Little lifesavers

During the last school holidays, our girls took part in a short course at the lagoon here in Cairns to be 'little lifesavers'.  It was a chance for the kids to have a taste of what the Nippers programme is like.

Here in Australia, "Girt by sea" as we are (in the words of our National Anthem!), the Surf Life Saving association has a junior development programme which is very popular with kids all around the country.

This 3 day taster course took place in our lagoon rather than in the sea itself, which was great!  Our girls aren't too sure about going in the sea off the beach here, thanks to the ever present threat of stingers (jellyfish) and crocodiles!  I can quite understand their reticence!

The course was a great combination of fitness, fun and basic surf life saving skills.  They got to race for the 'flags' where they lie in a row face down on the sand, then all stand up, turn round and race to grab a small baton further along in the sand; learn about the various jellyfish found up here in Far North Queensland; learn the basics of CPR; rescue the above orange 'people' and most exciting of all for all the kids was getting to paddle around on the surfboards!

All the kids thoroughly enjoyed the course - helped immensely by the beautiful weather we had that week as you can see from the pictures.  At the end they got to keep the sun shirts but not the cute little lifesavers hats!  They also got certificates and the course ended with a big sausage sizzle and some fun burying the instructors in the sand!

This was a fantastic experience for our girls to have.  It may not be something they will join up to, but it has given them an idea of what it's about and what all our fabulous Surf Life Savers do on the many beautiful beaches we have here in Australia.  It was a great way to try something out without having to commit to a whole term of an activity.

What great 'taster' experiences have you or your kids had?