Just over 200 kids took to the rough waters at Jones Beach for the Saddleback Mountain Cup, enjoying a day of friendly competition and fun for young nippers.

Hosted this year by Kiama Downs Surf Life Saving Club, the Saddleback Cup brings together nippers from Kiama, Kiama Downs, Gerringong, Shoalhaven Heads and Sussex Inlet surf clubs for a mixture of relay-based events.

“It’s a fun nippers mini-carnival aimed at getting all the kids involved in some sort of activity,” said Kiama Downs SLSC Junior Activities Coordinator Ben Woods. 

“It’s usually their first experience of competition, and it’s also an opportunity to have a bit of fun with the local clubs - with just a little bit of rivalry.”

This year marked the second time the competition had expanded to include Shoalhaven Heads and Sussex Inlet. Despite some rough weather before and during the tournament, the event was a success.

“It was a really good day,” Woods said. “After a lot of rain throughout the night, I was a little bit worried it was going to keep raining, but at six o’clock the sun came out and it ended up being pretty warm down on the beach.”

Over 200 nippers participated on the day. Photo: Ben Woods

The surf conditions were challenging for some of the younger nippers, so organisers adjusted the courses accordingly. 

“We didn’t send the young ones all the way out the back,” Woods added.

The program was packed with team-based events: age relays, over-and-under relays, all-age relays, sprint relays, and even a tug of war. But the highlight of the day, as always, was the parent relay.

“The big highlight for all the kids is always the parent relay at the end, where the parents face off against the kids,” Woods said.

While the focus of the day was on participation and enjoyment, Kiama Downs ultimately finished with the overall win.

Woods said that despite the low-stakes atmosphere, the event plays an important role in the surf club calendar.

“I think it really celebrates nippers as an activity, and it’s important in the grassroots development of surf life saving,” he said. 

“It gives kids that first taste of competition. Sometimes the bigger carnivals can be a bit daunting, so having a fun, smaller carnival can be the springboard into those bigger events later on.”

He thanked all the participating clubs, along with the volunteers, age managers and water safety personnel whose efforts ensure the tradition continues each year.