Durban Girls’ High School pupil Neve Quail was on target during the Recurve KwaZulu-Natal Outdoor Archery Championships held recently at the Kings Park Archery Club in Durban.
Neve, 15, won in the KZN Recurve Women Under-18 division and broke four national records that had stood since 2012.
Neve said she was happy with her results and that it was the culmination of a story that first began in 2018 when she was exposed to archery during an activity organised by her Scouts troop.
This inspired her to start with lessons at The Archer Archery Club in Overport, Durban, with Zaid Kajee, who taught her the basics and exposed her to the thrill of archery.
“I achieved my goals. I was inspired to continue after realising how much fun it is to hit the gold.”
During the championships, Neve said she had a target to reach a score of 500 in each of the four rounds. She said she was lucky enough to exceed these and break four national Outdoor Women Under-18 Recurve records.
Neve said that archery has played a major role in her school year as it taught her how to set goals, work hard, focus and never give up no matter how difficult it gets.
Neve said she will use this as preparation for the 73rd SA National Championships, which will be held at Marks Park, Johannesburg, between March 10 and 12.
Neve said: “To prepare for the nationals, I will focus on staying calm, stick to the basics and concentrate on my form.”
Neve’s mother, Heidi Quail, heaped praise on her daughter and said that although she expected Neve to do well, she did not expect her to break multiple records.
Quail said archery has definitely been a positive for her as a parent and her daughter as it has helped her become more focused.
Quail said: “She sets herself goals and knows that she needs to work hard to achieve those goals. She also has learnt that we are all responsible for reaching our own goals and what we put in, we get out.”
Neve’s archery technical and mental coach, Deyaa Sallam, said he was filled with happiness, pride and optimism for her future prospects of becoming a world-class archer.
Sallam has been a part of Neve’s coaching team since April last year and the team also includes Neve’s father, Brendan Quail.
Sallam said: “What impressed me the most about her development is that she is a very quick learner and takes minimum effort to grasp and adapt changes.”
Sallam also admires her attitude and smile and that she always accepts guidance. He said that seeing her smile gave him and the other coaches more motivation in training.
Sallam said he was especially impressed because out of 12 archers, Neve was the youngest.
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