Nippers at Beaumaris Life Saving Club is a fun, active and supportive way for children aged 5 to 13 years to make friends, enjoy the beach, and learn valuable surf and lifesaving skills. Part of Life Saving Victoria’s Junior Development Program – which engages over 8,000 young participants across the state each summer – our program is designed to introduce children of all experience levels to surf safety, water awareness, theory, first aid and lifesaving.

At Beaumaris, more than 100 children take part in Nippers each summer, with sessions held on Saturday afternoons. Activities are delivered in a progressive, easy-to-follow format by volunteer Age Managers, ensuring skills are built step by step across each age group.

Our Under 13s take an important next step, preparing for their Surf Rescue Certificate (SRC) through training in radio usage, basic lifesaving techniques, and leadership opportunities. They also mentor younger Nippers and may be invited to attend Life Saving Victoria leadership development camps, supporting a smooth transition into active patrolling members when they turn 13.

The basic intent of Nippers is to create confident, safe and respectful young Australians in and around the surf – while fostering friendships, teamwork and the next generation of lifesavers. At BLSC we are a Community, welcoming to all and being there for each other.

Skills

The underlying principles of our program are:

• Water safety
• Confidence
• Enjoyment Beach Activities
• Signals
• Running over a set distance on the sand (distance depending on age)
• Flags – laying flat on the sand, then getting up and running a short distance to grasp lengths of hose standing in the sand
• Beach relays
• Teams running relays over similar distances to the beach
  Water Activities
• Essential water safety (survival floating, treading water, reading water and wind, etc)
• Surf wading / running through shallow water (usually for younger age groups)
• Learning to use a board
• Learning about board rescues
• Board relays and Surf swims – swimming/paddling from the beach to the buoy and back accompanied by a volunteer  lifeguard (only for older children)