Nippers are young surf lifesavers, usually aged between 5 and 14 years old, in clubs across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Unlike senior surf lifesavers, the majority of them do not patrol the beaches. The focus for Nippers tends to be on fun, and surf awareness. Nippers learn about safety at the beach. They learn about dangers such as rocks, animals (e.g. the

blue-ringed octopus Blue-ringed octopuses, comprising the genus ''Hapalochlaena'', are four extremely venomous species of octopus that are found in tide pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Japan to Australia. They can be identified by thei ...

), and surf conditions, such as

rip current A rip current (or just rip) is a specific type of water current that can occur near beaches where waves break. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water that moves directly away from the shore by cutting through the lines of bre ...

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

s, and

waves United States Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve), better known as the WAVES (for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), was the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve during World War II. It was established on July 21, 1942, ...

. Older Nippers also learn some basic

first aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

and may also learn

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until sp ...

when they reach the age of 13. When Nippers are thirteen years old they can complete their SRC (Surf Rescue Certificate), enabling them to patrol beaches and partake in Senior Competition. Like their Senior counterparts, Nippers participate in regular competition against other Surf Lifesaving Clubs, at

sports carnival In Australian culture sports carnivals are held to perform competitions in the individual or team disciplines like athletics, swimming or surf lifesaving. Teams from different clubs or schools gather together for both individual point-score and te ...

s. Nippers are able to participate in a variety of Individual and Team events, including beach sprints,

Flags A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have ...

, swimming and board races, relays, March Past, etc. Unlike Seniors, Nippers do not compete in

surf ski A surf ski (or surfski, or surf-ski) is a type of kayak in the kayaking family of paddling craft. It is generally the longest of all kayaks and is a performance oriented kayak designed for speed on open water, most commonly the ocean, although it ...

surfboat A surfboat (or surf boat) is an oar-driven boat designed to enter the ocean from the beach in heavy surf or severe waves. It is often used in lifesaving or rescue missions where the most expedient access to victims is directly from the beach. ...

races, and they also use shorter

surfboard A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa hee ...

s than their Senior counterparts. Nippers start to compete when they are in the Under 8s age group. The name and availability of the

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

-age group varies from club to club. These groups, sometimes called ''Tiny Tots'' or "Beach Worms", do not compete or learn first aid and surf awareness. Tiny Tots' activities include games, wading and paddling.

Australia

The first Nippers club in Australia was started by

Nambucca Heads Nambucca Heads is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Nambucca Valley. It is located on a ridge, north of the estuary of the Nambucca River near the Pacific Highway. Its population at the was 6,668 (6,314 in t ...

Surf Life Saving Club, on the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

mid-north coast, in 1961.

References

{{Reflist
Surf Life Saving Australia Nippers

External links

Bondi SLSC Nippers

Whitmore Bay Nipper Club, UK

Lifesaving South Africa

Life Saving New Zealand
Surf lifesaving Sports originating in Australia Lifesaving in Australia Surf Life Saving New Zealand clubs Lifesaving in New Zealand Childhood in Australia