Standout season for Palm Beach archer
With national colours secured and a growing list of titles behind her, Tapson now has her sights set on the next milestone: aiming for Protea colours in 2026.
Palm Beach’s Nadine Tapson (29) has capped off an exceptional competitive season by earning her national colours after a year of standout scores on the 3Di archery circuit.
With no registered clubs in KwaZulu-Natal, Tapson shoots for the Nelspruit team, travelling extensively to compete.
Her commitment paid off at the 2025 3Di National Championships held at Gabbata Game Lodge in Tshwane last month – a challenging, highly competitive event.
The two-day competition ended in rare fashion when Tapson and two other top contenders finished with the exact same score, forcing a sudden-death shootout.
She ultimately secured third place.
“It’s very rare for three people to end on the same score. Even though I placed third after the shootout, I’m still ecstatic about it,” she said.
National colours are awarded based on a weighted average accumulated over the year. For Tapson’s class, the benchmark is 199 – a mark she exceeded with a final weighted average of 205. “I could not be happier with my progress throughout the year and the challenges I’ve had to overcome to get to the competitions,” she added.
With national colours secured and a growing list of titles behind her, Tapson now has her sights set on the next milestone: aiming for Protea colours in 2026.
This year’s success was also shared by two other South Coast-linked archers.
Tapson’s father, Colin Tapson, previously from the South Coast, also received his national colours after achieving a weighted average of 202 and securing third place in his class.
Munster’s Francois C Lotriet added another major accolade for the region, officially claiming the title of South African Crossbow Champion for 2025.
Adding to his own achievements, Lotriet has won the National Champion Title for the third year in a row. He also claimed the Triple Crown Trophy, awarded to archers who win three two-day events throughout the year as well as the nationals.
“It was an amazing competition with great friends. Thank you to all the organisers and my friends who made this a fantastic event,” he said.
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