Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum age to take archery lessons?
The minimum age is 8 years old. There is no maximum age.
Do I need my own equipment to attend private lessons?
You do NOT need your own equipment to attend 60-minute private lessons or any of our introductory lessons. We provide basic recurve, compound, and/or barebow equipment for beginner lessons. After you've developed some archery proficiency, your coach will help you decide what equipment to buy.
You will need your own equipment - and be able to demonstrate archery proficiency - to attend our group lessons.
Can I attend group lessons as a beginner?
Unfortunately, no. We view group lessons as a follow-on to private instruction.
During private lessons, your coach works directly with you to establish correct, repeatable archery form in accordance with the U.S. national archery standards.
During group lessons, the focus shifts to competition formats, team skills, etc., and your coaches must divide their attention among several archers, which could allow you to develop some bad habits in your archery form.
It's better to develop very good form, and then progress to group lessons.
Where is FFX Archery located?
We are located at the Bull Run Shooting Center in Centreville VA, which is a property of NOVA Parks. We operate at the indoor archery range at the shooting center, and at a nearby private outdoor archery range at the Bull Run Park Special Events Center.
Can you teach me how to compete in archery tournaments?
Absolutely. All of our coaches are also competitive archers who have recent experience competing in a variety of indoor and outdoor tournaments. We will be happy to prepare you for competition.
Can you teach me archery for leisure?
Yes!! Shooting for leisure can be very meditative, where it's just you, your bow, and the target.
Leisure archery is very popular for archers of all ages. You'll likely notice an improvement in your focus as well as a reduction in your stress level. As one of our leisure archers noted, "This is cheaper than therapy!"
(Please note that we are not licensed therapists.)
Do you teach barebow? Or is it the same as traditional archery?
We absolutely teach barebow, and it's quite different from traditional archery, in terms of both form and equipment. Barebow popularity is really growing in the U.S. We can teach you all the steps to shoot proficiently in the barebow style.
What archery styles do you teach?
We teach the Olympic Recurve, Compound, Fixed Pins, Barebow, and Traditional archery styles, from beginner to advanced.
What we don't teach:
- Crossbow (our ranges are not equipped for crossbow, so they are not allowed)
- Asiatic archery (an ancient archery form originating in Asia and Europe, using a composite recurve bow style and thumb release designed for mounted warfare and hunting). However, Asiatic bows are allowed in our Adult Archery Program under the Barebow/Traditional category.