JUNIOR SURF
Junior Surf Sunday Programme starts on the 2nd of November 2025
For day-to-day communications download the TeamReach app and join the applicable group using the codes in Bold below (what age group depends on your child's age on the 1st October 2025).
C Group | U13, U14 | MNU14| aged 12 & 13 on the 1st Oct
B Group | U11, U12 | MNU12 | aged 10 & 11 on the 1st Oct
A Group | U8, U9, U10 | MNU10 | aged 7,8 & 9 on the 1st Oct
U5-7 (Tadpoles) | MNU5-7 | aged 5 & 6 on the 1st Oct
Join Junior Surf
To Join Muriwai Junior Surf follow the steps on the Membership page.
For further information details to contact the Junior Surf Lead at jslead@muriwaisurf.org.nz
Junior Surf, or ‘Nippers’, is the training ground for budding young lifeguards to learn crucial skills to help them manage challenging ocean conditions.
For many of the club’s current and former lifeguards, this is where it all began. We are training now, the future lifeguards of our wonderful community.
The programme is designed to ensure children have fun at the beach while participating in lessons that will provide them with a pathway to become a qualified surf lifeguard and a junior competitor (surf sport). Competition plays an important role in helping to strengthen and develop the skills and fitness levels of surf lifesavers.
Age Groups
For the competition, Ocean Athletes are entered based on their age on the 1st of October. There are no exceptions to this rule.
For team events, athletes from C Group can form a team, from B group can form a team, and A Group can form a team.
For Club days at Muriwai, if a child is better suited to the age group below, this can be accommodated on the day.
Swimming Abilities and Expectations
Junior Surf athletes do not need to be strong swimmers but are encouraged to improve their swimming ability as they progress through the age groups to get the most out of their time at the beach. Regular swimming lessons with a qualified instructor are strongly recommended. It is important to appreciate that we are not a swimming school.
When children reach the U10 age group we recommend a swimming lesson or squad twice a week to support them to gain their “Ocean Ready” badge.
200 Metre Badges
To compete in the full range of water events at carnivals, Junior Surf athletes need to gain their 200 Metre Badge each season.
200 Meter Pool Badge
Children who are able to swim 200 metres, freestyle in under 7 minutes in the pool, followed immediately by treading water with one hand in the air for 60 seconds, are awarded their 200 Metre Safety Badge.
However, given the challenging conditions in the ocean, a faster time is required to be considered ‘Ocean Ready’.
200 Metre Ocean Ready Badge
The 200 meter pool swim needs to be completed in under 5m30s, followed by treading water with one hand in the air for 60 seconds. Once kids achieve this time, it will be recorded in the national PAM database, and they will be able to compete in carnival and interclub ocean events as BADGED.
Badged vs. Unbadged at carnivals & interclub events
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U8 competitors may only compete in water events as UNBADGED.
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U9 & U10 competitors who have had their 200m Safety Badge entered into the PAM system will be entered as BADGED and those that haven’t will be entered as UNBADGED.
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U11– U14 competitors MUST have their 200m Safety Badge to compete in water events at Interclub Carnivals.
The programme has two parts:
SUNDAYS - Free to all club members
Beach & water: skills, safety and confidence
Free to all club members, Club days consist of beach activities followed by water activities. All are designed to encourage an awareness of the sand, surf, and surroundings so our kids start to build skills, confidence and respect for our wonderful beach and the sometimes challenging conditions.
Activities are anchored around the Surf Lifesaving New Zealand Junior Surf Development Progression Pathway.
For more information, see the Junior Surf Parent and Whānau handbook.
There are 16 Club Days including a Christmas Party, Club Champs and Prizegiving.
Club days are most Sundays, from after Labour weekend to the end of March with a break over Christmas.
Club Days start at around 9.30 at the clubhouse. We are on the beach by 10am and back up at the clubhouse again around 12.
The club provides all equipment including body boards, knee boards and rescue tubes.
COMPETITION SQUAD - Additional costs involved
Interclub and representative surf sports (including pool champs)
The squad is an opportunity to represent Muriwai at the National Championships (Oceans) and Northern Region Interclub events. Our Ocean Athletes compete against other clubs in individual and team events both in and out of the water.
The squad is open to everyone U11 – U14, with an expectation that members participate in additional training sessions that vary by age group.
Board training for Beginners sessions will be offered to our U10s (children who will be in the U11 group the following season) and new U11s in the first part of the season on Mondays on the North Shore to accelerate their board handling skills in more predictable, calmer conditions.
For more details please email the Junior Surf Sports Coordinator at jssports@muriwaisurf.org.nz
Social | Camps | Team Building
Trust & teamwork are central to being part of an effective lifeguard patrol, and many of our current guards have built incredibly strong friendships through nippers and lifeguarding. Our camps and team building programmes offer a superb opportunity to foster strong friendships amongst the kids.
Age Group Camp
At the start of each season, we offer a series of overnight camps at the club for our U10-U14s, and a team-building afternoon for U8-U9s.
These start at 1pm on Saturday and finish at 9am on the Sunday (before the start of club day). Camps include an afternoon team building activity, beach exploration and water activities, dinner, sleepover, and a morning badging session at Fools Pools. All parents are expected to help in at least one capacity (transport, parent supervision during activities, meal preparation and clean up, overnight camp parents and Sunday morning clean up). Kids and camp parents have a blast and get to know the other nippers and whānau in their age groups better, early in the season.
Ocean’s Training Camp
A highlight for all our Ocean’s Athletes is the Ocean’s training camp at Papamoa two weeks before the Junior Surf nationals (Oceans). The surf sports team head to Papamoa on Thursday or Friday afternoon to train at the local beach breaks and the camp culminates in the legendary camp concert, put on by the kids on the Saturday evening, before returning to Auckland on Sunday afternoon.
Rookies Camp (U14 only, usually with another club)
The season’s rookies team up with those from another club for this weekend camp, held either here at Muriwai or at another site.
Parent Expectations
Junior surf is a whole whānau activity and entirely run by volunteers. Please speak kindly and be helpful to your age group leaders and managers – they are volunteering their time!
Help bring gear to the beach and back to the gear shed at the end of the session, if you have taken a board down to the beach, make sure you bring one back!
Be ready to get into the water EVERY WEEK. Our adult to child ratio in the water is 5:1 (1:1 with our U7s) so we can’t run our sessions without parents in the water!
Dress your kids for the conditions – wetsuits are recommended for the beginning of the season when the water is cooler – we run a “wetsuit swap” table to help with costs. If your kids are cold, they will not enjoy the sessions despite how awesome we are!
Sign your kids in and out with your age group manager. If you leave the beach and we don’t know you have, we spend precious time looking for your child! If your child wants to remain at the beach after we finish the session and they have signed out, remove their high viz vest and beanie so we know they are now being supervised by YOU.
Get involved and have FUN! Your kids will LOVE the beach if they see you LOVE it too! Push your own water skills - do your water helper surf certificate, volunteer as a group leader or manager – maybe even a volunteer lifeguard! There are heaps of opportunities for you to learn and grow too! We are more than keen to help!”
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