Photo by World Archery
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – World Archery has postponed a change in qualifying requirements to determine participants’ eligibility in the World Cup stages, which was due to come into effect beginning with the 2026 World Cup Stage 1 competition.
The sport’s governing body announced in March that they planned to introduce a Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) system to determine participants’ eligibility in the World Cup stages. An announcement by World Archery provided an update:
Participation numbers have grown significantly, putting pressure on organizers and venues, with the percentage of archers reaching the latter stages of an event falling.
Following development of the world ranking procedures to also emphasize second- and third-tier event participation, plans were announced to introduce a minimum qualifying standard for World Cup tournaments from the start of 2026.
Following feedback from teams and athletes over the first two stages of this season, this has been postponed. Instead, the board has decided to conduct a comprehensive analysis on an entry standard until the end of next season, with a decision due to be taken for 2027.
This will ensure that any system will address key considerations raised in feedback, including accommodating external factors like injury, pregnancy, age group changes, while taking into account the broader impact on processes like votes in Congress, team management and competition pathway.
The analysis will be conducted in collaboration with the coach and athletes’ committees, which will result in a revised proposal that better aligns with the needs of all stakeholders while continuing to support the professionalization of archery’s top-tier events.
An update to the Hyundai Archery World Cup Rules will be issued shortly.
USA Archery will continue to utilize the World Cup and Other International Selection procedures, which are updated annually, to determine athlete selection for World Cup teams.
For more information on World Ranking event schedules please visit the world archery calendar. Information on World Ranking events and how to attend may also be found on USA Archery’s International Event Opportunities.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
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