The action in this, the first competition of the year, had spectators standing and cheering. To help the event run more efficiently it was split over two weekends. The older age groups, ages 11 to 13, battled it out the first weekend  tallying scores which were very close between the three top  teams.

Victory for Portreath was assured at the end of the second meeting.  The efforts of the eight to 10 year olds helped the Portreath Nippers dash ahead of friendly rivals Hayle SLSC by 286 points.  St Ives claimed third place with Porthtowan fourth.

"We had a lot of new Nippers from age eight to 11 who did a fantastic job in their first competition." Said Dave Townsend, Nipper manager.  "It was great to retain the title with a more convincing win than last year.  The Nippers represented the Club with so much deternination, we're very proud of all of them," Townsend added.

The nine teams of youngsters showed a very high standard of competition and competence in the water. Events included the obstacle race which involves swimming as fast as possible and diving under a gate, resurfacing and swimming as fast as possible to the finish.

" The obstacle gate represents a wave and teaches the Nippers how to duck dive, a very important skill they will use in the open sea," said Townsend.

The flipper race uses the front crawl stroke with the added propulsion of flippers.  The flipper race helps the Nippers get used to wearing the fins which they will use more in their races as Juniors.

The board race is always a crowd pleaser—tension mounts as the competitors' arms paddle at amazing speed.  The thrill of the nipper board race is further heightened when the board rescue relay hits the water.  This is a team race of  two. The first person acting as the victim swims to the end of the pool, raising their hand as the signal for the rescuer to launch on the nipper board to simulate a rescue.  Speed and
accuracy are the keys as the victim climbs aboard after a quick and smooth turn, and the two paddle back up the pool for the finish. So much is in the balance of this race. Winning a team event can achieve double points in the scoring.

The tube rescue race is another exciting event using nearly the same format as board rescue , with the tube replacing the board as the rescue aid.  The rescuer, swimming front crawl, rescues then drags the victim who clings to the tube assisting the rescue by kicking on their back or front.   

 "The board relay and tube rescue gives the Nippers an introduction to lifesaving skills from an early age," said Emma Phillips, Portreath competition secretary, Nipper coach and Master competitor. "The events simulates rescues helping to build skills for our future lifesavers," Phillips said.

Many of the Portreath Nippers will be boarding a coach before sunrise on the 16th of February to travel to the National Nippers Championship  at Millfield School.  For some of the younger and newer club members this will be their first sight  and experience of a 50m pool.  The  eight to 10 year olds swim 25 meters with the older age group events 50 meters.

The next event for the Youth and Masters will be the Cornish Champs on 8 March at Carn Brae Leisure Center.  The Youth division of the Club is holding an auction to raise funds for the Club on the 9th March at the Portreath Arms Pub.  All are invited o come and support Portreath Surf Life Saving Club.

"This is the Club's 50th  anniversary year and with this first strong Nipper win of the season, it's shaping up to be another great year.  The coaches, as always, want to thank the parents, families and friends of  the Nippers for their enthusiastic support. Well done to the whole team,"  said Dave Townsend.