By RON LANE
LAST weekend; school holidays, big crowds, great weather and most important of all safe surfing conditions were a magnet for beach goers.
For our Noosa Seahorse Nippers it was the final Saturday of their September program with, once again, a great roll up. This was their last session and the mornings activities were followed by a presentation of certificates trophies and T-shirts.
A major plus for the organisers was the attendance of a group of helpers from the Peregian Club.
“I bought the cadets up to give them a good look at what is happening as well as lending a helping hand… it has been a great learning curve for our young members.” Group leader and Youth Development Officer Rod Witham said.
Along with Seahorse Patron Jordan Mercer, I was invited to assist in the presentation of awards to the children and to see their response said it all.
Following the presentation many of the Seahorse Nippers assembled in front of the Noosa Club where they were treated to a look at a fire and rescue vehicle. But that was not all, for under the supervision of fire officer Phil Bowden and his team, they were then allowed to assist in turning on water hoses and give anyone who was in need of a bath a good spray.
“We are only too happy to be a part of their day,” said Bowden, “… and judging by their antics we can see the kids are having a ball.”
Once again the Noosa Shire Council assisted with the parking. So with the Fire and Rescue team plus the council support, it has indeed become a community effort. There can be no doubting this project has ‘success’ written all over it.
In October – on a weekend date yet to be finalised – the organisers Steve and Nicole Mawby will visit the North Burleigh Club on the Gold Coast to assist them in running their pilot program for a similar group.
“On the Friday night we are hoping to address the Burleigh people, and then on the Saturday morning we will assist them in running the program. To do this we will supply our trailer and equipment for the project,” Mawby said.
Following the Seahorse activities, Noosa and Peregian Nipper management, met to discuss their season ahead.
“Our aim is to develop an awareness of good surf skills and knowledge through an engaging Nipper program, with the emphases being on the kids having fun.”
For the Peregian Nipper Club their opening day of the season will be Sunday 5 October and Craig Upston of Peregian will be heading the club, supported by Noosa. All indications are they have a good parent support group awith a starting figure of some 70 nippers. With 75 per cent of their membership being between the ages of six-10 years, this is a good indication for the times ahead.
To give their club a good start for the season Peregian held a ‘Back to the Beach’ dinner for their cadets. It was a successful evening with a total of 19 cadets in attendance with another 10 apologies received by the club because of school holidays.
“To keep our cadet numbers up we will be conducting a membership drive in our local schools such as S. Andrews,” Rod Whitham said.
“One thing we are very proud of is that four of our cadets have gone on to become school captains at St Andrews College and this speaks volumes for the training cadets receive in our club.”
We wish them well.
