This is week two of Thwack in 3. Every Monday we pick one archery event happening three weeks out and tell you what you need to know. Three weeks from today, on November 2, the NFAA Collegiate Cup moves from its first two qualifying weeks into its Vegas rounds. College archers who want in have a much shorter clock, though: registration closes Sunday, October 18.
This one has no plane tickets, no hotel and no travel squad. You shoot it at your own range, on your own campus, alongside teammates who shoot four different kinds of bows. For a college archer, competing doesn't get much more accessible than that.
Thwack in 3, week two: the NFAA Collegiate Cup, shot from campuses across the country.
The Event at a Glance
Register by October 18 · Qualifying October 19–November 14 · Virtual finals November 16–20, 2026 · 20 yards · $10 per archer · $500 team scholarship
The Collegiate Cup is a five-week virtual competition run by the National Field Archery Association (NFAA). Four weeks of qualifying at 20 yards are followed by one week of head-to-head finals. Archers shoot at their home range and submit their scorecards by Sunday each week. Schools compete as teams, and archers also compete for individual awards.
2026 is the second edition. The inaugural Collegiate Cup Invitational ran in fall 2025 with five schools: William Carey University, Muskingum University, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Michigan State University and Mount Marty University. William Carey beat Muskingum 223–205 in the championship match to take the title.
Why it's this week's pick: it costs $10, it comes to you, and the team score needs a barebow archer and a bowhunter just as much as a freestyle shooter. A big bow budget can't win this one. A team that shows up in every style can.
Image: National Field Archery Association (NFAA), from its Collegiate Cup page.
How the Five Weeks Work
- Weeks 1–2 (starting October 19): NFAA 300 rounds. 12 ends of 5 arrows on the blue and white face, 4 minutes per end, 300 points max.
- Weeks 3–4 (starting November 2): Vegas 300 rounds. 10 ends of 3 arrows on the Vegas face, 2 minutes per end, 300 points max.
- Either face style works. Archers can shoot a 40cm single-spot or multi-spot face for both rounds.
- Scores are due by Sunday each week. NFAA posts team rankings on its website after it verifies each week's scores. Individual results go up on the NFAA app.
- The top two teams after qualifying advance to virtual individual and team matches the week of November 16.
Four Styles, One Team
Freestyle · Freestyle Limited Recurve · Barebow Recurve · Bowhunter, each for men and women
This is the part we love. A school can register as many archers as it wants, but the team score is built from the top archer in each of the four shooting styles. One freestyle score, one freestyle limited recurve score, one barebow score and one bowhunter score make up the team total. A team stacked with compound shooters and nobody else won't have a full team score.
The finals work the same way. Each team sends four archers, one per style, drawn from the top qualifying scores at that school. In each team match:
- Ends 1 and 3: the barebow and freestyle limited recurve archers shoot.
- Ends 2 and 4: the freestyle and bowhunter archers shoot.
- Each archer shoots 3 arrows per end, so it's 6 arrows per end, 24 per team, and 240 points max.
- Teams get 120 seconds per end and alternate every 3 arrows, with one archer on the line at a time.
Every style carries the same weight. That's how team archery should work.
Finals Week
November 16–20, 2026, all virtual (NFAA says the schedule may change)
- Monday, Nov 16: Bowhunter
- Tuesday, Nov 17: Barebow Recurve
- Wednesday, Nov 18: Freestyle Limited Recurve
- Thursday, Nov 19: Freestyle
- Friday, Nov 20: Team finals
Individual finals are single elimination on the Vegas face: 5 ends of 3 arrows, 2 minutes per end, shooting alternately. A tie after 5 ends goes to a one-arrow shoot-off, closest to center wins. One archer per team films the arrows so an NFAA administrator can verify the scores remotely.
The Rounds at a Glance
| Round | Arrows | Max score | Face | Time per end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFAA 300 (weeks 1–2) | 12 ends × 5 | 300 | Blue/white, 40cm | 4 minutes |
| Vegas 300 (weeks 3–4) | 10 ends × 3 | 300 | Vegas, 40cm | 2 minutes |
| Individual final | 5 ends × 3 | 150 | Vegas | 2 minutes |
| Team final | 4 ends × 6 (3 per archer) | 240 | Vegas | 120 seconds |
All rounds shot at 20 yards. Source: NFAA Collegiate Cup 2026.
How to Get In Before October 18
If you're a college archer, here's the order to do it in. Start today, because step one needs paperwork.
- Get your NFAA Collegiate membership. It's $35 a year. If you're already an NFAA Professional or Life member, the collegiate add-on is free. You'll need to submit a recent transcript and a tuition receipt as proof of enrollment and GPA, so don't leave this for Saturday night.
- Check that you're eligible. According to NFAA's eligibility rules, you need to be a full-time student at a two- or four-year school (12 credit hours for undergrads, 9 for grad students), with at least a 2.0 GPA for undergrads or 3.0 for grad students. First-term students start out eligible.
- Register for the Cup. It's $10 per archer through NFAA's registration page. Joining a team costs nothing extra. Registrations are final, with no refunds.
- Round up your teammates. You need at least one archer in each of the four styles for a full team score. Know a barebow shooter in your dorm? Go get them.
Questions go to NFAA at info@nfaausa.com.
How to Be Part of It From Home
Not in college? You can still follow along:
- Watch the weekly rankings. NFAA posts team rankings on the Collegiate Cup page after each week's scores are verified. Individual scores are on the NFAA app.
- Tell a college archer. Got a kid, a niece, a former student or a club alum on a campus somewhere? Send them this before Sunday.
- Talk about it. Bring your picks and your questions to the Thwack Life community. We'll share the finals results when they're in.
Get on the Line Yourself
The Collegiate Cup proves something we say a lot: you don't need to travel across the country to compete. A 20-yard range and a scorecard can get you started.
- Read The Beginner's Guide to Your First Archery Competition if you've never shot for score.
- Read What Nobody Tells You About Switching from Recreational to Competitive Archery if you're thinking about it.
- Use the National Archery Directory to find a range or club near you. Lots of college clubs started with a few students and a range that said yes.
- High school archers: you're not eligible for collegiate events until you've graduated and started classes full-time. That's a good reason to look for a school with a club now.
How Thwack in 3 Works
- Every Monday morning, a new feature goes live here on the blog, at the top of the calendar page, in the Thwack Life community and in our newsletter.
- Each one covers one event happening three weeks out, so you have time to plan, register and go, or at least know when to tune in.
- The picks rotate: big international events, national championships, grassroots club shoots, youth events and adaptive events. If it's archery and it's worth showing up for, it's eligible.
- Know an event that deserves the spotlight? Submit it to the calendar and tell us why in the community. Your club's fundraiser shoot has as much right to this space as a continental championship.
The Bottom Line
Ten dollars, twenty yards, four styles and your home range. The Collegiate Cup brings college archery to the archers instead of making them travel to it, and it builds team scores that need every kind of bow. If you're a college archer, get your membership in and register by October 18. If you're not, send this to someone who is.
See you next Monday. Now go shoot something. (A target. Obviously.)
Thwack Life Archery Addiction is a national culture-first community platform for U.S. target archers — recreational, competitive, and adaptive. No gatekeeping. No gear elitism. Just real archery.
References
Event and format
1. National Field Archery Association. Collegiate Cup 2026. Accessed October 11, 2026.
2. National Field Archery Association. Collegiate Cup Invitational (2025). Accessed October 11, 2026.
Eligibility and membership
3. National Field Archery Association. Collegiate Eligibility and Membership Requirements. Accessed October 11, 2026.
4. National Field Archery Association. Collegiate National Tournaments. Accessed October 11, 2026.
Graphics © Thwack Life Archery Addiction. Collegiate Cup image courtesy of the National Field Archery Association.
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