Junior Preliminary Skills Assessment U6-U13
Improving water competency & confidence is a key component of the Nipper program at Fairhaven SLSC, however we are not a learn-to-swim school. All children wishing to enter the water during nipper activities MUST achieve a basic level of competency via the Swim Proficiency or Junior Preliminary Skills assessment. The preliminary assessments are a risk management procedure to appraise the swimming capabilities of participants and must be done as part of our club’s duty of care.
Every Nipper is required to complete a Swim Proficiency for their age group before participating in any water-based activities. This is a pool or open water based assessment and can be undertaken by:
- Qualified swim teacher
- LSV accredited foundation, development or performance coach
- LSV accredited core, technical, senior or performance official
- SRC or Bronze Medallion holder with minimum age of 17 years
To complete the form, print a copy of the Swim Proficiency form, and email the completed form (either in the form of a scanned copy or clear photo) to [email protected].
This evaluation is not an assessment which if not completed competently precludes the child from becoming a member or continuing with junior surf education activities. The evaluation is in place to ensure the safety and welfare of the child participating. If a child does not meet the required evaluation level a higher level of supervision when involved in water activities will be required and their water activities will be limited accordingly. An assessment of the surf conditions is made for all activities and appropriate safety considerations will also be considered
Competition Skills Evaluation U9-U13
During the Nipper program itself, we run a separate, ocean based competency assessment, the Competition Skills Assessment, which is an LSV requirement for any Nipper U9-U11 wishing to compete in any water event at carnivals & any U12-U13 wishing to compete in any water or beach event at carnivals. This is an optional component & in the interest of managing our human resources, we request that only Nippers planning on competing at carnivals attempt this assessment. A competition skills evaluation is not conducted for Under 8’s as the only water competition is a wade, which takes place in waist deep water.
| AGE | SWIM | TIME FRAME |
| U9 | 150 m open water swim | Within 12 mintues |
| U10 | 150 m open water swim | Within 11 mintues |
| U11 | 288 m open water swim | Within 12 mintues |
| U12 | 288 m open water swim | Within 10 mintues |
| U13 | 288 m open water swim | Within 9 mintues |