Tanjong Beach was hit by a big wave on the 12th of March. A wave of 95 Nippers ready to get sandy, salty and super smart when it comes to surf awareness. Surf in Singapore? You betcha! ANZA Singapore Nippers, a Sunday morning activity where kids from 4-14 can learn beach and ocean awareness, is off to a splashing start in 2017 and we’re already using the wake from passing ships to create our own swell for events like the run, swim, run and board rescue. Waves Shmaves!
And the swell is not just in the sea. ANZA Singapore Nippers has been amazed by the groundswell of support we’ve received from parents, participants and our awesome partner, Swish Swimming, since we started our first season as an ANZA sport a few weeks back. So much so that almost all our age groups are full to the brim as we spill into the water each weekend.
So far we have almost 100 participants across 6 age groups, 60 families of 8 different nationalities, 25 coaches that skip a Sunday sleep, 10 Bronze Medallion recipients through our affiliation with Avalon Beach Surf Life Saving Club, and 9 boards that are forcing all of us to buy roof racks.
And we want to offer up some more places!
There’s a lot of kids waiting for the chance to wake up their parents early on a Sunday morning, don a cap, and have a game of chain tiggy or thong flags. To keep up with demand and provide more spots in Season 2, starting in September, we need to train a keen new bunch of potential Age Managers and Assistants so we can maintain our all-important 1:5 water safety ratio. Our new dedicated batch of Bronze Medallion trainees are at the ready to swim 400 metres in under 9 minutes, pull off a spinal rescue, memorise arm signals for communicating across the beach, and perform resuscitation with oxygen.
All we need now is some fitness and funds. So if you want to help us reach our goal, either as a sponsor or a potential member, get involved here.
Like all good things, ANZA Singapore Nippers is greater than the sum of its parts. We are much more than a random group of people doing the same activity. We are a community. We not only teach beach and ocean awareness, we inspire awareness of others and our world. We don’t just build strength, we build strength of character.
And we can’t wait to share our love of the great outdoors here in Singapore!
