlaxcala 2022 and Hermosillo 2023.

Schedule

• Thursday 17 October: Match draw (streamed delayed on Friday)
• Friday 18 October: Practice
• Saturday 19 October: Compound finals
• Sunday 20 October: Recurve finals

Venue

Competition at the 2024 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final takes place in a temporary spectator stadium constructed next to the Palacio de Gobierno (government palace) in the city of Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl, the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala.

Line-up

The archers listed in bold are the top seeds and will be placed at either end of their match bracket. A match draw, held on Thursday and streamed on Friday, in Tlaxcala will determine the positions of the other archers.

Winning records

Athletes who have won multiple titles since the circuit’s launch in 2006. Those competing in Hermosillo are listed in bold.

• Eight trophies: Sara Lopez (Colombia)
• Five trophies: Brady Ellison (USA)
• Four trophies: Kim Woojin (Korea), Mike Schloesser (Netherlands)
• Three trophies: Ki Bo Bae (Korea)
• Two trophies: Braden Gellenthien (USA), Kang Chae Young (Korea), Sergio Pagni (Italy), Jamie van Natta (USA), Yun Ok Hee (Korea)

Equipment

Athletes at the Hyundai Archery World Cup compete in either the recurve or compound events, which correspond to the type of bow they use.

Recurve bows are the modern evolution of traditional bows. The limbs curve away from the archer at the top and bottom of the bow, which is what gives the ‘re-curve’ its name. The bows feature sights and stabilisers that help the archer to aim and release an arrow accurately.

The recurve events are currently included on the programme of the Olympic Games. 

Compound bows use a system of pulleys and cables, making them a more mechanically efficient and inherently accurate type of bow. The strength required to pull the bow is at its maximum at the start of the process, decreasing the further the bow is drawn back, which makes it easier to hold while aiming. Archers also use mechanical release aids and sights with magnified lenses to further increase accuracy.

Competition format

Eight archers compete in each category at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final, with the winner decided on the outcome of a matchplay bracket.

Each of the four competition sessions consists of eight matches: four quarterfinals, two semifinals, a bronze and a gold medal match. An archer must win three consecutive matches to be crowned Hyundai Archery World Cup Champion.

Rules: Recurve

Recurve archers shoot over a distance of 70 metres at targets measuring 122 centimetres in diameter, aiming to hit a 10-ring measuring just 12.2 centimetres in diameter – or about the size of an orange. Recurve matches are decided using the set system.

The goal is to accrue six set points. A set consists of three arrows and the maximum score is 30 points. At the end of each set, the archer with the highest combined arrow score is awarded two set points. Both archers receive one set point if the score is tied.

An archer can win a match quickly – with a score of 6-0 or in ‘straight sets’ – by winning three sets in a row.

Rules: Compound

Compound archers shoot over a distance of 50 metres at targets measuring 80 centimetres in diameter, with the four outer rings removed, aiming to hit a 10-ring measuring just eight centimetres in diameter. Compound matches are decided using cumulative scoring.

The goal is to acquire the most number of points over a certain number of arrows. Matches last for 15 arrows and are split into five ends of three arrows. The maximum score is 150 points and each match takes about 15 minutes.

Rules: Tiebreak

If a recurve match is tied at 5-5 after five sets or a compound match is tied on total score after 15 arrows then a shoot-off decides the winner. Both archers shoot a single arrow and the arrow that lands closest to the centre of the target wins the match.