Abstract
Purpose :
To determine if aiming monocularly or binocularly will improve accuracy in archery. Experts and professionals are divided on whether monocular or binocular viewing should be emphasized during aiming. Some experts assert that binocularity will improve archery performance by aiding depth perception, increasing the field of view, and improving visual acuity. Others state that monocular viewing during aiming improves performance by aiding in focus and avoiding distractors. This experimental study tested the hypothesis that shooting monocularly results in better archery scores.
Methods :
Subjects (n=39, 19 females, 20 males, ages=24.9±6.9) were students at the University of Pikeville with varying levels of archery experience from beginners to experts. Subjects were given a questionnaire to determine information concerning: eye preference during aiming (right or left or binocular), hand and eye dominance, and archery experience. Subjects were given an eye exam to exclude individuals with significant vision problems. Finally, participants were given three practice shots followed by five shots each with left eye, right eye, and binocularly in varying orders. Scores were determined after each round of shots.
Results :
Archery scores achieved while aiming monocularly (19.9±9.3) were nearly identical to those achieved while aiming binocularly (19.7±9.5, p-value = 0.93). Participants scored higher when aiming with the right eye (18.1±8.6) versus the left eye (12.5±10.6, p-value = 0.033). Scores when aiming with the dominant eye (16.4±8.5) versus the non-dominant eye (14.2±11.4) were unremarkable (p-value=0.41). Participants also showed similar performance when using their preferred eye (16.2±9.6) versus their non-preferred eye (14.8±10.2, p-value=0.63).
Conclusions :
When looking at group performance, there is no advantage achieved by aiming monocularly versus binocularly. Individual results varied, however, and some individuals performed better monocularly while others performed better binocularly; both at the beginner level and at the expert level. When aiming with the right eye versus the left eye, the right eye performed better, regardless of reported eye dominance or eye preference.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.