Junior Surf

Waikuku Beach Surf Life Saving Club runs junior surf lifesaving sessions on Saturday mornings starting at 10:00 am. The season runs from October-March.

Children of the same age will possess a variety of skills. The Juniors need to complete a set of skills: theory and practical in order to move up to the next group. Your child/ren will be placed in a group and assessed.

Please talk to your coach or the Junior Co-ordinator if you have any questions regarding your child.

All groups are required to wear group coloured caps during club sessions. The caps are a safety device and aid identification of junior surf members on the beach and in the water. The caps are provided by the club. At the end of every session the child is to remove their cap, rinse it and hang to dry. Please encourage your child/ren to do this independently. IMPORTANT: at the end of each session, the removal of the cap signifies that the child is now in the care of the parent/caregiver and the session has finished. Also, if your child/ren is removed during a session it is important to advise the coach and the child is to remove their cap – this is a safety measure.

The Coaches

We would not be able to provide nipper sessions without a fantastic bunch of volunteers offering to coach the children. Please remember that they are generously giving up their time to coach and therefore we expect a level of commitment and respect from the children. Please encourage your child/ren and any other child/ren to remember how valuable the coaches are. Many of our coaches started as parents of children attending Nipper sessions or are our fantastic lifeguards who patrol our beaches for the community’s safety.

Parent Help

Parents are expected to supervise their child/ren at the beach during sessions.

The SLSNZ national requirement for water based activities is:

1 Coach

1 Adult

20 Children

5 Children

1 Child (under 7)

Rescue Tubes are to be used by all Parent Helpers in the water, from yellow caps and above.

We also love parent help with keeping the club clean and tidy. This can include: sweeping the premises, downstairs and upstairs, keeping the showers, toilets and kitchen clean. We also have weekly Saturday sausage sizzles that will require parent helpers or volunteers.There are many jobs around the club that need to be done, if you see a job needing doing, jump on in and do it. If you are unsure, please just ask.

Parents, please regularly reiterate to your child/ren on the expectations of keeping the clubrooms clean and tidy – it is their clubroom too and they should have pride and respect for it. If any of our parents have a skill in a particular area, however insignificant you may think it is, please let us know as we may need you!

Signing In

Each Junior Surf Member needs to sign in before the start of every session, before 10am. This means being signed in, cap on, sunscreen on (the club does provide sunscreen), fluro swim vest on and ready to go by 10am.

There will be a brief introduction before 10am and then the session will start. Please be prompt and organised.Please encourage your child/ren to participate in the signing in process – it will give them ownership to being a WBSLSC member.

Attendance:

It is expected that your child/ren will attend the majority of nipper sessions over the season. This is necessary so that your child can learn and develop the skills and knowledge required to achieve the surf standards set for each ability level certificate.

Absences

Please inform the Junior Co-ordinator, if your child is unable to attend any session. If you are going to be away on holiday, please let us know so that we can keep the coaches informed. This will assist us with organising sessions and co-ordinating our coaches.

200m Swim Test

All junior surf members are encouraged to work towards and be tested for their 200m safety badge. The safety requirement is to be able to swim 200m in a pool in under 7 minutes and then tread water for 1 minute. Members must have their 200m swim approved before they can use the knee boards and water access is restricted for those who have not passed this test. There will be dates for testing notified early in the season or talk to the coaches/junior surf co-ordinators about options. In the shop, upstairs next to the Kitchen, the club has a number of Waikuku Beach Surf Life Saving Club logo clothing items for sale, these include: togs, hoodies, hats, beanies, rash tops and t-shirts. We also have secondhand wet-suits and other items for sale. We are happy to sell items on your behalf, the club takes a 10% cut on these items.

Fluro Vests

These are compulsory for all junior surf members and can be purchased at the upstairs shop for a small cost

Board Hire

Surf Sport athletes have the option to hire boards to use in competitions for $250 per season. This cost covers repairs and wear & tear on the boards. Please see Pete Macefield if you are unsure of which boards you can use. There will be specialist training throughout the season for use of these boards – keep an eye on the notice board for these dates and information. All board users must have a current 200m badge.

Important: ONLY trained lifeguards can use the boards that say “Lifeguard”. This is to ensure no misconceptions are promoted to the general public who will have the expectation that anyone who uses these boards is a trained and skilled lifeguard.

Surf Sports Competitions

There are several junior carnivals throughout the season -see Surf Sports section of the website

Members who wish to compete will need to purchase a club competition beanie for a small fee from the shop upstairs and they also need to wear their fluoro vests. Black togs or club togs are also recommended.

Extra Sports training is available on Monday and Wednesday nights for those who meet the criteria-please discuss with Peter Stevenson.