What kinds of archery are there?
We are a Field Archery club which means we shoot on field courses in the countryside.
This is different to Target Archery which is like the Archery competition at the Olympic Games. Target archery uses similar bows but they shoot in a flat, open park or indoors, at multicoloured targets and operate under a different governing organisation. There are some cross participation events each year, but on the whole, they shoot different rounds under different rules, at a separate set of clubs. For information on Target Archery and clubs, contact Archery Australia
Within field archery though, there are many different combinations of bows and shooting styles to choose from, depending on what you like to shoot. Field Archery competitions or shoots, are divided into 3 main types.
A.B.A. (Australian Bowhunters Association)
These types of shoots are held under ABA rules and are intended to provide hunting style target practice. Don't worry though, no real animals are ever harmed on an Archery range. For an ABA round of archery, there are life-size photographs of animals with target zones marked on them for scoring. To make it even more tricky, you have to guess the distances from 10-48metres. This is for adults, and less for children. One round of ABA consists of 20 targets and you shoot 1,2 or 3 arrows at each target. The round takes about 2hrs. More information about ABA can be found here.

IFAA ( International Field Archery Association)
IFAA field archery consists of 3 different rounds of 28 targets, but the targets used are black and white circular targets or animal targets ( like ABA). Crucially different though, all the distances are marked but they do vary from 7- 80 yards and the country won't always be flat. Four arrows are shot at each target so shoots can be long and challenging but are great fun. More information about field archery can be found on the ABA site or here
3D Archery
3D archery rounds are similar to ABA rounds except the targets are life-sized animals but they can be from rabbits to crocodiles to bears and dinosaurs! The distances aren't given for this round either but any arrow that hits, scores. At WBA, we shoot 3D rounds throughout the year and they are great fun, more like real hunting.
There are a few 3D clubs in Queensland and you can get more information here.