COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With much of the events calendar now known for 2025, archers will begin plotting their schedule for the coming year which, for some, may mean selecting destinations with an eye on making the 2026 United States Archery Team (USAT).
Information on the eligibility and other requirement for how to make 2026 USAT can be found in the following procedures:
The procedures outline general eligibility requirements, the minimum number of events an athlete must attend, ranking point calculation methods, etc. for each age class and division.
There are a couple changes for those targeting 2026 USAT, involving discipline and age class offerings.
Barebow archers must now only attend a minimum of three events to qualify for the 2026 USAT. This is in keeping with most other divisions. In 2025, the Barebow mandatory event for U15, U18 and U21 will be the WIAWIS USA Archery JOAD Target Nationals & JOAD U.S. Open in Albuquerque, N.M., while the Senior and 50+ Barebow archers’ mandatory event will be the USA Archery Target Nationals & U.S. Open, which next year will be in Springfield, Mo.
At the 2023 World Archery Congress, it was determined that the U15 age division be adopted as an official age class.
As way of aligning with World Archery, USA Archery this year adopted the distance and target sizes for outdoor events for the U15 age class in the barebow, compound, and recurve divisions.
To follow suit, USA Archery has today announced a new U15 age class. Archers in the U15 class will be required to attend both Indoor Nationals and JOAD Target Nationals and the JOAD U.S. Open to achieve U15 USAT ranking points necessary to vie for a position on 2026 U15 USAT.
Following nomination of the 2026 U15 USAT, it is anticipated U15 USAT rankings will be used to determine future selection to U15 International Events without a unique U.S. Team Trials Process, such as the World School Sport Games and other World Archery sanctioned international events which offer a U15 category.
USA Archery will continue to offer USAT ranking categories for U18, U21, 50+, Para, Senior Recurve, Senior Compound and Senior Barebow.
Athletes appointment to the United States Archery can unlock benefits provided by USA Archery, including athlete stipends and support programs or other sponsor benefits, or lead to athlete selection to international teams per International Team Athlete Selection Procedures.
You can learn more about the United States Archery Team, or follow your favorite athlete’s progress by visiting the national rankings webpage, or indeed follow USAT and USA Archery national event results throughout the year.
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