Welcome to the 2016 nipper season at Soldiers Beach. You are receiving this letter as part of your welcome pack in addition to this year's club shirt & pink hi-visibility rash shirt you received with your registration payment. There are a number of new faces again this year, which is great to see. We hope you and your children enjoy your summer season, and that the kids (and you) find nippers a fun and worthwhile activity over the warmer months. Our updated Nipper handbook is now available to read on the club website. Our club website will be the repository of our schedules and calendar, and maintain links to related sites that you might need. http://www.soldiersbeachsurfclub.com.au/ Included in this email: What happens on Nipper days? Training Schedule Nipper Calendar for 2016-17 Code of Conduct Board use & care On a Sunday morning. Nippers begins at 9.30am. Age Managers meet at 9.15am to go over the day's events. If you want to register your child, make any payments, purchase clothing, have any queries please come earlier before Nippers starts to save any delays. We are happy to help. Always sign your child in and out on the day. This ensures attendance is recorded accurately and the Age Managers can keep check of the children on the beach. Sign in sheets are on the tables in front of the surf club. Once signed in...find your age sign. A bucket is provided for each age group and this is to carry all drink bottles and belongings to the different stations. Your Age Manager will meet you and take you to your different stations after a brief rundown of the day s events. Please remain with your group and always let the Age Manager know if you intend to leave early or go elsewhere to another group. Your children are ultimately your responsibility. We have a duty of care that we abide by but we are not a babysitting service. If you are the last group at a station please help pack up that area. i.e. Bring all cones, flags, buckets, play equipment and boards back to the club house. Everything should be washed down and free of sand before being returned to its rightful spot. Many hands make light work. Each age group is allocated a coloured cap which is to be worn whilst signed in. These will be returned at the end of the session to the AGE MANAGER.
If your child is interested in competing at carnivals, see the Carnival Co-ordinator for details. Age Managers wear a distinguishing shirt so they will be easily recognised. A BBQ runs every Sunday. This helps the club raise funds for resources and equipment. Please support our club. No U8-U14 Nippers on Carnival days. We simply don t have the manpower to provide water safety on these days. Please utilise our Facebook page "Soldiers Beach Surf Club". This page is regularly updated. There is a list of important calendar dates to diary. Training Schedule (please check website in case of alterations during the season) As is the case with outdoor activities, we reserve the right to adopt or change gazetted events due to surf or weather conditions being inappropriate. This is part of our duty of care towards your nipper. Safety is paramount at all times. PINK RASHIE MANDATORY FOR SURF TRAINING
Diary dates for this season. Soldiers Beach Surf Life Saving Club Nipper Calendar 2016-17 Season ***NOTE*** ***NOTE*** ***NOTE*** U6 & U7 Red/green caps normal Nippers activities on carnival days Club Champs Events are split to cater for tidal variation Parent Helpers Please arrive at club by 9am. Date Day Who What Where September 10 Sat ALL Registration only day 9am-1pm Soldiers Clubhouse September 18 Sun ALL Registration & Pool proficiency 9am-1pm YMCA Toukley pool September 24 Sat ALL Registration & Pool proficiency 9am-1pm YMCA Toukley pool September 24 Sat Rookies Patrol season starts/raising of the Flags Killcare October 5 Wed Age Managers Age Manager meeting 6:00pm - 6:30pm Soldiers Clubhouse October 5 Wed ALL Parent information evening 6:30pm -7:30pm Soldiers Clubhouse October 9 Sun Nippers 09:30 U14 parent helpers 09:00 Soldiers October 16 Sun Nippers 09:30 U13 parent helpers 09:00 [Club Champs#1 IRON only] Soldiers October 23 Sun Nippers 09:30 U12 parent helpers 09:00 [Club Champs#1] Soldiers October 30 Sun Nippers 09:30 U11 parent helpers 09:00 Soldiers November 6 Sun U8-U14 SLSCC Junior carnival (Interbranch Selection) tbc November 13 Sun Nippers 09:30 U10 parent helpers 09:00 Soldiers November 20 Sun Nippers 09:30 U9 parent helpers 09:00 Soldiers November 27 Sun U8-U14 SLSCC Junior carnival Toowoon Bay December 4 Sun Nippers 09:30 U13 parent helpers 09:00 [Club Champs#2 IRON only] Soldiers December 11 Sun Nippers 09:30 U13 parent helpers 09:00 [Club Champs#2] Soldiers December 17 **Sat ** Nippers **3:30-5:30pm ** Twilight Nippers ** Soldiers XMAS BREAK January 8 Sun Nippers 09:30 U12 parent helpers 09:00 Soldiers January 14 Sat Rookies Rookie Challenge Terrigal January 15 Sun U8-U14 SLSCC Junior carnival tbc January 20 Fri Rookies JLOTY interviews SLSCC HQ January 22 Sun Nippers 09:30 U11 parent helpers 09:00 Soldiers January 26 Rookies Ducks for Bucks The Entrance January 29 Sun Nippers 09:30 U10 parent helpers 09:00 Soldiers February 5 Sun U8-U14 SLSCC Branch Junior Carnival Umina Beach February 12 Sun Nippers 09:30 U9 parent helpers 09:00 [Club Champs#3 WATER only] Soldiers February 19 Sun Nippers 09:30 U8 parent helpers 09:00 [Club Champs#3 BEACH only] Soldiers February 26 Sun info State Dinner for competitors Soldiers March 3,4,5 U8-U14 SLSNSW State Age Championships Swansea-Belmont March 19 All Nippers Presentation Day tbc April 25 Rookies Lowering of the Flags tbc OTHER EVENTS October 1, 2 Sat,Sun info Weekend of Surf Forster October 15 Sat info Newcastle Permanent Junior Ironperson Series R1 tbc October 16 Sun info Surf Clubs Open Day Your local surf club October 22 Sat U9-Open U9-Open carnival (Interbranch Selection) Avoca October 29 Sat U12-Open u12-open beach only Carnival (Interbranch Selection) Toowoon Bay November 12,13 Sat,Sun Rookies Development Camp Broken Bay November November 19 26 Sat Sat info info Newcastle Permanent Junior Ironperson Series R2 Ocean Swim Shelly Beach Toowoon Bay December 3 Sat info Newcastle Permanent Junior Ironperson Series R3 Avoca December 10,11 Sat,Sun info SLSNSW Interbranch Carnival The Lakes December 18 Sun info Newcastle Permanent Junior Ironperson Top 12 Invitational Newcastle Beach January January 7 28 Sat info info Gardner Ironperson Carnival ECSF Wamberal Umina Beach February 19 info SLSCC Branch Champion Lifesaver Soldiers April 25 info Last Day of Patrols; Lowering of the Flags tbc \
Code of Conduct Please discuss and re-enforce these with your children Nippers: Have fun Be a good Sport Play by the rules Do your best and be proud of your efforts Encourage each other Congratulate each other Look after each other, particularly in the surf Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself No bullying / teasing No bad language Look after the equipment Never argue with an official, but have your Manager approach the Official in the proper manner Cooperate with your coach, team-mates and other competitors Parents: Teach them to be a good sport and play by the rules Remember that Children s sport should be for fun Encourage your children, but do not force them Focus on efforts and performance of your children and not just the result Encourage them to do their best and be proud of their efforts Set a good example for your children Discourage bullying and teasing Discourage bad tempers, language and behaviour Support efforts to efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from sport Get involved and help out. Any assistance is appreciated Accept the Officials decision and only protest via the appropriate channels Spectators: Allow Nippers to play and have fun without interference Encourage Nippers to play by the rules and be good sports Encourage all Nipper s performances Congratulate children on their efforts Respect the Official s decision. If you have a protest follow the appropriate procedure to question the decision. Teach your children to do the same. Never criticise a child for making a mistake. Ensure advice and coaching is both positive and constructive Discourage violence, bullying, teasing and anti-social behaviour Relax, get involved and enjoy the activities
Board Use & Care Guidelines Boards are only to be used by current Soldiers Beach SLSC Nippers Boards can be used during Nipper Sundays, formal training activities, or at the request of a Committee member. Boards must be signed IN and OUT for carnival usage. Care should ALWAYS be exercised when using boards DO NOT sit, kneel or stand on the Nipper Boards. EVER. All boards thoroughly washed (all sand removed) before returning to racks. Boards should be stored in the proper areas when they are returned. Any damage should be reported immediately and the board tagged and set aside so that it can be repaired prior to any further use (which will cause the board to become water logged). Boards are not to be left lying on beach, or around the clubhouse. They MUST be returned to the board racks as soon as you have finished using them (& before having a shower etc.) Only Nippers competing at Carnivals may use the competition boards U8 U9-U10 U11-U13 U14 Boogie Boards; Foam boards only under club supervision Foam Nipper boards only. Fibreglass Nipper boards. Club Racing Malibu boards. If you are not sure on any of the above Guidelines see a Committee member. If you do not abide by these rules privileges may be removed that is you may not be allowed to use the boards for a period of time.
As a club we are striving to improve each season on how our nipper days are run and structured. This year will again see us using social media, email and SMS as our predominant methods of communication. We encourage you to give us feedback so that we may identify and clarify issues or have the opportunity to make adjustments. If we are unaware of a problem, then it will be that much harder to do something about it. We thank you for choosing SOLDIERS BEACH SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB, and sincerely hope that you and your child/children enjoy their season with us. Remember that everyone you deal with is a volunteer, and is there because they believe in the difference surf lifesaving can make to young people. Jodie Freeman Junior Activities Coordinator SBSLSC