All About the ATA’s Bow Technician Certification

The Archery Trade Association is committed to helping provide the archery community and our members with the tools they need to succeed in the industry and bring the sports of archery and bowhunting to as wide an audience as possible. To implement our strategy, we partnered with an advisory team consisting of retailers, bow manufacturers and industry experts to identify the foundational skills required to be a successful and competent bow technician and the acceptable methods to acquire them.

Based on this collaboration, the ATA recognized the need for an official accreditation that retail shops can display in their store to show customers that at least one of their staff members is a certified bow technician. In 2023, the ATA introduced the Bow Technician Certification course, followed by the Crossbow Technician Certification course in 2024. Based on the popularity of these courses and the positive feedback, the ATA is happy to announce the next course in our bow technician series: the Recurve Bow Technician Certification course. This course is available now and can be accessed at our new Learning Center.

Each training is conducted in a hybrid format consisting of an online component, which is completed at your own pace, and a half-day in-person practical assessment where students must demonstrate their ability to execute the skills they learned during the online course. This approach allows participants to watch and complete the videos on their own schedule, allowing for time to reference the videos and practice each skill before they take the in-person practical.

Interested service technicians can purchase each course individually for $600, two courses for $995, or all three courses for $1,395. Course bundle pricing will automatically be applied to your cart when you purchase more than one.

Visit the “Catalog” tab at the top of the learning center to access the library of courses. Once you select a course, you’ll see the options “Start Now” or “Enroll.” If you are purchasing the course for the first time, select “Enroll.” If you have already purchased the course and would like to begin learning, select “Start Now.” The course will prompt you with the next section as you complete each module. You can also track your progress on the homepage under the “Learning in Progress” section. Any courses you’ve purchased but haven’t started will also appear on the homepage under the “Learning Not Started” section.

The price of the course includes the online content and an in-person assessment.  The practicals are held at various events and pro shop locations throughout the year, including the ATA Show, Kinsey’s, the Vegas Shoot and others.

If you have a group of 10 or more technicians who would like to enroll in the course, you can reach out to learn more about hosting a practical at your shop. Additional dates are added to the calendar on a rolling basis. Reach out to Kurt Smith, the ATA’s director of industry relations, at (507) 233-8138 or kurtsmith@archerytrade.org to register your shop as a host for the bow technician practicals.

Users who are taking multiple courses will need to reserve separate in-person practical spots for each course. Each practical takes half a day, so you can complete two courses in one day. If you’re taking all three courses, you will need to sign up for a day and a half to complete all three. For example: You can take the compound bow practical in the morning, the crossbow practical in the afternoon and the recurve practical the following morning. To register for your in-person practical, select your desired date and time from the “Sessions” section of the site. Please note that in order to preserve the integrity of the certification program, all ATA instructors reserve the right to pass or fail participants as dictated by the grading rubric. If you fail the course, you may register for another practical slot for one retake at no additional charge.

Archery shop owners can enroll their employees in any of the three courses on the employee’s behalf. If you’re registering three or more employees, the shop owner or manager can request to have a group created in order to monitor each person’s progress. Please email Kurt Smith to request this group setup after the individuals are enrolled.

All three courses are designed to help your retail shop and your valued employees sharpen their skills and provide the best service possible to any archer or bowhunter that enters your shop. Once your employees have passed the practical, you will receive several marketing assets (e.g., a banner, window clings, decals, and iron-on clothing patches) to display in your shop, signifying to your customers that you are a trusted ATA-certified technician.

Visit the new Learning Center to learn more, register for courses, and reserve practical spots.