Surf Sports refers to various carnivals and competitions offered within the surf club arena around Australia. They provide a great opportunity for members to demonstrate their skills in a safe environment, compete against similar skilled individuals, and build on friendships within the club.
Kiama SLSC encourages our members of all ages to participate in carnivals where possible. The most common ones you will hear mentioned are:
Sydney Water Series
A series of 4 carnivals run across 4 separate weekends. Hosted by Surf Life Saving Illawarra and South Coast Branch, it is open to competitors from all over NSW. The series caters for Under 8’s right through to Masters in surf/craft & beach individual events.
Branch Carnival
A carnival encompassing all surf life saving clubs from the South Coast Branch, from Warilla-Barrack Point down to Mollymook. Hosted by a south coast club which changes each year.
Country Championship
This carnival includes competitors from all NSW surf clubs outside of the metropolitan areas (Wollongong, Newcastle & Sydney)
State Championship
Encompasses competitors from all surf clubs within NSW and is the pinnacle of our sport. Open to competitors in Under 9 and above.
Aussie
Available to all SLSC members in Australia, from Under 14’s through to Masters.
What you need to know about Surf Sports
Members aged Under 8 and above are welcome to compete at any of the above carnivals except State Age Championships and Aussies.
To be eligible to compete, a junior member (U8 – U14 age group) must have completed the Junior Activities Preliminary Skills Evaluation (also known as the Proficiency Swim) and the Junior Activities Competition Skills Evaluation. Both are assessed by the respective Age Manager.
For U15s and above, please note that to be eligible to compete you must have completed a minimum of 25 patrol hours and completed either Surf Certificate or Bronze Medallion course. Further details on eligibility to compete can be found at SLSA 5.04 Eligibility to Compete in SLSA Competition – October 2016.
It is usual practice for the competitor to be responsible for their competition fees. These will be provided by the Surf Sports Coordinator for each carnival. Kiama SLSC may choose to cover fees for certain carnivals and this will be advised in advance.
Non-attendance at a carnival after registration will result in your registration fees being forfeited. If Kiama SLSC covered the registration cost, you will be required to reimburse the club the registration cost for your child.
Carnivals are successful due to the large numbers of volunteers who willingly give up their time. Every time Kiama SLSC enters competitors into a carnival, we are required to supply volunteers to assist with running events throughout the day. This usually includes water safety officers, as well as beach-based events. Parents are advised that they may be rostered on to one of these areas should your child be competing in a carnival. Your role could be as simple as marking names on lists, or giving places as competitors come across the line.
It is anticipated and strongly recommended that parents of competitors complete an Officials course to be recognised as a Surf Life Saving Officials at carnivals. Officials are permitted to Officiate at any carnivals and competitions including State Championships, which includes Under 9 to Under 14 beach and water competitions. There are four duties that they can carry out: Marshall, Recording Judge, Timekeeping Judge and Finish Judge(handing out places). More information on this course can be obtained through the club and will be advertised through club email and social media accounts.
Kiama SLSC cap colour is solid royal blue
It is one of the Kiama SLSC goals to increase the participation of members in competition, and to furthermore have families select Surf Sports as their primary sport of choice over the summer season.
In order to facilitate this, as a club we provide Beach and Water training with experienced and appropriately trained coaches.
Beach Training is available to both experienced and new competitors. During these training sessions we will cover beach sprints, fitness, beach flags, technique and relay training.
Training is free of charge but it is only provided to children and families who are willing and able to attend the majority of the main carnivals over the summer season, specifically Sydney Water Series, South Coast Branch Carnival, Country Championships, Stage Age Championships and Aussies (for Under 14 and above)
It is our primary goal for 2024 to have increased team participation and representation in each age group at each of these events.
Team selection for relay events will take into consideration the following factors:
- Point score results
- Team Manager selection and identification
- Reliability (is dependable and won’t let team mates down if conditions aren’t ideal)
- Previous/successful experience in team relay event.
- At all times we endeavour to the best of our capacity to provide a team opportunity for all children who desire to be part of a team. We aim to build capacity in all children. At times, in order to achieve this we will ask children to compete up an age group if it means they are able to compete in a team environment.
Families that have regularly attended these competitions over the last few years all speak of the significant positive team building and friendships that have been established through attending and supporting each of the children over these carnivals.
We are proud to say that Kiama SLSC is often commended for their positive support of every individual and team that competes for our club.
