Hello Nippers & friends, Jelly Fish. Rain. Sun. Waves. Touch Football. Big kids on boogie boards. A few little bangs and scrapes. Beep test. Flags. Bull Rush. Body surfing. There was a little bit of everything at Coolum Nippers this week. What was extra especially pleasing was the fearlessness with which the Nippers faced the water on Sunday. It would have been easy to say too big, too hard. But there were far more determined & smiling faces today. Well done all.

A few weeks ago we had the fine folk from Surf Lifesaving Queensland come and audit our Nipper program. They were looking at Governance, Member Safety & our Child/Youth Risk management strategy, Water, Beach & Equipment Safety and the quality of our Sunday Program. We are pleased to say we received a very positive report, and the reviewer said of our program:

The team are running a great program that they should be really proud of. The family and team atmosphere on the beach was awesome and it is clear everyone is focused on providing a fun, safe and educational program for their Nippers.

This is a strong endorsement of the passion that the amazing team of volunteers bring to the beach each and every week. What a wonderful group of Age Managers, Coaches & Water Safety we have. Thankyou.

2017/18 Season – expressions of interest

We are calling for expressions of interest from parents/carers to volunteer for positions for next Summer. Many of our existing volunteers started with no previous experience at being age managers or water safety. Some of us had never been involved in nippers before. But the training is super useful and the team here are so amazingly inclusive, making getting involved really easy.

So what positions are available I hear you ask. Here is where you can contribute:

1. As a committee member: Help shape what Coolum Nippers stands for.
2. As an Age Manager: Help energise your kids on the beach. Training provided.
3. As a Coach: Do you have board, swim or beach skills you can pass on?
4. As Water Safety: Do you look good in orange and would love to get in the water with the kids?
5. As Officials: Help us keep track of results at age championships and carnivals we attend.
6. As an Official Photographer: let's get some great images out there.
7. As Carnival Organisers: help organise the teams for carnivals.
8. As a BBQ guru: Meet everyone and raise money for nipper equipment and activities.

We will be holding our AGM on Wednesday 29 March at 6.30pm. This is where a new nippers committee is appointed. Other roles can be filled later but if you do harbour ambition to be part of the nippers committee now is the time to be thinking about it.

Nipper of the Week

Nippers of the week for Sunday 19 February are:

• Under 6&7: Jake & Nicola
• Under 8: Nathan & Hunter
• Under 9: Fionn & Asha
• Under 10: Emily & Michael
• Under 11: James & Ryder
• Under 12: Lachlan & Lyla
• Under 13: Jake & Finn

Remember – Nipper of the week is not a fastest on the beach award. It is an award for the nipper who shows the true spirit of a lifesaver. Courage, Commitment, Teamwork and care for their fellow nippers. We see a lot of nippers demonstrating these characteristics each and every week.

Nippers on Sunday 5 March

With many of our U8-10 nippers and officials at the branch championships at Redcliff on 5 March, we will run a modified program, with the modifications dependent on numbers.

• U11 Parents - You are on set up & BBQ. Please be there to help out by 7.30. With many hands it only takes 15 minutes to set up. It would be really nice to start on time.
• Uniform Run-out - We have some old season swimmers and this season T-Shirts that will be on display and for sale at Nippers on Sunday.
  • Old season swimmers - $10
  • This season T-Shirts - $15
• Club Jacket - Some of you will have seen our state team in their club jackets. We will have the jackets on display on Sunday. If you are interested in purchasing a jacket for yourself please let us know and if there are sufficient numbers we will put in an order. Approximate cost is expected to be about $50.

2017 Nipper States Team looking awesome in their team jackets

Carnival Update

Sunshine Coast Branch Championships for U8 – 10 are on Sunday 5 March. Good luck kids – go give it your all.

Photos from the 2017 Qld Youth State Championships

BBQ

Ask Chrissie for a Nipper Burger. You will not be disappointed.

Mid-Week Training

• Wed Morning at 6 am and Friday Afternoon at 4 pm – board training at the club
• Tuesday Morning at 6 am – swimming training at Coolum Pool.
• Beach Training Wed afternoon at 4.30 at the club.
• Watch out for the SMS reminders.

End of Season Fun

The last day of nippers is coming up fast. Our last day on the beach will be Sunday 19 March.

On Sunday 26 March we will have the end of season awards and break up party – at the Twin Waters Aqua Park. Here are the details:

Place:

• Red Jacket Aqua Park
• Novotel Twin Waters Resort, 270 Ocean Drive, Twin Waters

Time:

• 7.45 am - Arrive
• 8.15 am - Presentations of trophies and medals starts
• 9 am to 10.40 am - Aqua Park fun time
• 10 am onwards - BBQ
• 12 midday - Close

Cost:

• Nippers are free
• Parents, Carers, siblings, and friends cost $15. (included is 100 minutes on the Aqua Park plus a sausage in bread and a free drink (Breaka).

RSVP - Please RSVP by email to ericaskuja@live.com by Monday 20 March with the name(s) of nippers attending and any additional fee-paying guests. If we have massive interest we might have to limit the number of additional fee-paying guests, so get in early to be sure.

Feedback Welcome

If you have suggestions on how we can improve, or you noticed a nipper, age manager or water safety do something awesome we would love to hear from you. Please reach out to me or any of the Nippers committee (Tracey Jackson, Emma Rahui, Erica Skuja, Sheri Ambler & James Blackmore) or send me an email at Nippers@coolumsurfclub.com.au.

See you on the beach.

Bryn Kirk
Junior Activities Chairman