What are carnivals?

Carnivals are held at various clubs during the season. They are usually held on a Sunday, and if this is the case Mornington LSC will have the nippers session on the Friday night (twilight) or with a caretaker coach on the Sunday.

Each carnival is different and will be at a Bay club or a Surf beach club. The nippers are all separated with their age group flags and have about 6 events - these include individual events and team events (which are everyones favourite). The events could be Beach sprint, Beach relay, Surf Swim, Board relay, Aqua Cam and Wade race. They mix the program up every carnival. 

We compete against other clubs and ribbons are given for the first 3 placegetters.

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Do you have to compete at carnivals?

Carnivals are not for everyone, but if you would like to give one a go please speak to your Age managers who will explain in more detail how you can get involved. Our Age Managers and Assistants will guide your Nipper at Carnivals. We really encourage you to enter your Nipper into at least one carnival so they can experience the fun atmosphere, develop their skills and have fun being part of the team.

Carnivals are not about winning, they are about your Nipper improving their confidence, improving on the beach, skills in the surf and most of all - having fun!! 

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How many Carnivals are there in a season?

There are usually 5-6 carnivals between Nov and Late February with the State Life Saving Champions run over 3 days at the end of the season for U9- U13’s. Some carnivals are at Bay clubs (and are close), while a couple are held in Ocean Grove, Torquay, Jan Juc, or Lorne. Some families prefer to stay the night before in these locations to make the early morning start not as early…but you can most certainly travel across the morning of.

 

Children must compete in a minimum 1 carnival in order to enter the State Championship days. 

Carnivals have an entry fee and State Titles will be an additional cost. The fee set by Life Saving Victoria for the cost of running the carnival.  The competition fee needs to be paid upfront for your child to be entered. 

 

Please note you must a be a financial member of Mornington LSC in order to compete.

​Can all age groups participate?

Carnivals are usually U8 - U13 age groups. There will be a few carnivals at the surf clubs that won't be suitable for the U8's to compete.

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What do the nippers wear?

It is just like a normal nipper's session where the hi-vis top and the Mornington Green and white cap is compulsory. 

A Mornington t-shirt or plain white tee and wide brimmed hat is compulsory for marshalling.

We recommend you pack your bag like you would for a usual nipper's session with wetsuit, 2 towels, deck coat (or warm jacket), water bottle, sunscreen, wax for board, tracksuit pants, jumper and food for the day. Just like nippers - some days are cold and rainy, and some are quite hot with blaring sun.

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Is food available to purchase?

Yes, there is usually a BBQ, kiosk and coffee van - but we always recommend you pack your lunch as if there is nothing open.

Your nipper should have a well-balanced lunchbox and we recommend you cut everything bite sized so they can grab between events. Please do not pack lollies in their immediate nipper bags, these can be given after the day as we find the lollies can make them a little crazy (trust the Age Managers on this) and a little unwell after they do their events.

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How do we register for a carnival?

Keep an eye on the 'Competitions 2024/25 tab on the website for when to go ahead and register. We will put a call out via the Facebook 'Mornington LSC Nipper news' page and the Team app on carnivals opening and closing date. 

You register through the tab on the website and pay the entry fee.

Please don't rely on your age manager to chase you up. Once the registrations close we cannot enter your child after this date. 

 

LSV no longer except late entries as they need to prepare the program on the immediate information they have by the cut off date.

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​Do I need to do a role on the day?

YES. We are all required to be rostered on to make this carnival work for our club. 

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To give you a little insight of the process...

We have to supply a certain number of officials, water safety and IRB drivers/Crew/ Set up and pack-up personal each carnival.

These ratios are worked out by the numbers each club enters. As a club Mornington LSC would usually send on average 75+ nippers each carnival. This will equate to 48 families (with multiple kids attending). We are one of the largest clubs that enters each carnival - meaning....we have to supply quite a lot of helpers! 

So from the 48 families taking away the 12 Age managers and assistants - we are left with approx. 36 families - It is here we fill the rest of the roles. This process is worked down to the wire to ensure everyone has a fair go on the roster.

With one child you can expect to be rostered on every second carnival, more than 1 child entered - you will be every carnival.

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What roles can I do?

Every family is required to supply an official. You will be rostered on for the whole day which can be up to 7 hours. You will be supplied lunch and unlimited water fill ups (must bring own bottle).

For State Championships we try and manage 1 day out of 3 per family.

Bronze Medallion - This is a water safety shift that would be 2 hours in length. We will only use you as a water safety after all the official spaces are filled.

Set up/pack up - This role starts at 6.30am to help set up the equipment on the beach and carry items from the LSV trailers. You usually finish at 7.30am. The pack up shift begins at the competition of the carnival and is packing up the equipment and returning it to the trailers.

IRB Driver/Crew - This role is for trained IRB Drivers and crew. If you are interested in upskilling into one of these roles; please see Terry our Patrol captain for the next training days.

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Will I be rostered on in the area my child is competing?

Yes. All care is taken to ensure your are rostered on in the area of your child's age group. It is very rare that you are moved away from your age group.

I don’t feel comfortable being an official as I don’t know all the rules?

 

We understand it can be overwhelming, but on the day, there are so many people rostered on with Area referees, Water personal, and people that take charge you will be in good hands. You can do a minor role like handing out ribbons, be in marshalling or on the finish line with other officials - you definitely won’t be alone. You will also be front and centre watching your child compete. Everyone you are rostered on with has a child competing as well, you will meet some great new people from other clubs.

 

How do I become an official?

We have a link on the Carnival roles page that takes you to the online process of becoming an official. There is a reference manual you can look through that has the rules for every event.

You only need to look up the events that we cover at carnivals. Beach Run, Beach Sprint, Beach Relay, Flags, Surf race, Surf teams, Wade, Wade relay, Aqua Cam, Iron, Board race, Board relay and Board rescue. 

The online process is explained on the document…and you register and follow the links. The price is $50 to be a Technical official and you will be given your Official top and relevant materials at the practical day.

We are here to help you get through the technical official process. We have many parents happy to help you with any questions.

It's my child's first carnival...

We welcome you to your first carnival! We may put you on a small role for the day in a set up or pack up position if we have too many new kids to cover.

If you find you would like to do another one you will be required to complete the Officials course.

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I am on my own, so do I have to do a role as my child will be on the beach on their own?

This is what our Age managers and Assistants are used to at carnivals. We all stay together as a group and move to each event together. We have dedicated parents that are not rostered on that carnival that will be assigned to getting the kids ready for events, taking them to the toilet, getting their food, holding goggles and towels etc. This also includes helping them get their wetsuits on and off for next events.