The KAA has held a target championship almost every year since its foundation in 1953, but originally this was only for the recurve bow.

The longbow existed, of course, but relatively few members of the Association chose to shoot with it until fairly recently. In the last ten years or so, the longbow has gained massively in popularity, so much so that the Association now runs an additional tournament specifically for the longbow. The Kent longbow champion is now decided at the separate tournament rather than at the County Target Championship event.

The compound bow has been around since the middle of the 20th century, but did not gain great popularity in the UK until much later. The KAA first awarded champions with this type of bow in 1994.