Nipper Volunteers

We welcome you to Stockton SLSC Nippers. Stockton Nippers is run entirely by volunteers, and in fact its usually left to just a few dedicated parents to make sure the season runs flawless.

This season, we would like to encourage parents to generously volunteer your time to make sure your child gets the most they can from be a Nipper. Below are components where we require parents to volunteer to ensure we can provide the best value to your kids.

1. Age Managers and Assistants

Each Nippers age group is coordinated by Age Managers and their Assistants. Typically from past seasons, we find the best Age Managers & Assistants are parents of kids within the same age group. Age Managers & Assistants lead the age group each Sunday morning in coordination with the Jo Dryden (Director of Junior Member Services) and Tony Wood (Junior Activities Coordinator) running scheduled activities, educating and coaching the Nippers.

You will also effectively communicate with your age group in person on all nipper matters as they arise, and contribute to team selections and development camps as required.

Your contribution as Age Manager or Assistant also allows us to gain valuable feedback from you to make important changes to the structure and programs where necessary.

Requirements:

• Become an active member of Stockton SLSC
• Attend an SLSA Age Managers Course Workshop (or complete online if available)
• Have the SLSA Age Managers Participant Workbook completed and assessed by the course presenter.
• Undertake a 2-hour On-The-Beach practical session to gain an introductory understanding of surf skills (at branch/state discretion, this may be waived if the participant has a surf background such as proficient Bronze Medallion).

2. Water Safety

Due to regulations, all water activities can only be held with sufficient numbers of water safety. The water safety crew is one of the most important roles we have for parent volunteers. For high visibility the water safety crew wear red & yellow shirts and caps to ensure the safety and well being of our Nippers whilst engaged in water activities.

Surf Life Saving Australia sets strict regulations for Nippers water safety with a ratio of 1:5 for proficient Nippers. To ensure all water activities run smoothly, we need a high number of parent support for water safety.

Requirements
Reports to the Junior Activities Superintendant (JAS)

• Must be qualified and proficient with a current Bronze Medallion
  • The Bronze Medallion course has a small fee to cover administration costs for Nipper parents who choose to volunteer their time for Water Safety
• Carry out their duties under the leadership of the JAS
• Be positioned on the beach and/or in the water as directed by the JAS
• Be responsible for water safety in the appointed area
• At all times be aware of the safety and welfare of those involved in the activity
• Immediately report any concerns to the JAS

Areas you can help
Strict regulations are imposed by Surf Life Saving Australia and there is a requirement for Water Safety at various events or activites held during the course of the season.

These include:

• Sunday morning Nippers held at Stockton Beach
• Nippers board training held midweek and weekends
• Nippers proficiency days
• Nippers Carnivals – We only encourage parents to assist with Water Safety at carnivals only if your child/ren attends. Of course your more than welcome to assist the club if you choose to assist otherwise. Parents are usually allowed to nominate the water area (age group) they’d prefer to assist in, ensuring you are close to your child/ren.

3. Officials

Through-out the season there are many local and state-wide carnivals run for Nippers aged Under 8 – Under 14. These are optional outside of normal Sunday morning Nippers however Stockton SLSC is obligated to provide Officials at these carnivals. The ratio of Officials set by SLSA is 1:10

We encourage parents to take on these roles and become accredited to assist our club and these larger events.

Officials accreditation is available in three levels (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3) with all new officials required to start at Level 1.

Requirements

• Active membership at Stockton SLSC
•  Level One Officials accreditation. This is a part day training course held at various locations around Newcastle
  • Courses are free for Nipper parents choosing to assist with officiating at carnivals

4. General Help

Stockton Nippers is run by a small dedicated team of volunteers. There are lots of small jobs away from the specific coordination activities where parents can assist with.

General help includes

• Assisting with beach setup / packup
• Assist with BBQ duties
• Lending assistance with beach specific activities i.e placing flags in sand for Beach Flag events

Requirements

• Join Stockton SLSC as a JAC Parent Associate
• Complete the Working With Children’s Clearance Check

Interested In Volunteering?

Please fill out the form below. We encourage each family to at least have one parent volunteer but to make it easy on us all, it would be great if both parents volunteer themselves to a role across the various range. All families are expected to help in some capacity during the season.

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