Certified Success: Advance Your Skills with ATA’s Bow Technician Certification Programs

As we begin 2025, The Archery Trade Association is poised for another great year of educating and certifying bow technicians across the country. Since its launch in April 2023, over two hundred technicians have enrolled in this program’s compound bow and crossbow certification courses. With this success, the ATA has continued to expand its offerings with even more courses and increased opportunities for technicians to take their in-person practical assessment. Are you or one of your team members interested in becoming certified? Read on to get answers to some frequently asked questions and learn how to get started.

Who Are the Programs For?

Participants range from aspiring technicians with no experience to thirty-year veterans and everyone in between. For those just starting out, the courses begin with the basics to ensure that you learn the fundamental skills. Experienced technicians can refresh their knowledge of introductory information quickly and then move on to more advanced concepts where they’re likely to pick up useful tips. This program has also proved to be invaluable for pro shop employees who have sales experience but want to feel more confident when they find themselves behind the bow counter in the busiest times of the year.

What is Covered?

Our Bow Technician Certification course addresses all aspects of compound bow design, function, and setup. The format of the certification closely mimics what bow technicians encounter on a daily basis, taking students through basic shooting form, shop safety, and a complete setup from string and cable replacement to cam timing and installation of accessories like d-loop, peep sight, arrow rest, and sight. Arrow selection and basic paper tuning are also covered.

In the Crossbow Technician Certification, we focus on getting students comfortable with all of the most common crossbow designs. When enrolled in this course, you will learn how to safely operate and service crossbows of all types. Since every crossbow technician must regularly perform string and cable replacements, this course provides a detailed description of that process, along with the associated tuning.

Coming in 2025 is the ATA Recurve Bow Technician Certification. This program has been created with the goal of helping all bow technicians become more familiar with the proper selection and setup of recurve bows so that they can better assist customers who prefer this type of equipment. Because recurve bows are used for a variety of archery activities, this course also covers all equipment setups, including beginner recreational bows, traditional hunting bows, target barebow and Olympic style target recurve.

All ATA Bow Technician Certification courses are offered in a hybrid format. The first part of the certification is an on-demand, online course where students will watch short video segments and answer questions to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the material. Access to helpful resources is also included. After completing the online course, students are eligible to take their in-person practical assessment. In this final step for certification, the student will be asked to demonstrate all of the skills covered in the online course under the supervision of a qualified instructor who will use a scoring rubric to determine whether the assessment is completed successfully. While practical instructors are there to offer support and guidance, it is up to students to gain the background knowledge and skills needed to pass all required tasks. In addition to having a network of instructors across the country, ATA-hosted practical sessions are offered at various times and locations throughout the year.

The upcoming winter and spring show season is a great time for industry professionals to complete their practical assessment, as sessions will be offered at the ATA Show, NABA Show, Kinsey’s Dealer Show, and the Vegas Shoot. The largest offering takes place at the ATA show, where 42 slots are available for show attendees. More than half of these time slots are already booked at the time of this writing, so anyone looking to take advantage of this ATA Show opportunity should act quickly. Remember, you must be an ATA member and register for the Show in order to attend this practical.

Cost for each certification course is $600, which includes the online course, practical assessment, and bonus marketing assets for those who receive certification. Discounts are available for those enrolling in more than one course. Use code BOWCOMBO to get two courses for $995 or code ATATECH3 to get all three for $1,395.

Questions? Contact Kurt Smith at kurtsmith@archerytrade.org or visit archerytrade.org/bow-technician-certification to enroll today!