Junior Surf

What is Junior Surf?

The Junior Surf Programme is designed to enrich the lives of our young members through engaging activities and active participation, learning personal, lifesaving, and competition skills, in a safe aquatic environment. We don’t teach kids how to swim, so we expect everyone to have a basic swimming ability when they join.

Our aim is to create the next generation of lifeguards to help us keep patrolling every summer at the beautiful Scorching Bay Beach. We want as many of our juniors as possible to train as lifeguards once they reach 14!

Worser Bay is one of 74 clubs across the country and part of Surf Life Saving New Zealand 18,000 members including 4,500 lifeguards.

Lifeguards provide a valuable service to our club and community. There’s also the opportunity to earn money as a paid lifeguard or even lifeguard over the summer months, and you get to learn all sorts of cool skills like crewing and driving IRBs (rescue boats), motor maintenance, first aid and much more.

2026/27 season info

Club Open Day and Season Kick Off

This year’s Club Open Day and season kick off will be held on Sunday 1 November from 9.30am - 11.30am. Even if you are an old hand, come along with your wetsuit and goggles ready to demonstrate what Surf is all about and kick off your training season! Encourage your friends to come along and give it a try, and bring their wetsuits too.

You’ll also be able to pick up your high-vis vest and beanie (if you need one - see below), and stock up on other club merchandise.

Oceans midweek training may start after Labour Weekend depending on weather conditions - watch our for messages on Whats App!

Everything you need to know!

Training Schedule

To train this season your tamariki need to be at least 7 years old on 30 September 2026. Their age grade (i.e. Under 8, Under 9 etc) relates to their age on that date.

Club Days - Sundays 9.30am

Club Days are held every Sunday and are all about having fun on the beach and in the water and developing kids’ skills so they can enjoy the beach and one day might be able to save someone else too. We also teach kids what they need to know to take part in Junior Surf carnivals if they want to.

Please arrive in time for kids to be changed into wetsuits and ready to go at 9.30am. Remember Club Days are not a drop off activity - we need all kids to have a responsible adult looking out for them, and we need help from parents to make the day a success as well.

Oceans Midweek (U11-U14) training - preparing kids to lifeguard or compete

At Oceans training we are working towards preparing tamariki to gain their Lifeguard Award when they turn 14, and/or to compete at a senior level if they want to.

Oceans training is optional and we are making some changes this season based on demand and coach availability. Training will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays 4-5.30. It’s not compulsory to attend every session but we encourage kids to come as often as they can.

We expect our Oceans kids to put in the effort at training each session, listen to the coaches and keep everyone safe, so we get to do fun activities like take on the waves at Lyall Bay, board over to Seatoun Beach and even the occasional spot of wharf jumping.

We encourage Oceans kids to work towards taking part in the Oceans Festival of Junior Lifesaving in Papamoa at the end of February with over 700 athletes from all around New Zealand. It’s a lot of fun!

New Senior programme

This season we are very excited to be re-establishing a Senior programme, to allow our athletes who have aged out of Junior Surf to keep training and competing with Worser Bay. Seniors add surf ski training to their repertoire, and have the option to compete at Senior carnivals locally and around the country.

Watch out for them in the bay and if you know anyone who might be keen to join our senior programme please forward this information to them and have them get in touch at juniors@worserbaylsc.org.nz

Note, Senior athletes must be qualified lifeguards or working towards their lifeguard qualification.

2026/27 registration system

We are using Friendly Manager to take registrations for the upcoming season. Here are a few tips to make the transition smoother:

If you registered for pool training in term 3 then login to your account to register for the upcoming season: Have an account
If you didn't sign up for pool training in term 3 then register here: New registrations
You DO NOT have to enter a phone number or email address for your child. This is optional and most likely only applies to our older athletes which is why we have left it in.
Membership options:

Family membership $250 - covers your whole family - junior, senior, lifeguard, associate.
Individual membership options:
- Individual junior membership $120 - U8-U14 age groups.
- Lifeguard membership $50 - 14 years old and up - anyone who is a qualified lifeguard, or is training to be a lifeguard this season.
- Associate members $50 - individual membership for adults who wish to be members of the club but aren't lifeguards.

Groups - Select the age group available to you

Midweek training for U11-U14 kids $100 - select this as well as your age group.
Seniors (U15 and up) can register for Senior Sport training this year. The cost for this is $150. They must also register as a qualified or trainee lifeguard.

Clothing

Everyone needs a hi-viz vest - choose your size at registration if you don't already have one, or choose "I have one".
Club beanies are compulsory for carnivals. These can be purchased during registration or at a later stage.
Other club clothing is available to purchase - sizes are limited to what we have. There will be new options coming in the near future including options for ordering togs and hoodies.

Payment

You can pay by credit card at the time of registration (incurs a transaction fee), or by bank transfer.

Important dates

There is an exciting line-up of events and carnivals booked for the coming season - get these dates in your diary! Carnivals generally start by 8:30 am, with a briefing for team managers beforehand, and depending on the number of competitors and conditions end some time after lunch.

Sunday 1 November

Worser Bay

Open Day and season kick off

Sunday 8 and 15 November

Worser Bay

200m swim badge tests

Sunday 22 November

Lyall Bay

Capital Coast U14-Open all in Carnival (U14s only)

Sunday 29 November

Worser Bay

WORSER BAY CARNIVAL - all members encouraged to participate. We will need parent help to get ready for the day too

Sunday 13 December

Ōtaki Beach

Capital and Coast Junior Carnival

24 December - 3 January

Christmas Break

8–10 January

Waimarama

Central Region Junior and Senior Champs

Sunday 24 January

Riversdale Beach

Capital Coast Junior Carnival

Sunday 6 February

Lyall Bay

Capital Coast Junior Champs

Wednesday 10 February

Titahi Bay

Capital Coast Oceans Hit Out (U11-U14)

25-28 February

Papamoa

Oceans Festival of Junior Surf (U11-U14)

Sunday 21 March

Worser Bay

Season closes - swim from Seatoun Wharf to Worser Bay!

Sign up now!

Fill in our registration form to sign up now!

Membership fees

We keep our membership fees as low as possible by using volunteers to coordinate the programme. Membership fees help us to pay for coaches, maintain club equipment and generally keep the club running.

Please pay your club fees to WBLSC bank account: 02 0500 0034741 00 before the start of the season, using your family name as a reference.

Junior membership (all ages) $120

Family membership (covers the whole family) $250

Midweek Oceans training fee $100 per athlete

High-vis rash vest (compulsory for all athletes - these are sized and should last a couple of years depending on growth spurts) $27 each

Surf beanie (required for carnivals - Worser Bay colours and one size fits most) $15 each

Parents - we need you!

Worser Bay Life Saving Club is volunteer-run and we need help from you all to give our tamariki the best experience possible. It doesn’t need to be much, every bit counts! If everyone can help out with a job once a month we will be more than covered.

We need help with:

Dry land duties: raking the beach, making hot Milos, sweeping the club room.
Water duties: helping out in the water as a marker for kids to swim around
Age group support: managing sign in/outs for an age group, supporting coaches with managing children as needed

Watch out for a roster to sign yourself up for some jobs closer to the season kick off.

Health and safety

Keeping your tamariki safe in the water is our number one priority! Here are a few important health and safety points and reminders:

Parents on the beach/water: We need to ensure a ratio of 1 adult on the beach or in the water actively supervising, for every 5 children - this includes at our Oceans midweek training. We will be rostering on parents this year to ensure we maintain this ratio. For Club Days, if you are not on the beach, please ensure there is a responsible adult who knows they are in charge of your child should they need an adult.
Sign-in/sign out: This season we will have a mandatory sign-in/sign-out process so we know exactly who is in and out of the water. Please make sure your tamariki do this every session.
High-vis rash vests: Fluro rashies are compulsory for any kids going into the water. If you don’t have one, please pay for one (see above) and pick it up at the Open Day.
200m swim badge: Having a 200m swim badge is compulsory for any kids using the big foam and fibreglass boards. To get this kids need to be able to swim 200m in the ocean in under nine minutes and then tread water for one minute. We’ll be testing kids on Sunday 8 and 15 November, so make sure you’re there!