Little Nippers hit the Sorrento sand

Sorrento Beach was a sea of nippers this morning as nearly 500 of our youngest athletes descended onto the sand for the 2020 SunSmart WA Little Nippers Surf Life Saving Championships.

Eighteen clubs were represented as the U8 and U9 athletes hit the sand and water to contest the Beach Flags and Sprints, Board Race and Surf Race; some families travelling from as far afield as Dongara-Denison and Denmark to take part.

The championships provide an exciting and encouraging opportunity for our little nippers get a taste of surf sport competition before stepping it up next year as the move into the more competitive nippers field.

Calm conditions provided the perfect environment and, while competition was fierce amongst our young athletes, the comradery and sportsmanship was just as strong as they cheered on both club mates and rivals throughout the day.

In the U8 male arena, a name to keep an eye on may well be Sorrento’s Lucas Thomson who had an outstanding day with a 1^st in both the Board and Surf Races and a silver in the Beach Flags, while Scarboro’s Cael Mclure took 2^nd in both the Board and Surf Race.

In the female water arena, Trigg Island’s Ashley Buck also had a strong showing with a 1st in the Surf Race and 3^rd in the Board Race.

In the U9 female water arena, Coogee Beach’s Ruby Campbell took out wins in both the Surf and Board Races, while Trigg Island Paea Zaffino had a win in the Beach Sprint and a 2^nd in the Flags. Quinns Mindarie’s Jade Timoko took home 2^nd in both the Beach Sprint and Board Race.

In the U9 male arena, Mullaloo SLSC’s Liam Barrowclough had a successful outing with a 1^st in the Surf Race and 3rd in the Board, and Sorrento’s Kostya Rogoysky took 2^nd in the Board Race and 3^rd in the Beach Flags.

While the above results show that the talent is well spread across our clubs, final club point scores are not tallied for this competition.

A huge thank you to the outstanding water safety officers, referees and officials, and a special mention to the many Youth Officials, all of whom did an outstanding job all morning.

Thanks also to our long standing Naming Rights partner Healthway, promoting the SunSmart message. Find out more at MyUV.com.au!

Individual event results can be found here.

Photo gallery here.

We will be adding more photos during the week, so stayed tuned!