Original Below
Introducing Our Nippers Program
Gerringong Sea Lions Nippers is designed for kids aged 5 to 14 who want to become more confident and skilled in the water, enhance their surf awareness, and have a blast with friends at the beach.
How it works:
- Join the fun: As soon as your child turns 5, they can sign up for our Nippers program.
- Weekly sessions: Nippers runs every Sunday morning from 9:45 AM to 11 AM (with occasional Saturday twilight sessions).
- Age-appropriate activities: Our structured program divides kids into age groups and is led by experienced Age Managers. Activities include a variety of sand and water-based exercises tailored to each age group, focusing on skill development and safety.
- Consider Family Membership: When registering your child, we encourage adults to join our Family Membership. This allows parents to assist their child during Nippers sessions and ensures they have insurance coverage.
What Happens During Nippers:
Nippers will remain with their age groups throughout the morning, rotating through different activities and stations.
Under 6 – Under 8
The focus is on developing basic beach and surf skills, learning about the surf environment and building confidence in and around the water. Depending on the conditions, these age groups will generally only enter the water to waist depth.
Under 9 and above
Nippers will begin developing their skills in board paddling and ocean swimming, while also learning important rescue, survival and surf awareness skills.
All activities are adjusted according to the conditions on the day, with the safety of our Nippers always the priority.
Please note that all nippers must be signed in and out of every session. If your child needs to leave nippers early please ensure you tell their age manager and make sure they are signed out. This is extremely important for the safety and accountability of every child. Furthermore, once your child has been signed out, remove their Nipper cap. This allows our volunteers to clearly identify children who have been signed out.
Nipper BBQs
Our Nipper BBQs are a great way to unwind after Nippers, meet other families and relax in the sunshine while enjoying a good old snag!
They’re also an important fundraiser for our Nippers program, helping us purchase new equipment and resources for the kids.
We ask parents from each age group to lend a hand on the BBQ. Each age group will be allocated a week to help, so please check the Nippers Schedule to see when your age group is rostered on.
All help is greatly appreciated.
Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity for your child to learn, grow, and have fun at the beach!