Judging & Qualifications
BowStrike Ranked is optional. An event may designate a person holding a current NFAA-issued judge credential that BowStrike independently reviewed, or its owning organization may pass BowStrike's owner-event assessment. The official must also have an active BowStrike membership, meaning a successful sign-in within the prior six months. Ordinary events do not need either qualification.
Your qualification status
A BowStrike assessment pass is not an NFAA, USA Archery, or other outside certification and does not qualify you to judge anyone else's event. BowStrike currently recognizes the portable NFAA path only after independently reviewing a current credential claim. Signing in restarts the six-month activity clock; after it expires, support must approve a reinstatement request before the next sign-in.
Third-party credential review — NFAA
Already hold a current NFAA-issued Certified Judge or National Judge credential? Submit the details below. A BowStrike administrator will review the claim solely to determine eligibility for BowStrike Ranked.
Submitting a number does not create a credential. BowStrike's review confirms only its own acceptance of the claim; NFAA alone controls issuance and status. Your member and credential numbers are not shown publicly.
Owner-event assessment
BowStrike keeps a private bank of 200 independently written, scenario-based questions covering BowStrike event operations and field-archery rule application. Each assessment gets 50 questions selected at random by BowStrike, and the answer choices are shuffled. You need at least 43 correct—86%—to pass.
Questions appear one at a time. You have 60 minutes. If you do not pass or time expires, you may take a newly randomized assessment, with at most three starts in any rolling 24-hour period. Your place is saved in this browser session so you can return and continue before it expires.
For events using NFAA formats, consult the current official NFAA event rules and NFAA Constitution & By-Laws. These links are references only; BowStrike does not reproduce or administer NFAA's certification exam.
Want to become an NFAA Certified Judge?
This is the official path for judging NFAA events beyond competitions you own. NFAA requires applicants to be at least 18 and to have a valid individual or family membership before purchasing the separate Judge Membership.
- Sign in to your NFAA Sport:80 account and open View Profile.
- Choose Memberships, then Add Membership.
- Add the NFAA Judge Membership and choose your renewal preference.
- Choose whether your profile, email, and phone may appear in the NFAA Judge Finder.
- Open and complete the NFAA Certified Judge online course.
- Pass the NFAA course exam with at least 75%. NFAA says certification is valid for three years.
NFAA alone controls its membership, fees, course, exam, Judge Finder, and certification decisions. This informational guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by NFAA. After certification, you may return here and submit the credential for BowStrike's independent review.
Judge assignment requests
A person whose current NFAA-issued judge credential BowStrike reviewed may be invited to qualifying events owned by other BowStrike organizers. Accepting confirms that you agree to serve; declining leaves the event unapproved until the organizer chooses another eligible official.
Event-role profile details (self-reported)
These details help an organizer learn about you when you sign up for a judge role. They are self-reported and do not verify an NFAA credential or satisfy the BowStrike event requirement.
To volunteer at a specific shoot, open its registration page and look under Help Run the Shoot. Need a published rule on the field? Ask the Rulebook →