NIPPERS PLETT CARNIVAL NOVEMBER 2009.

PLETT NIPPERS CARNIVAL 7TH AND 8TH NOVEMBER 2009

Report and results

We had the most awesome carnival at Plettenberg Bay this past weekend. As usual the organisation was excellent with the combination of Plett and the official from EPLSA. In particular people like Sean, Nick, Ant, Clint, Paul's new computerised result program, Administrators, Scorers and recorders and every coach who spends hours of their time to assist in all kinds of ways from being in the water to marshaling to supporting their teams. There is not a parent or sibling who does not participate in some positive way.

Then there are the Nippers: These are the most hardy of all children. Thomas made the comment that there is no other sport like it for the way that our children are prepared to brave the toughest of conditions, the most arduous of oversize surf conditions, the most demanding of both their physical and their mental abilities. Just imagine how they must feel when they are eliminated in the very first round of a flags heat! And yet the next time they are called upon to participate they will do so knowing that there may be a recurrence of the same emotional stress.

Imagine starting an Iron Nipper event and watching the big sets of waves as they come pounding into shore. And then as you look out to sea the distance that you are going to swim, body board and then Malibu. This would be enough to put off the strongest of wills. Well done to every Nipper who was there this weekend. This type of event for a child between the age of 8 to 14; over two days, is like the Comrades or the Ironman is to a seriously trained athlete. Every participant is a winner.

Barbara and I left PE midday on Friday and Barbara dropped me off as she and Ally headed off to Oudtshoorn for a Gala there. Joining her were John and Cheryl Kotze with their child, Greg. From our Nippers Team were Lara, Daniel, Rogan, Jamie Lee and Ally.

Saturday morning started off with a run for Jacqui, Lisle and myself. We met in Plett village and jogged down towards the beach. We crossed the Piesang River and headed towards the N2. This route, for those who don't know it, takes the runner up a really long and steep hill with three or four switchbacks. Up to Castleton and onto the N2 where we crossed the main (Shell Garage) entrance to Plett and ran downhill to the bottom entrance at the Engen garage. We found a tap and then carried on up and back to Plett village. The run had taken us just over an hour and was really worthwhile.

I later learned that Alec and Graham had run 20kays to Robberg and back while Hannes and Jacques had gone out on Mountain Bikes. Hannes had taken a tumble and had bruised his leg and arm so badly that the next day he was battling to walk.

Terry phoned to say that he was on his way into town and I met his vehicle at the beach. We off loaded the trailer and set up the tent. Once the tent was up and Nippers started arriving the Carnival started to take shape.

A couple of Nippers from Hobie Beach and Simone from Summies had to do the swim part of their level test. They were due to have done their level test on Wednesday but the high seas, white water and strong rip current made swimming impossible. So what Ant Cox did was to conduct all the theory and beach exercises, leaving the swim for the morning of the carnival. This morning everyone passed their test. It also gave me the opportunity for an early morning swim. I did not envy the children as the water was quite chilly and long swims would take some heart today.

This morning was the first time that our new sponsors, ADT would be displayed on our clothing. Jacqui had brought the new kit for the Nippers to wear. ADT would have been pleased to see their exposure. We need to have some ADT feathers and boards with their logo and branding to give real exposure to the extent of the sponsorship.

Dianne Nelson is presently our Chairman. John has been offered a job promotion in Johannesburg and they will now be moving. This is most unfortunate for Summerstrand. We will struggle to find a person who is as committed and as hard working as Dianne has been in the few months of her taking office at Summerstrand.

The running of the days events went well. Taplin Relay, Long Run, Flags, Body and Malibu Relays all took some organising. At one stage there was some fears that a shark sighting may put the event off for a while. But the shark sighting was a lot further out to sea and the fears were soon calmed. Events proceeded as planned.

By 16.30 everyone was happy to end the afternoon off with a beer on the wonderfully designed new deck that Plett has added to their club house. This deck is the simplest of structures with steel girding and wooden floors making up a stunning lookout area for the Nippers and Lifesaving clubhouse. Talking to Nick later, he told me how he had started the Plett Nippers organisation and how it had grown from just 20 Nippers to its present size and structure in just 7 years.

There was one particular event which took everyone by surprise. It was the U10 Malibu Relay event. The Summies team were placed at about 5th place when the final tag was being done. And the Nippers headed out into one of the biggest sets of the afternoon.U10 Nippers were being wiped out all over the place. Coaches rushed to the assistance of the Nippers. The only poor soul not being assisted, was Corrick, of Summerstrand. He powered out on his own getting battered but persevering. Finally he made it past the breakers and somehow kept his lead and won the event for his team. This display of courage and strength will be remembered for many years.

Sportsmanship took on new meaning as I saw, time and again Nippers staying together when out in the water with a friend, who may not have been as strong as they were. There was an instance of a Nipper who realised that she did not have the strength to carry on to the flags finals and so when they were running for a flag she “allowed” a team mate to catch the last flag. There are so many examples of team support from both parents, coaches and team mates that it almost chokes you up with emotion when you see this positive behaviour on display.

Of course there are also cases of aggression. Nippers is a tough sport and being able to deal with being “unfairly pushed aside” is what builds character that is going to be so very important in the lives of the Nippers as they grow to young adults. I think that it was Deon who described Nippers as a whole set of life skills that our children have the opportunity to learn in an environment that is healthy and has the support of parent and peer groups.

As we sat and had our first beer, after the last event of the day, we saw Barbara and Ally arrive on the beach. They had left Oudtshoorn earlier than expected and we were all pleased to have them join us.

While at the Oudtshoorn Gala Ally had managed to win two medals: A Gold medal for the Medley relay in which she swam the final leg of Freestyle and a Silver medal for the Freestyle relay.

This evening we were pretty exhausted. Walking on soft sand for a day with little to eat and lots of exercise meant for tired bodies. I am pretty sure that most of us were asleep fairly early.

Sunday morning we were down on the beach shortly after 7.15am. Ally, Daniel and Rogan did their swim for their level test. The day began with a variety of disciplines and a combination of heat and hard work had us all looking tired within a few hours. The stride of parents on the beach was decidedly less energetic than it had been the previous day. People sought out the shade and wore more clothes than yesterday, as they had clearly been sun beaten on Saturday. I am also fairly certain that there were some dads who were quietly seeking out Panado's.

The U14 and U12 Iron Nipper events were stunning to watch. I parked myself out on a Malibu board at the furthest point and watched as these brave Nippers swam, body boarded and Malibu Boarded out and around back to the shore. It was quite humbling to see what our children are prepared to put themselves through. A particular: “Well Done” must be accorded to every participant in Iron Nipper events.

Barbara & I were particularly proud of Ally who was placed fourth after a grueling event in which she overtook at least one other U14 in the final stages of the Malibu section by taking a wave to shore. This is Ally's first year in U14 and she looks like she has a great year ahead of her.
We were pleased to be able to watch Ally competing in the Run Swim Run in which she held her own. Ally had missed out on competing in the team events as these had all been held when she was in Oudtshoorn.

The final event on Sunday was the Flags. Clint started this event and had to be quite strict when it came to false starts. My opinion is that the Nippers took their defeats in good spirit and I overheard one Dad saying to his children: “See how the losers smile as broadly as the winners”. Yes, it is all about learning to be a winner in losing. There are something like 50 participants in an age group. There can only be one winner. So 49 Nippers have to have the ability to accept defeat.

Once the final Flags event had been run the scorers had the task of trying to sort out teams, age groups and individual winners. Tough but they got stuck in just allowing us enough time to pack up our trailers, grab an ice cream and soon we were gathering around to listen to the final results.

Provisional Results:
U10's
1 Kings Beach 423 points
2 Summies 242 points
3 Plett 219 points
4 East London 109 points

Nipper of the competition:
Summies Girls
3 Meg (Goosie) Nelson.

Summies boys
1 Corrick

U12's
1 Plett 317 points
2 Summies 316 Points
3 Kings Beach 252 points
4 East London 92 points
5 Hobie Beach 14 points

Nippers of the competition
Summies Girls
2 Jamie who was there for Sunday only
1 Simone who has only recently joined Nippers.

Summies Boys
3 Craig

U14
1 Kings Beach 417 points
2 Plett 297 points
3 Summies 264 Points
4 Hobie beach 17 points

Nippers of the competition
Summies Girls
1 Christie

Summies Boys
3 Luke H



Full Team results:
1 Kings Beach 1092 points
2 Plett 833 points
3 Summies 822 points
4 East London 210 points
5 Hobie 31 points

A full set of results should be available on the website of Kings Beach shortly. I will let you know when this is available. Meanwhile I apologise in advance for all of my errors. I wrote the names and results in my own particular set of shorthand and hieroglyphics.

Peter Giddy
Sunday 8.11.2009.
082 550 3174
peter@wildcliff.org