Nippers brave nip in the air for season launch

HUNDREDS of Nippers ignored the gloomy, cool conditions to hit the for the start of the season last weekend.

Byron Bay Surf Life Saving Club junior activities coordinator Christian Round said around 340 nippers had signed up for the 2024/25 season, which is about 10 per cent more than last year.

“The younger years are at full capacity with the number of volunteers we have,” he said.

“It’s really parent driven.

“People want to make sure their kids are safe at the beach and although we don’t provide swimming training there’s a lot of education about the beach.”

Round said all the kids seemed to have a great time at the first session of the season on Sunday.

“It was a bit of a cool morning but with that came a lot less people on the beach so Nippers pretty much had the whole beach to themselves,” he said.

“The swell was pretty gentle so we had an offshore breeze.

“We had our uniform shop open and got through the vast majority of the leftover pool proficiency tests, so it was really successful.

“For a first day at Nippers I don’t think you could ask for too much more.”

This weekend the Under 12 age group is competing at the Cudgen Surf Life Saving Club surf sports carnival, with Under 8s to Under 14s competing at the Yamba Carnival on November 10.

The Byron Bay Carnival for Under 8s to Under 14s will be held on November 24.

“There’s something to be said for making it fun and comfortable when they’re young, but the more time kids spend out there on a board training towards the competitive side and the stronger and faster they get, the more they start believing in themselves,” Round said.

“It creates confidence to push themselves a bit more and over time they end up quite proficient in the water.”