Hi there
We have had a couple of great Sunday sessions on the
beach, the pool has been busy and our Tuesday Board
training has also been very popular, it's been great seeing so many
Nippers getting active and enjoying themselves. Thanks to
Gareth Davies for taking some great photos on
Sunday these are now up on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#!/PaekakarikiSurfLifeguards
This Sunday is our first Nipper Carnival at Worser
Bay. It is an official 11 am start but we need you
there with your kids at 10 am to get everyone sorted, our
tent put up, equipment unloaded etc, etc. We know Worser Bay
is also hosting a sailing event on the same day, that means parking
will be difficult and it is likely you will have a good walk to
your car. Nippers need to get their registration number put
on their arm (we do that on arrival) get sorted into groups,
allocate mangers and also warm up, so you do need to get there on
time.
There is no
Nippers at Paekakariki Beach this Sunday during the
carnival.
All members who have paid subs, and are registered on the SLSNZ
website, are eligible to attend the Carnival, if you haven't paid
subs or haven't been at the beach yet this year you will not be on
our membership list and be unable to compete. If you are in
this category but wish to come to the Nipper carnival please
contact me asap to sort out your membership status.
For a Carnival you need:
- Togs, Swim Cap, Goggles, Nipper Hat, always wear swim cap under
Nipper Hat when in the water to help stay warm (and keep hair dry).
We have new Paekakariki swim caps which are silicon and cost
$10
- Heaps of warm clothing to rug up in, polypro and fleeces which
can get a bit wet and stay warm are the best, wet towels wrapped
around kids only get them colder. Fleece blankets are popular
and are often used by kids to wrap up in
- At least 2 towels.
- Bring a good morning tea and lunch, lots of drink and
nibbles
- Use sun screen especially for wind and I have been reminded to
put some on the tops of my feet.
- The host club normally has a sausage sizzle going so bring some
change to buy sossies.
- The carnival will be split into 2 different age
groups: 9 years and under, who will do beach
sprints, flags, boogie boards and run wade run. There may be
a Nipper Board race available for competent 9 yr olds with 200 m
badges. 9 yrs and under section should take about
2 hours to run.10 yrs and above will do beach sprints, flags and
swim, board and diamond races, additional relay races may be held
depending on conditions/time. Only Nippers with 200m
badges may take part in the water races, expect to be
there for most of the day for these age groups.
- If you need to get your 200m badge you can do that at the pool
this week, Thursday at 7 pm at Coastlands Aquatic
Centre.
Provided you have met our membership criteria (above) you don't
have to register for a carnival prior to the day just turn up in
plenty of time. We need parent help to act as Team Mangers
for each age group and gender, so basically 14 groups and Team
Managers. These Team Managers will ensure kids are at the
start line of each of their races, they are NOT solely responsible
for your child for the day. You will need to be with your
children to care, feed, water, sunscreen, warm them etc. and also
to help the manager make sure they know where kids are prior to a
race. It works best if the parents of each group work
together on the day, and it's more fun for all, the kids like to
stick together to play with their mates, we like to be
sociable.
Nippers gain points from events which count towards an overall
winner of the Surf Series for each age group/gender, there are 5
carnivals during the season.
High Visibility Vests
As previously advised it is now compulsory for every Nipper to
wear a high vis vest when competing at a carnival. Our order
(placed in August) has still not arrived and other clubs are in the
same position. The 9 years and under age group have been
given a dispensation for this carnival to not wear a vest but at
this stage 10 and overs do need to wear them. We are working
on a plan to achieve that, it will probably mean kids having to
swap vests, quickly putting them on and off during events so we can
share them around. Whilst not ideal (and likely to cause some
dramas) this is probably what will occur, don't worry we will
ensure all our kids on the start line have a vest on. If you
have attended events (such as Oceans) please, please bring your
vest from those, and vests of any siblings, name them and please be
prepared to share them around (remember you got them free and they
will be a valuable resource on Sunday). Any fluorescent
colour vest will work, at this stage this doesn't include our
yellow Paekakariki rashies but bring them anyway J
Quite a bit of info there! Any queries please
ask.
As with all surf activities there is no compulsion to enter all
events or stay the whole day, other than helping pull down tent and
pack up the trailer. If your child is hesitant about an event
we understand but we try to encourage all to take part, their sense
of satisfaction (plus our pride in them) is priceless if they do
compete in events but we need to make sure all Nippers also have an
enjoyable experience.
See you Sunday.
Any queries don't hesitate to flick me an email :)
Regards
Sandra Bednarek
sandrab@orcon.net.nz
