Sun Safety

Sun Safety

SLSA strongly recommends the use of sun protection during all Surf Life Saving activities. While sun safety is vital for everyone, childhood and adolescence are particularly critical times to prevent skin damage that can lead to cancer later in life. Clubs are encouraged to embed sun safe practices across all programs.

Sun Safe Practices that you can implement at your Nipper program:

• Promote Awareness: Make sun safety part of your club’s culture by highlighting its importance in newsletters, social media, and signage around the club.
• Protective Clothing: Encourage Nippers to wear long-sleeve, high-visibility rash shirts. If that’s not possible, suggest wearing a long-sleeve garment underneath their high-visibility rash shirt.
• Sunscreen Use: Supply each age group with sunscreen and ensure nippers apply before the start of the program and reapply every two hours or after they have been in the water.
• Provide Shade: Set up tents or shelters on the beach for nippers to rest under between activities.
• Shade and Scheduling: Limit time spent in direct sunlight by scheduling non-water activities in shaded areas whenever possible.
• Encourage Full Coverage: Ask nippers, Age Managers, and helpers to wear broad-brimmed or legionnaire style hats and long-sleeved shirts during non-water activities.
• Program Timing: Where possible, schedule activities outside peak UV hours. Consider delaying or modifying activities on days with extreme UV ratings.
• Education: Teach Nippers how to apply sunscreen properly, covering commonly missed areas such as ears, back of the neck and feet.
• Recognition: Reward and recognise sun-safe behaviour among nippers and volunteers.

By consistently applying these practices, we can help reduce the risk of sun damage and support a healthier, safer environment for everyone involved in Surf Life Saving.