Preview: Stellar lineup descends on Nimes for 1000-point Indoor World Series showdown
If 2025 didn’t somehow quench your thirst for fantastic archery, the 28th edition of the Nimes Archery Tournament is sure to kickstart 2026 in style.
All reigning Nimes champions – including barebow men’s and women’s winners – are back in the south of France to defend their titles in a blockbuster field featuring 26 of the 40 top-10 ranked archers in the recurve and compound men’s and women’s categories.
Kang Chaeyoung is the only absent current world number one this week, with Brady Ellison, Mathias Fullerton and Andrea Becerra all shooting at Le Parnasse.
A mainstay of the international indoor circuit since joining the Indoor World Cup series in 2016 – and with a rich history as a two-time former World Archery Indoor Championships host – Nimes has long had its dates circled on archers’ calendars.
But its importance is greater than ever.
In the maiden season of the Indoor World Series’ new format, 1000 points are up for grabs, and Nimes is the only 1000-point tournament on the circuit before the indoor season culminates in Vegas.
Combined with the absence of Indoor World Series Finals this year, the stakes are higher than ever.
If it wasn’t already prestigious enough…
Key information
What’s happening? The Nimes Archery tournament at Le Parnasse on 16-18 January 2026.
What’s at stake? A whopping 1000 Indoor World Series points – an invaluable amount considering there are no Finals this season.
Who’s competing? 1357 archers from 50 countries.
What’s the story? World-class archery is guaranteed in Nimes for the only 1000-point tournament on the Indoor World Series calendar before Vegas. Three of the four world number ones, as well as all the winners from this season’s prior 250-point tournaments – bar the recurve men’s Taipei Open gold medallist Su Yu-Yang – are shooting at Le Parnasse.
Schedule
- Friday 16 January: Qualifying (three sessions)
- Saturday 17 January: Qualifying (two sessions), eliminations and finals (masters and barebow)
- Sunday 18 January: Finals (elite and youth)
How to watch
Watch live footage of the elite finals on Sunday with a subscription to archery+.
Live scores will be available on the World Archery website and there will be coverage on World Archery’s digital platforms throughout the competition.
Who’s competing?
Full entries are available online. These are the top-ranked archers shooting in Nimes in 2026:
- Recurve men: Brady Ellison, USA (world rank: 1)
- Recurve women: Casey Kaufhold, USA (world rank: 2)
- Compound men: Mathias Fullerton, Denmark (world rank: 1)
- Compound women: Andrea Becerra, Mexico (world rank: 1)
Competition at the Nimes Archery Tournament starts on Friday.
