A sound signal sounds in the Sainte-Verge sports complex. With a determined step, thirty-two archers advance together to a step, located eighteen meters from three targets, arranged vertically. A new signal then sounds, and the archers draw their first arrows.
On February 7 and 8, 2026, Thouarsais hosts the regional archery championships. A two-day competition which brings together nearly 200 archers divided into various categories. “ There are three different types of weapons, the recurve bow, the compound bow, and the bare bow; but also three categories, from 21 to 39 years old, from 40 to 59 and from 60 years old and over », deciphers Gabriel Ringot, archer and referee at the Archers de la Trémoïlle club, which organizes the event.
Three categories of arcs and suspenseful encounters
Ardin, Limoges, La Crèche, Dax, Loudun… Structures from all over New Aquitaine traveled to Nord-Deux-Sèvres for this annual regional championship. « It is rare for Thouarsais to host this competition. We were a little tired of going down, I insisted on getting the organization done”laughs Patrick Boinot, president of the Archers de la Trémoïlle. A member of the club for sixteen years, he is competing in the category of compound bows over 60 years old.
In the stands, several spectators are equipped with pairs of binoculars, to see the arrows drop into the wide target, 20 cm in diameter. If the morning was devoted to the qualifying phase, where each archer shot sixty arrows to achieve a ranking, the afternoon is devoted to the final phase. In the latter, the rules of matches, which pit two archers against each other, vary depending on the type of weapon. For regular bows, archers receive two points when they win a set consisting of three arrows. The first to six points wins the match. For compound bows, the match is played on a cumulative score after five ends of three arrows….
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