Saluting our lifesaving Nippers

For over 100 years, Lifesaving South Africa (LSA) has been valiantly guarding South Africa’s coastline. As the national authority on lifesaving techniques, the organisation has performed more than 100 000 rescues and has a membership of more than 60 000 people of all ages and races. Beyond the distinctive yellow and red outfits of the lifeguards we’ve all seen on beaches around the country, most South Africans are unaware of the incredible behind-the-scenes work done by the many clubs that fall under Lifesaving South Africa.

To encourage the importance of lifesaving and accomplish its goal of making our coastline a drown-free zone, the association holds regular national and international competitions. The youth of South Africa play a particularly important role in these competitions, with many going on to become the heroic lifeguards who patrol our beaches today. Young members of the lifesaving movement – between the ages of 8 and 14  are described as Nippers, a term which was borrowed from the Australian lifesaving movement back in 1972.
The Nipper programme, which includes over 1700 participants, has become one of the most successful child development and sporting programmes in South Africa. To become a Nipper, youngsters are required to do an entrance test, including a 100 metre swim in under three minutes, treading water constantly for five minutes and retrieving an object at the bottom of a 1.5 metre pool. These budding heroes are taught water safety techniques and first aid, along with fun-filled activities such as surfing, body boarding, knee boarding and beach activities.
From 31 April – 2 March, star Nippers from around the country got together to compete in the LSA Surf Nipper Nationals at Addington Beach in Durban. 20 clubs participated in the event, with age categories from U/9 to U/14 competing in seven events each, ranging from beach sprints to body boarding. At the end of the three days, Durban Surf Lifesaving Club – the hosts of the competition – emerged as runaway winners with 694 points, more than 300 points ahead of the second-placed Umhlanga Rocks.
Lifesaving SA general manager Helen Herbert said the event showed that the future of lifesaving in South Africa was in good hands.
“It was a really well attended and well supported event. We saw plenty of exceptional young talent. Hosting the event on Addington beach highlighted the spectacular facilities EThekwini has and showed that our beaches are well-equipped to host national and international events,” said Herbert.

*This article was written by a TWNA journalist, Dale Hes for The Traveller magazine.