Junior Surf

Junior Surf is a Surf Life Saving New Zealand programme for 7 – 13 year olds.

The purpose of a junior surf programme is to provide: 

• Beach education

• Learn surf swimming skills including wading, duck diving, body surfing and boogie boarding.

• Beach skills include sprints, beach flags and relays.

• Competent swimmers who complete a safety swim test (details below) will also be taught board paddling and tube rescues.

• These skills are sometimes taught through games and direct instruction. Each session will contain a mix of these things. There are occasions when the surf is too big or too cold that we will not have a water session for the safety of the children and parent helpers.

Every season the children will have their swimming skills assessed by completing a 200m freestyle swim and treading water for one minute. These two things need to be completed in less than 8 minutes. If your child cannot achieve this it does not mean they cannot join – but it does mean alternative in water supervision arrangements will need to be made. Unfortunately non-swimmers cannot be catered for.

The minimum safety requirements are 1 adult (who can swim) to every 5 children in the water. This means parent involvement is needed. If we cannot meet these minimum ratios the children will not be able to enter the water for instructional purposes. Parents should remain on the beach during the training in case they are needed.

Awards can be achieved if your child is interested in achieving this and there are junior surf carnivals if your child would like to compete in surf and beach events.

To join the club: Click here

Registration fees are $25 per child, family registrations are $60. 

If you require further information please contact:

Joanne Hobson

email: juniorsurf@sunsetbeach.org.nz

phone: 0274 329 387