TasWater's tappers have taken out a national award.

Two Tasmanians have taken out their third national tapping competition, a literal head-to-head time trial to install a tap into a pressurised steel and concrete water main as fast as possible.

TasWater has Service Delivery teams located around the state to meet its customers' needs and expectations, but not often do those teams get to show off their skills publicly.

TasWater’s “Wild West Tappers” Lynden Thurston and Cameron Lusk are three-in-a-row champions after they took out another event on the Sunshine Coast.

They were the champions of the Tasmanian Tapping Competition held in Moonah last February.

They went on in April to defeat the Victorian teams in Bendigo.

On the Sunshine Coast, they thumped the Queensland teams in another major victory.

At the Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA) Queensland Conference Lyndon and Cameron won hearts and minds with an unprecedented display of skill.

TasWater’s Regional Manager Service Delivery North Mick Hartwell said the event was pressure packed.

“It was so exciting. It was like watching an elite sporting event. The guys moved in such a blur the video of the event looks sped up,” he said.

The Wild West Tappers won in 1 minute and 44 seconds, defeating their closest rivals, the Gold Coast, by 7 seconds. To put that into context, their time back in February was 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

It was the first time the Gold Coast team had been beaten in six years.

Tapper Cameron Lusk said he was thrilled to get the opportunity to compete. 

“I really appreciate the opportunity to represent TasWater and the West Coast of Tasmania. It was a good opportunity to go over and have a crack. All the crews were welcoming and friendly the whole time apart from the competition itself, but the banter was friendly and competitive, nothing serious,” he said.

“The Gold Coast lads were good about it, a bit upset, but they took it well. They learned a bit off us, and we learned a bit off them too.”

Tapper Lyndon Thurston said there was some good back and forth between the competing teams. 

“There was a bit of banter from the boys. They haven’t been beaten in six years, so it felt good,” he said.

The Gold Coast team are legendary in the event. Nobody outside of Tasmania believed a win against them was possible.

Now Tasmania’s Wild West Tappers have gained the state, TasWater and themselves some serious respect and bragging rights.