Nipper News – September 2023
NORTH CURL CURL
NIPPERS NEWS
WELCOME!
As the weather starts to warm up and finals fever sweeps the Northern Beaches it is time to turn our attention back to the beach. Welcome to the 101st season of Surf Life Saving at North Curl Curl Surf Life Saving Club!
Registrations are now open and all the information you need can be found on our website. Pleasingly, in an inflationary economic environment, the club has been able to maintain registration fees in line with last season. We hope that this alleviates in some small way the cost of living pressure families may be feeling and the impact of a reduced ActiveKids voucher program. All registrations are managed online via Surf Life Saving Australia’s Member Portal. Any registration related questions can be directed to registrar@nccslsc.com.au.
Welcome back to all our returning Nippers and Nipper families. We are so glad to have you with us again for another season of fun in the sun – with the extended La Nina cycle behind us, I can say that with a degree of confidence.
To those joining us for the first time – an especially warm welcome to you and your family. Our Club President (and Life Member) has a great saying and its sentiment resonates with your Junior Activities Committee and is something that we strive to bring to your Nipper experience at North Curl Curl – “Everybody is a Somebody at North Curly”. Please should you ever have any questions please contact me or a member of the JAC team. There is also a Contact Us form on the Nippers page of the club website or you can email nippers@nccslsc.com.au. We will do our very best to answer your question, point you in the right direction or consider your suggestion.
My advice to all members, young and old, is to throw yourself into the surf club experience. The old adage rings true – the more you put in, the more you will get out. It is truly rewarding to be involved in the development of young lifesavers and I am constantly amazed by the courage, determination and resilience of our Nippers. They will amaze you, and themselves, with what they can achieve. The personal goals of each Nipper will differ, but the conquering of an individual challenge is always noteworthy and deserving of recognition no matter the Surf Life Saving pathway you are pursuing.
We are looking to put in place a number of new initiatives this season to enhance the experience for our Nippers. With c. 700 Nippers and c. 350 families, this is not an easy task and we will at times get things wrong. For this, we apologise in advance and ask for your patience and understanding, noting that everyone involved in providing a Nippers experience for your child is a volunteer doing their best. We value your insight and welcome constructive feedback – even more so if you are willing to get involved (more on this below). We look forward to sharing some of our ideas with you as we get closer to the start of the season, including a comprehensive season calendar with each week’s program, social events and carnivals. In the meantime, please note these upcoming important dates.
Important Dates
10 September 2023 2-4pm Open Day North Curl Curl SLSC
Come and meet the North Curly Nippers team and ask any questions you may have; find out more about training opportunities; volunteer for a role and pick up any club clothing you may need for the new season. BBQ will be firing and drinks will be available.
[Date to be announced soon] Surf Sports Camp Blacksmiths Beach
Whole of club Season kick-off for our surf sports program at Blacksmiths Beach/Swansea Belmont SLSC. For current competitors and those interested in becoming involved in carnivals this season. U9 and up. We’d love to see a big group of this year’s U9s begin their surf sports journey at the camp!
14 October 2023 1pm-3pm Proficiency Assessment U8-14 Aqua Culture Swim Brookvale
If you are 1) U8; 2) new to Nippers; or 3) new to the club, we need to understand your level of proficiency in the water so that we can make sure we have the appropriate water safety arrangements in place. See our website here for further details.
15 October 2023 9am-11am First Day of Nippers 2023-24 NCC Beach
21 October 2023 1pm-3pm Proficiency Assessment U8-14 Aqua Culture Swim Brookvale
Training Opportunities
In conjunction with the North Curly Surf Sports team, we will again be offering a comprehensive coaching program as an extension to our Sunday program. The Intro to Board program runs prior to the normal Nippers session for the first six weeks of the season for U9s and up and is an additional opportunity to practice introductory board and water skills. It is not compulsory. Once your child has reached a sufficient level of competency, and should they have an interest in doing so, they can then graduate to our squad programs that typically run on a Tuesday (board), Wednesday (swim) and Thursday (board) from 4.30pm (5.30pm for older Nippers). Training for beach events (sprints, flags, 1-2km run) also takes place Tuesday to Thursday from 4.45pm – there is no proficiency requirement for beach training. These squad sessions incur an additional fee to cover the cost of coaching.
If you would like to compete there is a Facebook page set up for all carnival and training information and messages. This page is a private group, so you will need to request to join. Facebook NCC Surf Sports Competitors Family Page
Parental Involvement
This year we will be requiring each family to contribute to the smooth running of Nippers volunteering for a specific role. We acknowledge that families have different priorities and commitments that impact on their capacity to volunteer. To reflect that reality, a range of roles will be available – from those requiring a weekly commitment across the season, to discrete tasks on a particular Sunday or at a club event. Information on the various roles available and access to the sign-up platform will follow as we get closer to the season proper.
We are always on the lookout for enthusiastic and passionate parents to join our Age Manager team to facilitate our Sunday Nippers program. You don’t need to have a background in Surf Life Saving to become an Age Manager – we will provide the training and materials to get you started and our veteran Lead Age Managers will guide you through the Sunday sessions. Come and see us at the Open Day to find out more or get in touch via the website or email.
Water Safety volunteers are also essential to running our Nippers program. If we don’t have sufficient qualified Water Safety personnel we cannot run the water element of our program. If you are Bronze Medallion or Surf Rescue Certificate qualified, we’d love to hear from you. We can help you requalify if your award has lapsed or help you join a course to become a qualified lifesaver.
Once again, welcome to North Curly Surf Club and North Curly Nippers – we hope you have a great season and I look forward to seeing you on the beach!
Nick Lawry
Director – Junior Activities