The popularity of recurve and compound remains unchanged around the world, with the two bows once again featured in the annual Hyundai Archery World Cup – the sport’s premier international circuit – and the Gwangju 2025 Hyundai World Archery Championships.
Barebow archers were also on show at the Chengdu 2025 World Games, as they have been since 1985. But unlike compound – which was announced earlier this year as joining recurve at the Olympics in the mixed team event – barebow is yet to break into the sport’s major honours.
Thumb draw archery, similar in some ways but very different, could be on its way to achieving what barebow has not. And Great Britain is the latest nation to join a discipline that is rising in popularity.
Last month, Crescent Archers – a club based in Birmingham – organised the country’s first supported thumb draw competition at Archery GB’s national performance centre in Lilleshall. The event also marked the launch of a new instructor award syllabus.
“We know there are coaches and people with extensive experience in thumb draw archery, but they haven’t progressed through Archery GB because there wasn’t a pathway,” said Jamila Bi, Archery GB’s Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games legacy coordinator. “Now that the framework and syllabus are formed, there will be pathways for coaches to progress and teach that discipline on a national scale.”
She also revealed that her club, Crescent Archers, will host the first women’s-only national competition next year.
“We’ve already been given the go-ahead to host it back here again with Crescent Archers. Hopefully, with others on board, we’ll host an even bigger event.”
“What started as a vision is now becoming reality, and I’m committed to continuing this journey – building pathways, empowering coaches, diversifying the sport and creating opportunities that allow thumb draw to flourish nationally and internationally.”
As the name suggests, the thumb draw involves pulling the string on a traditional wooden, Asiatic-style bow using the thumb and index finger rather than the three fingers used on a recurve or barebow.
