Carnival Protocol
A message from the Junior Team Manager
Monday, July 14th, 2008Firstly to all our new kids and their families let me say welcome to the premier club of Queensland. To all those families that are returning, welcome back for another Surf Sports season.
With the Mission Beach carnival being the first of the season I thought it timely to advise and remind parents and carers of some important carnival issues.
Water Safety
Trained lifesavers give up their time to assist in the role of water safety. Parents please know that if your child is removed from the water by water safety it is for the child’s own safety. The decision to remove a child from the event is not taken lightly and the child is usually given even chance to complete their race, but sometimes it may be a little too much especially for new competitors. The removal of your child does not constitute them as a failure and it is imperative that when your child returns to the beach (usually by a really cool boat ride) they are given nothing but support with a view of then training harder to achieve their goals.
Photographing Children
For the protection of our children SLQS & NQ Branch only permits SLSQ endorsed photographers to photograph children within the competition arena. This also includes people standing outside the competition area and shooting photos over the netting.
Competition area
The competition arena is usually defined by orange netting. For the safety of competitors, assisting Officials and to generally reduce congestion only Officials, Competitors, Age & Team Managers are permitted within the Competition arena. Please be patient with officials at the end of some events (especially Surf Team events) the final tallying of team points can take some time. Age Managers can assist you in getting clothes, towels etc to your children.
Carnival Times
Saturday Under 11 and up, start time is 1200.
Sunday Under 8 and up, start time is 0800.
As with all other sports it is beneficial to both your child and the club if you can arrive earlier.
Age Managers
Age Managers are there to assist you and your children and they should be your first point of contact with any of your queries. With Saturday being team events, Age Managers can get extremely busy, please assist them by ensuring your children stay close to the team tents and are ready to compete when they are called. Like most Surf Clubs the Age Manager is generally an under estimated and thankless job, please take the time to introduce yourself to them and don’t forget to shout them a cold soothing drink at the end of the day.
Disputes
With NQ Carnivals being held in idyllic locations and attended by great people there is generally not too problems on the sand. However sport being sport sometimes bring out the worst in some, so should there be any disputes involving an Official, another Club, parent etc please refrain from getting involved and locate either myself or an Age Manager. The abuse of Officials is not tolerated by NQ Branch with both offender and their club possibly facing disciplinary actions.
Club Tents
Ellis Beach has 4 sun shades provide for the junior program. These tents are provided to assist in getting the kids out of the sun whilst they are waiting to compete and they also act as a central point for all club members. Please be mindful of others when setting up your territory, they can get quiet loud and busy.
Fluids & Food
These carnivals can get extremely busy and you may not see your kids for extended periods. Please take every opportunity to get fluids into them prior & after events. Because there is so much going on kids will sometimes avoid eating, every chance you get try and get small amounts of good energy food into them. Whilst I don’t want to act as your parent please hold off on the Chips , Burgers, heavy foods etc until your child has finished all their events.
Club Gear - Setting up / Packing Up
For those that don’t have their own equipment the club does provide limited boards, tents, tubes etc. Any assistance in setting up tents at the start and transport gear back to the trailer area at the end of the carnival is always greatly appreciated.
In closing Mission Beach is usually a very nice weekend away, one thing that can usually be banked on is the weather. It can get quite windy and cold so ensure you have plenty of winter woollies for the whole family.
So good luck to all those fantastic kids competing, and parents have an enjoyable weekend away. As with the Age Managers I am there to assist in making the carnival an enjoyable experience so please feel free to grab me if you have any problems.
Regards
Grant Barnett
Junior Team Manager
Ellis Beach SLSC
