By Mark Heenan
Local Nippers were the stars on show at the recent Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club junior presentation awards ceremony.
Proud parents, family members, volunteers and Ocean Grove SLSC personnel helped celebrate the Nipper achievements for 2016/17 at the surf clubrooms on 22 April.
Ocean Grove SLSC finished overall in second place with a whopping tally of 305 points at Victorian State Junior Life Saving Championships held in Warrnambool in March.
Ocean Grove was the highest ranked regional-based club and recorded more points than last season’s total at the state titles, while Melbourne-based Mentone Life Saving Club won overall honours with 367 points.
Outgoing Ocean Grove SLSC junior activities manager Gavin Mahoney said it was an extremely successful season with great results from the state-wide competition events alongside the club surf sport and surf ed Nippers programs.
Mahoney said about 130 Nippers competed across seven Nipper carnivals held in bay and surf conditions across Victoria and at the State Championships.
“We get great satisfaction celebrating our surf sport competitors achievements in the sport, as well as the life saving techniques we teach both in our surf sport and surf ed Nippers (programs),” Mahoney told the Voice.
Darren Ball will take the reins from Mahoney as the new club junior activities manager for 2017/18.
Surf sport co-ordinator Shane Bird will remain in the same role next season.
