The absolute minimum age for a child to join the organisation and participate in Junior Activities is 5 years old (U6).
A members age groups will be determined based on their age at 30th September in he given year. The Age Group Quick Reference Guide shall be the sole determination for registration of Junior Activity members.
The below table indicates the birth year/month and relative age groups for members in the 2025/2026 season.
A child may join as soon as they turn 5 years of age. No club is to accept membership of a child until they have reached the age of 5 years to comply with insurance requirements. A child who reaches 5 years after the 30th of September may join nippers at that time for the remainder of the season; however, this child will be required to stay in the U6 nippers age group again the following season. It is the club’s responsibility to explain this to the parents of the child. Note: proof of age must be sighted for all new children joining a club.
Age Group Participation
There are various reasons nippers may move down an age group, i.e., competency, ability, and social situations; the same year in school, etc.
It is currently approved that nippers may move down one age group. Members are required to complete the preliminary evaluations for the age group in which they are participating and will only receive the age award for that group.
For example, considering the 2025/2026 season, if a member was born in October 2016, they would be in U9’s. If they preferred to participate in U8, they would be required to complete the U8 preliminary evaluations and will only be eligible for the U8 Age Award.
Moving up is currently unapproved by SLSQ.
Please note that moving age groups is not supported in the SLSA Nipper App as it is built into Surfguard so paper records for attendance and completion of activities are required.
Should a member wish to move down an age group, they/the parent is complete This Jotform for SLSQ and club record keeping pruposes.
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